Upcoming Design Review Board meetings of note (LIVE COVERAGE)

January 13, 2014 by 6 Comments

Two large development projects on NE 65th Street may before the Northeast Design Review Board in the next three weeks: The old Children’s Home Society of Washington land up at 33rd Avenue NE (recently sold to Polygon Northwest), and the old Fruit Stand block at 15th Avenue NE (owned by Hugh Sisley and leased to the Roosevelt Development Group).

Northeast Design Review Board meetings are held at the University Heights Community Center (5031 University Way NE, Room #209). You can see all upcoming meetings (and the links to their respective project information) at this Design Review Meetings page at seattle.gov.

For more information on these two particular projects (including links to design documents and their respective Department of Planning and Development permit pages), click on the map below.

View Jan/Feb 2014 NE Design Review Board meeting topics in a larger map

Ravenna Blog plans on attending both meetings and providing live coverage at ravennablog.com:

  • LIVE COVERAGE of the Monday, January 13 meeting (CHS of WA/Polygon Northwest) begins below around 6:30 PM.
  • LIVE COVERAGE of the (tentative-at-this-time) Monday, February 3 meeting (old Fruit Stand block/Sisley/Roosevelt Development Group) will be posted to a page-to-be-named-later.
Filed Under: Construction, Department of Planning and Development, Live Coverage, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Real Estate, Roosevelt, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association

NE 65th St Town Hall at Ravenna-Eckstein CC (LIVE COVERAGE; UPDATE)

August 12, 2013 by 55 Comments

On Monday, August 12, from 6:45-8 PM, Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle Department of Transportation will hold a town hall-style meeting at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE).

City officials will be on hand to to address residents’ and area business owners’ concerns about the Bicycle Master Plan Draft Update and the potential role NE 65th Street may play in it.

Our live coverage of the meeting will begin below, around 6:45 PM.

UPDATE (Thursday, August 15): The Seattle Channel has posted their video of the event, and you can watch it right here (Flash required):

 

 

Filed Under: Businesses, Live Coverage, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation, Updates

Town Hall on Monday, August 12 to address NE 65th St/Bicycle Master Plan concerns

August 8, 2013 by 53 Comments

The time to comment on the Bicycle Master Plan Draft update is over.

Or is it?

According to the Cascade Bicycle Club’s blog, the Seattle Department of Transportation “received more comments on the NE 65th Street protected bike lane than any other project proposed in the draft Bicycle Master Plan Update.”

Not a surprising observation to hear, especially after a less-than-stellar open house on the BMP Draft on June 13 at Roosevelt High School, and a “small business owners/residents meeting” held on June 23 at the Varsity Restaurant on NE 65th St.

We think it is a fair point to make, for all sides of the issue of NE 65th Street’s place in the BMP Update, that there is a lot of confusion around the issue.

Which is why we are grateful to see that a neighborhood town hall regarding NE 65th St and the Bicycle Master Plan Update is being held at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6353 Ravenna Ave NE) on Monday, August 12, from 6:45-8 PM.

NE 65th St

Click the image above to view the Neighborhood Town Hall invitation in full.

 

If you yourself are not able to attend this meeting, and/or would like to read about it after the fact, the Ravenna Blog will be providing live coverage of the events. We’ll post the link here on Monday the 12th.

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If we may be so bold: If you are planning on attending the meeting, please consider taking an alternate mode of transportation than your usual. The journey might give you some insight into the concerns of others in the area.

Filed Under: Businesses, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation

Community along NE 65th St to gather and discuss Bicycle Master Plan concerns

July 22, 2013 by 48 Comments

Ahead of the Bicycle Master Plan Update public comment deadline of Friday, July 26, a group of business owners and residents near NE 65th Street are meeting to discuss the BMP’s proposed cycle track for the Ravenna thoroughfare.

Ravenna Bicycle Path Small Business Owners/Residents’ Work Group
Next Meeting Tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m.
Varsity Restaurant, 2300 N.E. 65th St.

Flyer about the meeting up just outside the Ravenna Varsity. Click the image to see the full version (6.4 MB file).

Flyer about the meeting up just outside the Ravenna Varsity Restaurant. Click the image to see the full version (6.4 MB file).

Concerns about NE 65th St and the BMP listed on the flyer include:

  • Loss of parking along NE 65th St, and cars being displaced to nearly residential streets;
  • Effects during special events (like University of Washington Football home games);
  • Emergency vehicle access to Ravenna Ida Culver;
  • Recommendation for a cycle track on NE 65th St was accompanied by “no empirical evidence to support it,” and no studies (environmental, traffic impact, or economic impact.

For more information about this meeting, residents are asked to contact Mark Briant at mcbriant@seanet.com.

Public comment on the City of Seattle’s 2013 Bicycle Master Plan Update can be sent to bmpupdate@seattle.gov. For a guide on making comments, you can use this form (Microsoft Word or PDF), supplied by the BMP Project Library page.

Filed Under: Businesses, City Council, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Seattle Department of Transportation, Traffic

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signs tougher DUI bill into law (VIDEO)

July 19, 2013 by 8 Comments

While Wednesday’s joint Mayor’s Office/Seattle Department of Transportation press conference was held at the intersection of last March’s DUI tragedy, the topic was overall street safety along NE 75th St and the SDOT proposed street design changes.

The next day, however, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed DUI legislation (SB 5912) into law down in Tacoma at the Washington State Patrol District 1 headquarters.

Screen grab from SeattleP-I.com's coverage of Governor Jay Inslee signing new DUI legislation into law. Click through to read the whole article, and see more photos from the event by Associated Press Photographer Ted S. Warren.

Screen grab from SeattleP-I.com’s coverage of Governor Jay Inslee signing new DUI legislation into law. Click through to read the whole article, and see more photos from the event by Associated Press photographer Ted S. Warren.

Dan and Marilyn Schulte both attended on their family’s behalf, and were joined at the signing by over a dozen legislators and law enforcement leaders, as well as family members of a woman killed by a drunk driver in 2010.

About the bill, Associated Press reporter Rachel La Corte wrote:

Under the new law, a driver suspected of a second impaired driving offense faces mandatory arrest and will have an interlock device installed on their vehicle within five days of being charged.

The state also will begin a pilot program in as many as three counties and two cities not in those counties to conduct daily alcohol monitoring of anyone convicted twice under the DUI law. Additional money will be put toward ensuring that local jurisdictions prosecute and punish more offenders more quickly.

The final version of the bill was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate.

Most of the law will go into effect on September 28 of this year; however, the monitoring program and a few other components will not go into effect until January 1, 2014.

You can read more about the path to the bill’s final version here (“How budget constraints narrowed Olympia’s DUI crackdown,” June 26, 2012, Seattle Times,” and read the full signed bill here (near the bottom, the link titled “Bill as Passed Legislature.”)

Video of the bill signing event was broadcast live by TVW, the “C-SPAN of Washington state” (our words), and also available below. Dan Schulte begins his statement at about the seven minute mark.

 

Filed Under: Crime, Events, Government, Northeast Seattle, Video

SDOT releases NE 75th St rechannelization options (PHOTOS, UPDATES, POLL)

July 17, 2013 by 48 Comments

[UPDATE (Friday, July 19): We’ve added a poll! Read about the design options below, vote for your preferred design, and then discuss in the comments.

And one more thing: Tom Fucoloro over at Seattle Bike Blog showed us this nifty online tool that lets you play around at redesigning a road for yourself: Streetmix. Choose a road width of 40 feet for NE 75th St, and give it a shot!]

…

At a press conference this morning at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street, Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang announced four different design proposals for a safer NE 75th St for all users.

[More information about this morning’s press conference to come — check back here later.]

ALL four proposed designs include marking the lanes off distinctly (“defining channelization”). Speaking prior to the press conference this morning, Chang said that this feature of a future NE 75th St was very strongly desired by residents, according to the community feedback the Seattle Department of Transportation had collected prior to the design phase.

Here is the full NE 75th ST design proposal (500 KB PDF) for you to read. But we’ve also taken the liberty to talk about the changes below ourselves.

 

Existing Conditions

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Existing conditions on NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

The above graphic shows existing conditions along NE 75th ST, between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE: Two undefined lanes in each direction, with off-peak parking in the outside lanes.

And now, the four different proposals, combining various new roadway configurations to reduce speeds and improve safety, and in order of increasing changes and safety features.

Proposal 1

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Proposal 1 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 1 is exactly what we have now, but with the painted white lines clearly indicating travel/parking lanes (“defining channelization”). Parking along both sides of NE 75th St would not be affected.

Some of the safety limitations SDOT sees in this design are that roadway crossing distances for pedestrians are not reduced, the efficiency of the roadway is not improved, cyclists are still mixed in with motor vehicle traffic, and little to no change to vehicle speed is expected.

Proposal 2

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Proposal 2 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 2 sees one lane only in each direction of NE 75th St, but in wider travel lanes. Parking on both sides of the street would have no restrictions, and would be well marked with white lines (again, “defining channelization”).

Pluses for safety with Proposal 2 includes a reduced crossing distance for pedestrians and a likely reduction in vehicle speed.

Limitations with this proposal include no separation between cyclists and motor vehicles, again, and no designated left turn lanes (decreasing the efficiency of the roadway).

 

Proposal 3

NE_75th_proposal_3

Proposal 3 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 3 continues the defining channelization theme, and includes separated lanes for cyclists. As in Proposal one, there is one travel lane in each direction (again, slightly wider than lanes are currently), with permanent parking on one side of NE 75th St only*.

Safety improvements in Proposal 3 include reduced crossing distance for pedestrians, separated cycling lanes, and a likely reduction in vehicle speed.

Left turns are once again going to decrease the efficiency of the street.

 

Proposal 4

NE_75th_proposal_4

Proposal 4 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 4 combines all of the safety improvements we’ve seen so far — defining channelization, one lane travel each way (reducing pedestrian crossing distance), separate lanes for cyclists, a likely reduction in vehicle speed — and adds a designated left turn lane down the center. Roadway efficiency is said to be improved as left turning vehicles are removed from moving traffic.

Downside? Well, what is missing from the graphic above?

Parking.

…

The goal for the NE 75th Street Road Safety Corridor Project is, yes, safety. But what vehicular amenities will Northest Seattle residents be willing to surrender in the name of safety? Find out by attending one of the two community meetings next week to discuss these proposed changes to NE 75th St. If you are unable to attend either of those meetings, Ravenna Blog will have live coverage of the meeting on Wednesday, July 24 (available here the day of the meeting).

 

Poll!

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UPDATES: Of course, we weren’t the only ones at the press conference this morning.

9:03 PM: Here’s Q13FOX’s coverage which, of the evening newscasts below, was the most on message about the proposed changes to NE 75th St. [Video removed for now, due to auto play.]

6:58 PM: Here’s KOMO 4’s coverage, which included some thoughts from Marilyn Schulte, daughter of Judy and Dennis Schulte:

Here’s KIRO 7’s evening coverage of the Mayor/SDOT press conference this morning:

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*The SDOT PDF lists the south side of NE 75th St as the side of this proposed all day parking; however, it is our feeling that with Eckstein Middle School’s location also on the south side of NE 75th St, this may be in error. We will attempt to clarify this point prior to the meeting on July 27 (or bring it up there).

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Construction, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Seattle Department of Transportation, Updates, Video

Mayoral Candidates come to NE Seattle on Wednesday night

July 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Primary ballots start appearing in mailboxes soon — Do you know who your Seattle mayor candidate-of-choice is?

If not, you can catch most of them at a Mayoral Candidates Forum put on by the Northeast District Council on Wednesday, July 17.

Your 2013 Northeast District Council Mayoral Candidate Forum participants (and their respective candidate homepages, if I could find them) are:

Meet and greet the candidates at 6:30 PM, with a forum from 7-9 PM.

The event is being held at the Seattle Musical Theatre in Magnuson Park.  You are warned, however, that there is a paving project happening along Sand Point Way NE and NE 125th St. If you’re coming from the north, head south on 35th Ave NE, then east on NE 70th St. If you’re coming from the south, you’re likely to encounter slow traffic on Sand Point Way NE.

If you’re walking to the event, or riding a bike, watch out for cars using neighborhood streets as detours.

Filed Under: Magnuson Park, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, Wedgwood Community Council

Wedgwood Community Council meeting – Safer Streets for All (LIVE COVERAGE)

May 15, 2013 by 4 Comments
Filed Under: City Council, Live Coverage, Meeting, Traffic, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Bike-to-School Day ride and rally at Bryant Elementary (UPDATES, VIDEO)

May 8, 2013 by 3 Comments

Wednesday, May 8 was Bike-to-School Day, and Bryant Elementary School students and family turned out in force.

Participating cyclists started their ride to school at the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts, who provided morning treats. About 40 minutes later, and under Seattle Police escort, the group headed south on 35th Avenue NE toward Bryant Elementary (on NE 60th Street).

Once at school, everyone gathered on the playground for a rally and press conference. Speakers included:

    • Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. José Banda
    • Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
    • Seattle School Board President Kay Smith-Blum
    • Cascade Bicycle Club Education Director Julie Salathé
    • Bryant Elementary School Principal Kim Fox

And Ravenna Blog was there! Taking lots of pictures.

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 View from the Top Pot driveway off NE 70th Street as families gathered.

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Lesile Loper (AKA The Bike Fairy) in blue, next to Seattle Schools Superintendent Dr. José Banda in bright green. On the left in red is Michele Solis with her son, Linus (who I think had just taken a bite of a powdered sugar doughnut).

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 Overflow bike parking at the Wedgwood Top Pot along 35th Avenue NE.

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 This pink beauty was the first bike here this morning, as you can see in the tweet below:

 

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Clint Loper (Walk.Bike.Schools co-founder, Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board member, father of Bryant and Eckstein Middle School students, and husband to The Bike Fairy) was handing out these smiley bike pins. (The eyes are the wheels, get it?)

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A gaggle of bikers walks their rides through the crosswalk at NE 70th St and 35th Ave NE.

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KOMO TV morning photographer Fred Veinfurt let a few kids check out his camera gear while he was on scene with reporter Kelly Koopmans. Here’s Fred and his “students” from another angle:

 

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Many of the kid’s bikes were decorated. This one is even sporting a Seattle Children’s Bike to Work Month seat cover.

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 GIRLS RULE indeed.

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Another view from the NE 70th Street side of Top Pot, as the crowd swelled (in numbers and with doughnuts consumed).

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Here, Clint Loper (in black, with the bullhorn) thanks Bike to Bryant attendees for coming, and Top Pot Doughnuts for supporting the cause.

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Seattle Bike Blog‘s Tom Fucoloro (center) interviews Car Free Days‘ Anne King (right) while Robyn Ellis (behind the camera) records the conversation.

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Members of the Seattle Police Department line 35th Avenue NE and look for the start of the ride.

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The front row of riders get a briefing just before heading out onto 35th Avenue NE. Cascade Bicycle Club Education Director Julie Salathé is in the yellow jacket at right.

A *lot* of riders, no?! For contrast, here is the first Bike to Bryant Donut ride:

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And they’re off! Banda and The Bike Fairy lead the way.

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A number of Cascade Bicycle Club members were along for the ride, wearing red, white and black wool cycling shirts. The rider on the yellow bike here happens to be Kathy McCabe, Deputy Director of the Cascade Bicycle Club.

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Cyclists of all ages and sizes, heading to school.

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No worries: Her dad had the other wheel. (Two unicyclers in the family!)

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 Cyclists fill the streets while the media lines the sidewalks.

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The Seattle Bike Blog people-powered news van on its way to the rally.

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Back of the pack. Clint, armed with his cowbell, is on the far left.

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And Michele Solis and her moving sculpture-style ride brought up the rear.

The Cascade Bicycle Club has a video of the start of the ride, as well as a sped-up version of the route to school:

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One the primary school peloton arrived at Bryant Elementary, everyone cruised around to the playground behind the school for the Bike to School Day rally.

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Ready to ring, or tweet, at a moment’s notice.

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 Bryant Elementary School Principal Kim Fox addresses her students.

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Cascade Bicycle Club recorded Superintendent Banda’s speech, and you can view it below:

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This is Brian Dougherty, the Safe Routes to School Coordinator with the Seattle Department of Transportation, dressed for the occasion.

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Here, a KIRO TV photojournalist gets an exclusive with The Bike Fairy.

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I took a picture of this balance bike, thinking it was an ancient family heirloom. Talking to the family that owns it revealed that the bike was only about two years old — it gets USED.

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 Councilmember Sally Bagshaw spoke to the crowd as well.

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And here’s Seattle School Board President Kay Smith-Blum speaking to the kids from the podium, the younger ladies literally hanging on her every word.

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Shots from the PACKED bike racks behind Bryant.

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Who doesn’t love a miniature vanity license plate?

 

Tim King of Bike Free Days tallied the kid’s bikes at the end of the ride:

 

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UPDATE (Thursday, May 9): Here’s Q13FOX’s coverage of the event (not embedded here due to its autoplay feature).

And here is the video of the event that the Seattle Bike Blog put together. Includes an interview with Car Free Days’ Anne King:

And here’s KIRO TV’s coverage, including the video of the event once it reached Bryant Elementary:

Filed Under: Bryant, Bryant Elementary School, City Council, Civic Envolvement, Events, Families, Food, Kids, Photos, Ravenna, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Video, Wedgwood

Roosevelt “lake” views headed down the drain as reservoir empties (UPDATE)

April 9, 2013 by 17 Comments

Ravenna and Roosevelt neighbors near the Roosevelt Reservoir were told (via mail, around Saturday, April 6), that not only was the reservoir disconnected from the city’s water system on Monday, April 1, it will soon be drained…and stay that way, for two years.

Photo by Jenifer Gonzales

Roosevelt Reservoir, by neighbor Jenifer Gonzales.

The clock started ticking for all of the city’s open reservoirs back in the mid-1990s with the passage of an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This amendment “added new requirements related to annual water quality reports, operator certification requirements, system capacity, and source water assessment and protection.”

In 2004, the Seattle City Council approved a plan to fund the covering of four of the city’s reservoirs at a cost of $150 million.

Then, in 2006, a federal law “required all uncovered drinking water distribution reservoirs to either be covered or treated to a high standard.”

Of the city’s open reservoirs, six have now been replaced with underground structures: Magnolia in 1995, Lincoln in 2004, Myrtle in 2008, Beacon in 2009, West Seattle in 2010, and Maple Leaf in 2012. All but the Magnolia site were transformed into parks by various Seattle Parks and Recreation levy funds.

There are four above-ground reservoirs remaining: The Bitter Lake, Lake Forest Park, Volunteer, and Roosevelt Reservoirs.

Volunteer Park Reservoir in 2008, by Flickr user stevevoght

Volunteer Park Reservoir in 2008, by Flickr user stevevoght.

Floating covers have been installed at the Bitter Lake and Lake Forest Park facilities, and will remain through the operational life of these two reservoirs.

As for the Volunteer and Roosevelt Reservoirs, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has started testing them for potential decommissioning:

To perform the tests, the reservoirs were taken out of service on April 1, 2013. While out of service, Roosevelt Reservoir will be kept drained, while Volunteer Reservoir will remain full with water and continue to be a water feature at the park.

The reservoirs will remain disconnected from the City’s drinking water system throughout the two-year test. During this time, SPU will study the impact the out-of-service facilities have on Seattle’s overall drinking water system, make evaluations and determine whether the reservoirs can be permanently taken out of service.

If SPU finds that the reservoirs are no longer needed, the costs saved by not having to replace them with covered storage facilities would run between $10 and $50 million dollars. Each.

If and when SPU decides the Roosevelt and/or Volunteer Reservoirs ares no longer needed, public process would then kick in, and neighbors would have a say in their futures.

Until then, enjoy a nice, tall glass of (c0vered) Maple Leaf Reservoir water, now flowing out of our taps.

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For more information on the Roosevelt Reservoir decommissioning test, visit the Reservoir Covering Project page on the Seattle Public Utilities website.

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UPDATE (Thursday, April 18): At least one neighbor of the Roosevelt Reservior has asked SPU “Why us?” And here is the reply by Bill Wells, Senior Engineer of the Drinking Water Division:

We had to make a difficult decision in weighing the benefits of keeping Roosevelt Reservoir full versus the additional costs to the customers of Seattle. We estimated that it would cost an additional $100,000 each year (about $200,000 in total) to keep the reservoir full during the two-year decommissioning test.

The costs to keep Roosevelt filled and maintained are significantly more than that of Volunteer.  This is because Roosevelt Reservoir is a 50-million-gallon reservoir – more than twice the size of the 20-million-gallon Volunteer Reservoir.

Another key factor in the decision to refill Volunteer Reservoir is the park’s historical landmark status, of which the reservoir is a contributing feature.

We wish we could maintain water in both reservoirs throughout the two-year test period, but in the end we decided it was in the best interest of the city as a whole to keep Roosevelt Reservoir empty throughout the testing period.

Filed Under: Government, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Public Utilities, Updates
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