RBCA community meeting on crime/NE 75th Street (LIVE COVERAGE)

April 2, 2013 by 17 Comments

Our live coverage of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Spring Community Meeting will be posted below starting around 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 2.

You may download the agenda here (62 KB Microsoft Word document). Or refer to the abridged version posted below:

7:00 PM:  Moment of silence (Lead by Virginia Gunby, RBCA Board Member, Transportation Committee Chair)

7:05: Welcome (Sarah Swanberg, Outgoing RBCA President)

March 25 vehicle/pedestrian double fatality collision on NE 75th Street

7:10: Traffic & pedestrian safety, DUI enforcement & prosecution

  • Seattle Police Department
    • Captain Robin Clark, North Precinct
    • Sergeant Don Smith and Officer Eric Michl
  • Seattle City Attorney’s Office
    • John Schochet, Deputy Chief of Staff
    • Rachel Cormier Anderson, Criminal Division Attorney
    • Jana Jorgensen, North Precinct Liaison

 7:30: Report from Harborview

  • Eileen Whalen, Executive Director, Harborview Medical Center
  • Dr. Beth Ebel, Director, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center

7:50: NE 75th Street improvements

  • Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer, Seattle Department of Transportation
  • Peter Hahn, Director of Transportation

 8:20: RBCA business

  • Sub-committees to address traffic, safety, DUI issues in Ravenna-Bryant
  • Election of RBCA officers

8:40: Q and A with local leaders

City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office
Senator David Frockt

Filed Under: City Council, Crime, Live Coverage, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Meeting between city, neighborhood representatives yields NE 75th St improvement plan

April 2, 2013 by 9 Comments

In the early afternoon of Monday, April 1, before the Memorial Walk for the Schulte family, neighborhood groups, pedestrian/bicycle safety advocates, and staff from Eckstein Middle School, gathered at Eckstein (3003 NE 75th St). They met with representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the Mayor’s Office, and the Seattle Police Department and discussed plans to improve the safety of NE 75th Street.

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The Mayor’s Office met with SDOT several times throughout the last week, and developed a list of planned improvements and actions for NE 75th Street (4 KB PDF; presented to the assembled groups that afternoon), including:

• Installing a flashing school zone beacon on Northeast 75th Street in front of the school

• SDOT will begin the process of evaluating and potentially installing a school zone speed camera on Northeast 75th Street

• The crosswalk at Northeast 68th Street and 25th Avenue Northeast will be remarked with fresh and highly visible paint

• The intersection of Northeast 68th Street and 25th Ave Northeast will be evaluated for a traffic signal

• SDOT will install new pedestrian countdown heads [crosswalk signs with timers] at 75th Street Northeast and Northeast 31st Street

• SDOT has already installed pedestrian countdown heads at 75th Street Northeast and Northeast 35th Street

The timeline for these improvements shows a tentative completion date of August 2013 (just before Seattle Public Schools are back in session for the 2013-1014 school year).

Read more about the planned street safety improvements on the Mayor’s blog, here.

Filed Under: Construction, Crime, Eckstein Middle School, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Hundreds walk to remember, honor the Schulte family (PHOTOS)

April 1, 2013 by 14 Comments
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Walkers gathered under the swaying palms of the Wedgwood Top Pot before setting out.

Seattle Police Department officers wait to escort everyone down local streets. Local traffic was blocked as the group walked to and the memorial site.

Seattle Police Department officers and their rides wait to escort everyone down local streets. Local traffic was blocked as the group walked to and the memorial site.

 

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Pedestrian and cyclists, young and old, the sighted and the blind all participated, and fueled up with coffee and doughnuts beforehand, provided by Top Pot.

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This walker in orange was one of three I noticed walking with a white cane. She is pictured with her ASL interpreter (the woman in orange is Deaf-Blind).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (1 of 6).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (2 of 6).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (3 of 6).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (4 of 6).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (5 of 6).

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The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (6 of 6).

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A cameraman films the start of the walk on 35th Avenue NE.

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The group walks west on NE 73rd Street, after turning off 35th Avenue NE.

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Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn (center, light blue shirt) walks with Schulte family members down NE 73rd Street.

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More walkers heading down NE 73rd Street.

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Here the group is shown walking north on 33rd Avenue NE, taking the approximate route the family took on Monday, March 25. On the left side, Lacia Lynne Bailey, Judy’s Truffle (the baby goat), and some Schulte family members and friends stand where Bailey chatted with the Schultes one week ago. She was the last person to speak to the family before they attempted to cross NE 75th Street.

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More walkers heading up 33rd Avenue NE, to the memorial site.

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33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street. Some family members stand together on the right, behind the main crowd.

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Bailey talks to Dan Schulte, husband of Karina and father to Elias, who are both still at Harborview Medical Center. They are flanked by a female neighbor from the immediate area and two of Dan’s cousins.

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Members of the Schulte family, gathered in front of the memorial. Hundreds of neighbors and complete strangers have stopped by throughout the week to pay their respects, Bailey told us. She has been tending the site daily ever since people started leaving flowers, notes, or other tokens after the tragedy.

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One of the Seattle Police Department officers who escorted the walkers to and from the memorial site looks on.

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“Look out for pedestrians.”

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After spending some time at the memorial, the walk heads back to the starting point, heading east on NE 75th Street, before heading south down 35th Avenue NE.

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Mayor McGinn talks with Dongho Chang,(Chief Traffic Engineer for the Seattle Department of Transportation) at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street.

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Before starting down NE 75th Street with his family, this dad said to his small son, “This is the one time we’re walking in the street, buddy.”

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Mayor McGinn with Bailey, and Judy’s Truffle. Bailey has added to the baby goat’s original name in remembrance of Judy Schulte.

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My thoughts, from Sunday, March 31:

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More on this story on Ravenna Blog:

Memorial service in Indiana for Judy and Dennis Schulte (last updated on Thursday, April 11)

Arraignment of NE 75th Street DUI homicides suspect on Thursday (last updated on Thursday, April 11)

Timeout to say THANK YOU, on behalf of the Schulte family (last updated on Sunday, April 7)

Prayer Vigil for mother and child this Thursday night (PHOTOS) (last updated on Friday, March 29)

Memorial to the family at NE 75th St grows (PHOTOS) (last updated on Sunday, March 31)

Memorial and medical funds set up for victims of Monday’s traffic tragedy (last updated on Thursday, March 28)

Suspect in Monday’s traffic fatalities no stranger to DUIs (last updated on Sunday, March 31)

Multiple casualty incident on NE 75th St near Eckstein Middle School (PHOTOS) (last updated on Wednesday, March 27)

Filed Under: Crime, Eckstein Middle School, Families, Food, Kids, Mayor's Office, Memorials, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Community meeting on Tuesday to address crime, NE 75th Street safety issues (UPDATES)

March 31, 2013 by 1 Comment

The spring community meetings of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA)  are used to elect new board members, inform the community about any local, recent concerns, and perhaps have a guest speaker from the City Government.

The RBCA Spring Community Meeting this Tuesday, April 2, will feature officials from at least six City departments, including the Seattle Police Department, the City Attorney’s office, and Harborview Medical Center. The meeting will take place in the gymnasium of the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Avenue NE) from 7-9 PM.

Our LIVE COVERAGE of this event will be HERE (page will go live on the afternoon of April 2 prior to the meeting.)

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 The list of confirmed attendees includes (via the RBCA homepage):

  • Council Member Tom Rasmussen will be coming with Eileen Whalen, Executive Director of Harborview Medical Center and Dr. Beth Ebel, Director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center.
  • From the Seattle Police Department, North Precinct Captain Robin Clark will be there to introduce Captain Mike Nolan from the SPD Traffic Section.  DUI enforcement experts will also be on hand to answer any questions/concerns the community may have.
  • Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer from the Seattle Department of Transportation will be there to address improvements that can be made to NE 75th.  The Director of Transportation Peter Hahn will also be in attendance.
  • Members of the law department from the City Attorney’s Office will attend to discuss the prosecutorial side of DUIs.
  • The Mayor’s office will also be on hand, should you have questions for him.
  • Gina Iandola, Homestreet Bank’s Wedgwood Branch Manager will also be there should you want to donate funds.  You can read more about ways to donate on Wedgwood Community Council’s website.

The Mayor’s office staff members attending include:

  • Beth Goldberg, City Budget Director
  • Beth Hester, Director of Public Affairs and Management
  • Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office lead on their Road Safety campaign and on the new school road safety initiative

Everyone is welcome to attend. We also expect a large number of Wedgwood Community Council board members and neighbors to attend.

We have spoken with the staff at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center about the meeting, and have been told that the gymnasium will be in use up until the 7 PM meeting start time. Neighbors: Please come prepared to be patient and/or help set up some of the approximately 200 chairs available for seating.

UPDATE (Monday, April 1): Senator David Frockt (D) representing the 46th District is also scheduled to attend.

The agenda order appears to be: SPD and the City Attorney’s Office, then CM Rasmussen, Senator Frockt, and Harborview, and then the Department of Transportation at the end.

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Also, to further inform the officials attending Tuesday’s meeting, you may want to contact them in advance with your questions and concerns (or later, if you still have questions/concerns):

[NEW] Senator David Frockt (D), 46th District: (206) 729-3225 and email form

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Transportation Committee Chair: (206) 684-8808 and tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

Eileen Whalen, Executive Director of Harborview Medical Center: (206) 744-3036

Dr. Beth Ebel, Director of of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center: (206) 744-9430 and bebel@uw.edu

North Precinct Captain Robin Clark: (206) 684-0850 (N. Precinct front desk) and Public Information Officers (206-684-5520)

[NEW] Sergeant Dianne Newsom, North Precinct Community Police Team supervisor: (206) 684-0794 and dianne.newsom@seattle.gov

[NEW] Sergeant Don Smith, Traffic Section supervisor, Seattle Police Department

[NEW] Officer Eric Michl, Traffic Section/DUI Squad

Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer from the Seattle Department of Transportation: 206-684-5106 and dongho.chang@seattle.gov

Peter Hahn, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation: 206-684-5000 and peter.hahn@seattle.gov

City Attorney’s Office: 206-684-8200 (Civil main phone number), 206-684-7757 (Criminal main phone number), kimberly.mills@seattle.gov (Communications Director)

Beth Goldberg, City Budget Director: (206) 233-7115 and beth.goldberg@seattle.gov

Beth Hester, Director of Public Affairs and Management, Mayor’s Office: (206) 684-3493 and beth.hester@seattle.gov

Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office lead on the Road Safety Initiative: (206) 233-2662 and rebecca.deehr@seattle.gov

Filed Under: City Council, Civic Envolvement, Crime, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Mayor McGinn in Ravenna for tour and a town hall (LIVE COVERAGE)

November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As a part of the Engage Seattle initiative, Mayor Mike McGinn is coming to the Ravenna neighborhood for both a tour and a town hall with residents on Saturday, December 1.

The town hall/Q&A portion will be held in the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center gym (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) from 11 AM – noon. Everyone is welcome to attend. The mayor, members of his staff, and representatives from various city departments will be on hand to answer questions.

Prior to the town hall, from 10-11 AM, the mayor, members of his staff, and select community leaders and members will be touring parts of Ravenna both on foot and by bicycle (the latter for the first time for this type of event). Ravenna Blog is along for the ride, providing live coverage, and speaking at a couple of the tour stops.

Live coverage of the tour and the town hall can be found below, once the event starts. The Seattle Channel has recorded previous town halls in other neighborhoods, and should they do so for ours you will find the video embedded in this post once it becomes available.

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Cowen Park, Live Coverage, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna Park, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation

Community meeting Tuesday night spotlights public safety (UPDATE)

June 4, 2012 by 1 Comment

UPDATE (3:39 PM): The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association twitter feed reports that “N. Precinct Lt. Rasmussen, or Captain Robin Clark, to attend tomorrow’s meeting and answer questions about the shooting.”


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Tomorrow night’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association community meeting focuses on different aspects of public safety, and includes both Councilmember Bruce Harrell and North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston as featured speakers.

The meeting takes place Tuesday night, June 5, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and starts at 7 PM.

Other speakers include Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation at Children’s Hospital (speaking about Greenways), and Laurie Ames from the Department of Neighborhoods (speaking about Neighborhood Matching Funds).

You can see the full agenda here, on the RBCA website.

Filed Under: City Council, Crime, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Spring Community Meeting tonight (LIVE COVERAGE)

April 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Packed house for last year's RBCA Spring Community Meeting

This evening at 7 PM, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association holds its Spring Community Meeting at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and it’s looking to be a good ‘un.

Speakers include:

Jim Diers: The original Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, and author of Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way. You can read Jim’s full bio on his website.

Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw: CM Bagshaw is currently the Chair of the Parks and Neighborhoods Committee, and will be speaking about Greenways. Read her bio on her Seattle City Council website.

Ravenna Blog will be there! If you cannot attend, follow our live coverage below, or come back and read our notes at your leisure.

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Full disclosure: Ravenna Blog is on the RBCA’s Communications and Community Safety Committee. Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 18 at the Pied Piper Ale House (2404 NE 65th St), start time of 7 PM. You should join us.

Filed Under: City Council, Civic Envolvement, Live Coverage, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Neighborhood planning coffee talks begin this week, local biz first topic

February 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In the coming months, as a part of the community-led planning process for the 35th Avenue NE business district, the Wedgwood Community Council is hosting a series of coffee chats related to neighborhood planning.

Eight talks are planned. The first of which, “Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses,” is this Thursday, February 23, from 7-8:30 PM, at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE). Speakers include Theresa Barerras from the Office of Economic Development, Beth Dufek from Impact Capital, and Wendy Schwartz, the owner of the late Fresh Boutique.

Probable topics of the remaining seven talks are:

  • Density and its benefits
  • Making a neighborhood walkable and the importance of proximity
  • Design at a human scale. A primer on architectural design concepts and “design guidelines with teeth”
  • Place-making and successful streetscape features
  • Financial realities of development.  Incentivizing successful development
  • The trade offs of land use planning (e.g, up-zoning increases property taxes, increased traffic/parking, etc.
  • Incorporating affordable housing and economic diversity into land use planning

We’ll include the dates and locations of these future talks here, once they are scheduled.

Although these talks are being put on by the Wedgwood Community Council, anyone in Northeast Seattle is welcome to attend.

Filed Under: Businesses, Civic Envolvement, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Wedgwood Community Council

Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Meeting, this Wednesday

September 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association is holding their monthly meeting this Wednesday, September 15th. It will once again be held at the Northeast Library (6801 35th Ave NE) from 6-7:45pm.

I don’t know the precise agenda at this time, BUT I know that the big community meeting in October will be discussed.

And if you need further reason to attend, I’ll be bringing HOMEMADE COOKIES. And they are VERY TASTY.

Filed Under: Bryant, Civic Envolvement, Meeting, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Roosevelt Tagged With: , , ,

Last Wednesday’s RBCA Meeting – Agenda, Impressions, Next Steps

August 20, 2010 by 5 Comments

Yours truly made it to a Ravenna-Bryant Community Association meeting at long last! Huge success.

The following is my report to you, the community-at-large, in three parts (which is why this is a Friday post and wasn’t a Thursday post).

Agenda

  • There were two women from the Seattle Department of Transportation present to discuss an upcoming road project (15th Avenue NE Reconstruction + the 22nd/Ravenna Ave/55th “scramble”; all to be covered in a later post).
  • There was an update on the SR 520 project from the Resident Expert on the subject (I seriously think she’s been to every meeting held for that bridge).
  • A charming elder from Sustainable NE Seattle (read his blog here) read a piece he’d written about being old, the history of the downtown Ravenna area (NE 65th St), and changes he sees coming.
  • A fairly distraught foot soldier of the 46th Legistlative District Democrats was there, asking for help before the main election. (Looking back, he could have used a group hug.)
  • Ellen Stoecker, Chair of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association’s Sustainability Group was looking for the RBCA’s support in aligning the RNA’s Urban Village Design Guildlines (2000) with the Draft Citywide Design Guidelines (2010). She got it.
  • Recruiting new board members for 2011, finding issue followers (ex. Sisleyville, 520, Children’s expansion), forming committees around issues as well – just general talk on these
  • Planning for the BIG Fall Community Meeting in October – speakers on three or so topics, a big location (I offered to find that piece), and getting the word out

Impressions

As a member of the hyperlocal, hyper-plugged-in community, I have to say that — up to this point — I’ve found the group very frustrating.  The website’s been stagnant for years. Contact information had lead to dead ends or nothingness. I didn’t even know how many people served on the board until that night (5 officers, 5 at-large). And finding meeting information was merely serendipitous (I spied the about sign at the library last month, the day before July’s meeting).

Now that I’ve been to a meeting, I feel SO MUCH better.  These are passionate people — passionate about their neighborhood, passionate about issues affecting the neighborhood.  But they’ve been at this a while (some for a long while).  Issues come and go, interest wanes, board members get graduate degrees and their time is sucked away…it happens.  I’m certainly not blaming anybody — it’s the nature of the community association beast.

Next Steps

I’m a firm believer in “See a problem? Help fix it.” Some trash on the ground? I’ll pick it up! My new neighborhood doesn’t have a blog? I should start one! My neighborhood’s community association needs some energy? I’ll join up and help supply some!

The next RBCA meeting is September 15, at the NE Branch (6-7:45pm) again (agenda includes more discussion of the BIG Community Meeting in October).  I’m going to be there again. You should join me.

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YOUR TURN: What would it take to get YOU more involved in your neighborhood association?

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Events, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association
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