Dispatches from Ravenna, a neighborhood in Northeast Seattle
Saw a Roosevelt neighbor at Grateful Bread today. He mentioned that he’s putting together a neighborhood block watch with his neighbors (some drug dealer issues near Lake City Way).
In talking with North Precinct officers about the block watch, the subject of local burglaries came up. Turns out, many of these homes had unlocked doors. A quick test of the doorknob is all it took for entry.
So, that’s our home safety tip for the day: LOCK YOUR DOORS. And that goes for windows, too.
With a projected $11.7 million mid-year general fund shortfall forecast back in April, the City of Seattle decided to do a little budget trimming. The results were released today. You can check out the presentation to the Seattle City Council Budget Committee here (PDF).
Here’s a bit of a summary, with a little emphasis on NE Seattle:
There is still a $50 million general fund shortfall forecast for 2011. Projected reductions proposed for general fund departments look like this:
And we were crying over wading pools?
Some interesting tidbits in the mostly weekly twitter feed round-up this week INCLUDING the birth of a new neighborhood blog!
Roosevelt neighbors and fans, you now have the Roosiehood blog, twitter feed and facebook page for all your Roosevelt neighborhood needs. Huzzah!
And here’s what you may have missed on the @RavennaBlog twitter feed this week:
Hey, it just occurs to me: I accidentally skipped last week’s twitter round-up. These things don’t keep very well, you know, but here’s a few that you still might be interested in:
Here’s the Too Long; Didn’t Read edition, by yours truly:
From noon to at least 6 pm, STAY AWAY from Husky Stadium.
Here’s the full announcement, from the good people at SDOT:
Saturday, June 12
2010 University of Washington Commencement:
12 p.m. doors open, ceremonies 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Husky Stadium
40,000 + expected
Expect heavy congestion with both pedestrians and vehicles near the stadium between noon and 6 p.m. Anticipate heavier traffic than usual on I-5 through the University District and on SR-520.   At approximately 3:30 p.m., Seattle Police will set up traffic controls closing Montlake Boulevard between NE Pacific Street and NE 45th Street to through traffic to help move cars parked in the stadium lots out of the area after the ceremonies. Traffic approaching the closure will be detoured around the area. This restriction, which is similar to traffic routing for Husky football games, will be in effect until approximately 5:30 p.m. Avoid the Montlake Bridge if possible.
Just remember: It’s all good practice for avoiding the area between June 14 and September 12.
Roosevelt Neighborhood Parade route
Been waiting for your chance to see the Roosevelt High School Marching Band go by? In uniform? With a police escort?
The Rough Riders will take to the streets (starting at NE 68th St and 15th Ave NE) at 2 pm this Saturday, June 12.
Catch them marching along the parade route at left OR hang out at Roosevelt Square where the 100+ member band will be performing a mini-concert around 2:30 pm.
It’s June 1, which means we’ve got less than two weeks left until the NE 45st Street viaduct closes until mid-September.
And while you may not use the viaduct much in your own travels, the detours and bonus repaving project may have you feeling the effects where you may not have expected them.
NE 45th viaduct detour route map, SDOT
The Detours
There are two designated Seattle Deparment of Transportation (SDOT) traffic detours during the closure time:
This northerly route will be sending viaduct detourees up and over Ravenna Park, essentially, sending them right through “downtown” Ravenna.
Unofficial northerly detour routes I can anticipate divers trying could include using Ravenna Blvd and/or NE 55th Street to travel from east to west, instead of continuing north to NE 65th Street. If things get too crazy on those routes, we could ask Maple Leaf where they got their NIMBY-esque “NO THRU TRAFFIC” signage.
As a part of the viaduct project, and also starting in June, 22nd Avenue NE (between NE 45th and NE 54th) is getting repaved! Turns out, anticipated construction bids for the viaduct were low enough that the cost savings will be spread out over 22nd Avenue NE in the form of hot, gooey asphalt.
SDOT claims the coordination of these two construction projects will help “minimize impacts to residents.” That may be, but it’s also going to make it even tougher on those of trying to sneak down NE 54th Street.
SDOT has an official NE 45th Street Viaduct Project – West Approach Replacement page, which includes more maps and resources than you could shake a traffic cone at.
There’s a FAQ for you to read as well.
Lastly, if you’re more of a face-to-face learner, SDOT is hosting an open house on June 9, from 4-7 pm, at the University Heights Community Center (5301 University Way NE).
Consider yourselves warned.
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