35th Avenue NE business district survey ends this Sunday — take it now!

July 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Members of the Wedgwood Community Council and Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, together with other neighbors and local business owners have combined to form a group working on a neighborhood plan for 35th Avenue NE.

And part of that plan involves asking users of 35th Avenue NE what they think of the place, so the group has put together a survey.

If you find yourself on 35th Avenue NE on a regular (or even irregular basis), no matter where you live, your input is requested, and appreciated.

The survey has 31 questions, and takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

Click the image above to take the 35th Ave NE Business District survey (through July 14th)

Click the image above to take the 35th Ave NE Business District survey (through July 14th)

Learn more about the 35th Avenue NE neighborhood planning group/process here.

Filed Under: Bryant, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Missing cat, found dog (UPDATE)

July 8, 2013 by 5 Comments

Two pet mix-ups to share with you from over the past weekend. Please keep your eyes and ears open!

Lost Cat

Please Help Taz get back home. He was last seen on Tuesday, July 3, near Ravenna Ave NE and NE 70th St.

Taz is a neutered male cat with medium length black fur. He’s almost a year old, and a little smaller than average. He’s an indoor cat, and normally shy around strangers.

Please call,  text, and/or email if you have seen him. Phone number is 406-4111, and the email address is  LostRavennaCat@hotmail.com.

 

Found Dog

UPDATE (12:42 PM): Dog finder Vanessa tells us that the dog was chipped and the owner has been located!

This guy was found a little further out than Ravenna, but lost animals do wonder about.

This darling medium-sized, neutered, male dog was found the evening of 7/7/13 without any collar on Corliss Ave. N off of 92nd St. (The red harness pictured is a loaner.) He’s mostly black, with tan and white on his chest, legs, and feet. He was spotted on the loose in the same area a couple of weeks back (also collarless that time) but was not able to be apprehended — too fearful, shy, and skittish. Was won over with food and treats this time, and is an incredibly wonderful and loving guy, adapting readily to being around kind adults, kids, and another well-socialized dog. Will be taking him to vet shortly to verify whether he’s chipped. Please be in touch if you think you might know this dog and/or the owner — thank you! Contact info: rutabaga.unicycle@gmail.com.

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Dog found on Sunday, July 7, on Corliss Ave N off of NE 92nd St. Was also seen roaming in same area in late June.

Filed Under: Lost/Found, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna

Beloved metal animals stolen from Ravenna Park playground

June 18, 2013 by 4 Comments

Where Lucy the Pika once crouched…

Pika statue from Ravenna Park playground. Used with permission from Seattle Parks and Recreation.

…there is naught but a hole, a bent screw, and the name of the missing critter and her donor family.

Photo courtesy Tracy Sconyers

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

Of the eleven bronze animal sculptures that have graced the Ravenna Park playground since 2008, four reportedly went missing over the weekend: Two pika, a deer mouse, and a mourning dove.


View Ravenna Park playground in a larger map

From resident Tracey Sconyers, who lives near the park (via email):

My girls informed me today [Monday, June 17] that four of the small animal statues are missing from around the Ravenna Park playground. They noticed yesterday (Sunday) that they were gone. I walked over the the park about an hour ago, and it looks like two pika, one deer mouse, and one mourning dove were cut from the rocks. All the missing pieces were along the upper sidewalk area, the one that passes directly in front of the little maintenance building.
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Each [sculpture] was custom made for its location, and were a gift to the park, in commemoration for the extensive time and money that several families made to ensure that the playground was renovated.

Sconyers says she has called several local metal recyclers to make them aware of the thefts, and to keep an eye out for the sculptures.

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Joelle Hammerstad tells us that Parks has already contacted the artist, Rachel Boughton, about possible replacements if the stolen animals are not returned. Good news: The artist still has the molds.

You can see all of the animals that artist Rachel Broughton (Flying Dog Press and Gallery)  made for the playground here.

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

You can view the Friends of Ravenna Playground site here, thanks to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. The playground was renovated with money from grants and fundraising, and reopened with new play equipment in 2007.

Filed Under: Crime, Families, Kids, Lost/Found, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna Park

Man walks off bus into traffic on 35th Ave NE, is struck by oncoming vehicle

June 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

At 10:39 AM on Wednesday morning, Seattle Fire units responded to a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision on 35th Ave NE, just south of the intersection at NE 75th St.

Picture of the scene taken 50 minutes after the collision by local resident Lacia Lynne Bailey. Seattle Fire units had long since moved on, but SPD traffic investigators kept the street closed off while they worked.

Picture of the scene taken 50 minutes after the collision by local resident Lacia Lynne Bailey. Seattle Fire units had long since moved on, but SPD traffic investigators kept the street closed off while they worked.

The Seattle Fire Department reported on twitter that they had transported a male in his 20s to Harborview Medical Center. The victim was in “critical condition with heavy trauma.”

As for the incident itself, the Seattle Police Department Blotter described the circumstances this way:

At 10:39 am this morning a man got off a Metro coach and stepped into the southbound lanes of 35th Avenue NE.  He was struck by a car driving south on 35th and sustained life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the man was evaluated at the scene by Drug Recognition Experts, as is routine with incidents like this. The driver showed no obvious signs of impairment and was released from the scene just after 1 PM. Dectectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad were still processing the scene as of 1:26 PM, but said that the street “should reopen within the hour.”

We will update this post when we find out more information on the circumstances of the collision and/or updates on the man’s condition.

 

Filed Under: 911, Ravenna, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Wedgwood

Bai Pai on NE 65th St burglarized, suspects flee to Lake City (UPDATES)

May 30, 2013 by 2 Comments

Just before 5 PM on Thursday, May 30, Seattle Police Department officers responded a restaurant burglary in Ravenna.

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An officer at the scene of the burglary returns to his vehicle after interviewing a group of eyewitnesses.

Witnesses reported seeing two men (described to us by a female eyewitness as “meth heads”) fleeing the Thai restaurant Bai Pai (2316 NE 65th St), getting in a red car, and driving away. A third suspect, thought to be a female, was also involved in some capacity. (UPDATE: Only two suspects involved, police now say.)

Police pursued the car north into Lake City (via, in parts, 35th Ave NE and Sand Point Way NE) before calling off the chase as the vehicle drove on a sidewalk to continue the escape (per scanner).


View Bai Pai burglary and arrest location in a larger map

A short distance later, however, the occupants of the car had left the vehicle and were observed fleeing through yards. One male suspect was arrested near the 13000 block of 26th Avenue NE.

Scene near of the arrest of one of the suspects (at 25th Ave NE near 127th St NE). Photo courtesy Lake City Live.

Scene near of the arrest of one of the suspects (at 25th Ave NE near 127th St NE). Photo courtesy Lake City Live.

At least one suspect is in custody at this time, says the Seattle Police Department’s Blotter page on the incident. Police may be looking for one or two more.

More information here when we have it.

UPDATE (7:27 PM): The Seattle Police Department’s Blotter is now reporting that a second suspect is in custody, arrested not far from the first. More:

Preliminary investigation indicates that two adult male suspects entered the back door of a restaurant and stole an employee’s backpack full of personal effects. Several employees chased the suspects, who ran to a stolen vehicle and made their escape (this event was reported to police as a robbery).

Also in the report: The getaway car was a stolen vehicle, both suspects are in their 20s and are the ONLY suspects, and no one was injured.

UPDATE (Friday, May 31): Our friends over at Lake City Live have more information about the pursuit and the capture of the suspects, including details on one of the arrests:

An alert neighbor that was watching the events unfold on the Seattle Police Department’s Twitter feed in an exchange with Ravenna Blog, happened to be on the phone with his wife when a bleeding man wandered into their yard. She told him about the man in their yard and the husband, who was not home, immediately told her to call the police when he realized via Twitter that the chase was in his neighborhood. The woman gave a description of the bleeding man to a dispatcher and then officers with guns drawn quickly apprehended the man who was at that point casually walking down the street on his cell phone.

Lake City Live also got a picture of the mark the stolen car made when the suspects tried to evade the police by driving on the sidewalk:

Damage on the Kaffeeklatsch building shows where a car squeezed between the building and a fire hydrant as it was speeding from police. (Photo courtesy Lake City Live.)

Damage on the Kaffeeklatsch building (12513 Lake City Way NE) shows where a car squeezed between the building and a fire hydrant as it was speeding from police. (Photo courtesy Lake City Live.)

 

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Food, Lake City, Photos, Ravenna, Restaurants, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Common themes to residents’ NE 75th Street safety concerns revealed

May 18, 2013 by 4 Comments
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SDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator Jim Curtin (in white) talks to a group of residents about NE 75th Street concerns at the April 25 meeting at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center. Current Department of Neighborhoods Northeast District Coordinator Jenny Frankl also attended (in blue).

The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Traffic Safety Coordinator, Jim Curtin, sent an email to the NE 75th St email listserv this week, summarizing the input shared by neighbors about NE 75th St.

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Those attending the community input meetings were directed to describe street safety issues on Post-It Notes and stick them directly to maps of the area around NE 75th Street. The red stickers also indicate residents’ trouble spots.

Curtin’s email said “[h]undreds of comments have been collected through three public meetings and we’ve received more than 100 emails, letters, and completed comment sheets.”

The common themes of these comments have been:

  • Channelization improvements were requested along segments of NE 65th Street, NE 75th Street, 25th Avenue NE, 35th Avenue NE and Banner Way NE and at several signalized intersections.

  • Speeding is a problem along the NE 75th Street corridor and along segments of nearby arterial streets.

  • The eight schools in the area increase pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle volumes twice a day. Speeding on non-arterial streets during drop-off/pick-up hours is a problem near schools. Many students walk and bike to school and student safety is a priority for residents. New construction at Thornton Creek Elementary will likely change traffic patterns.

  • There is a strong desire to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety throughout the area. Suggestions included adding more and improving existing marked crosswalks, constructing sidewalks, adding bicycle facilities to NE 65th Street and NE 75th Street, and improving signal performance for pedestrians and cyclists.

  • Improve access to parks throughout the area and reduce speeds on adjacent streets Improve existing traffic signals to reduce turning movement conflicts with pedestrians and bicyclists and improve traffic flow.

  • Encroachments in the right-of-way limit pedestrian mobility and reduce visibility for all.

  • Congestion is an issue along several corridors during peak hours. This often leads to cut through traffic on non-arterial streets.

  • Existing parking restrictions should be reviewed and existing parking laws should be more strictly enforced. New parking restrictions are needed in a couple of locations.

  • Increased enforcement efforts are needed area-wide to address speeding, distraction driving, impaired driving, and pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.

  • Educational efforts should focus on behavioral issues like impairment, speeding, and distraction with more information about student, pedestrian, and bicycle safety.

Next week, a map of geographically-specific concerns and suggestions will be sent out to the listserv, Curtin said. You can request to receive future NE 75th St Road Safety Project emails here.

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Chief Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang (white, center) and Safe Routes to School Coordinator Brian Dougherty (navy, right) listen to residents concerns and take notes at the RECC community meeting held April 25.

After the map is complete, SDOT’s next steps in the NE 75th St Road Safety Project involve combining this public input with the already existing Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plans and traffic data. Options for future improvements will then be developed and presented to the community in July.

Filed Under: Bryant, Meeting, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Roosevelt, Seattle Department of Transportation, Wedgwood

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

Children’s Home Society land FOR SALE: 3.7 acres on NE 65th St could be yours

May 2, 2013 by 16 Comments

The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA) posted on their website today information about the sale of the Children’s Home Society of Washington (CHSW) property at 3300 NE 65th St.


View Children’s Home Society of Washington land for sale in a larger map

CHSW owns the entire block of 3300 NE 65th St, which neighbors the private Catholic school Assumption-St. Bridget, the Bryant Corner Cafe, the Northeast Branch of the Seattle Public Library, and lots of single family housing.

Offers on the property are due by Friday, May 17. A source of ours said that CHSW expects to raise $12-15 million dollars from the sale.

From the offering memorandum (PDF):

The Property encompasses the entire city block bounded by NE 65th Street, NE 68th Street, 32nd Avenue NE and 34th Avenue NE in Seattle’s Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood. The Site totals 3.7 acres and has seven existing buildings. The Site has been home to CHSW for over 100 years, receiving its first intake of children in 1908 when the area was still a woodsy exurb of bustling Seattle. Since the closure of the Cobb Center for Youth in 2010, the Site has been used by CHSW solely as administrative office space. CHSW currently operates out of the office building on the south end of the property and one of the cottage buildings. The two remaining cottage buildings are currently unoccupied.

The property carries three different zoning designations across its length: NC 1-30, LR-2, and SF-5000. (More information on what these zoning classifications mean here.)

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At the RBCA’s next board meeting on Tuesday, May 7, the sale of the property will be discussed. All residents are welcome to attend.

According to HistoryLink.org, “[t]he National Children’s Home Society was formed in Illinois in 1883 on the new idea of placing orphaned children for adoption in family foster homes rather than in orphanages.” Reverend Harrison D. Brown and his wife Libbie Beach Brown, who first oversaw the society’s work in Oregon, built a small receiving home in Green Lake in 1899. After it was destroyed in a fire in 1905, a new building was constructed in Ravenna, on donated land. Brown Hall (named for the Reverend) stood from 1907 until it was demolished in the 1970s to make way for more modern facilities.

Filed Under: Assumption-St. Bridget, Bryant, Businesses, History, Meeting, Northeast Branch, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Real Estate

“Tragedy of the preventable kind” — Schulte siblings and Harborview doctors speak to the press (UPDATE)

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Members of the media clustered around Dr. Francois Aspesberro, Marilyn Schulte, and Dan Schulte (left to right) at today's press conference at Seattle Children's.

Members of the media clustered around Dr. Francois Aspesberro, Marilyn Schulte, and Dan Schulte (left to right) at today’s press conference at Seattle Children’s.

At Seattle Children’s Hospital this morning, members of the Schulte family spoke to the media about the current medical conditions of Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and Baby Elias, the survivors of the DUI-related tragedy that occurred at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street on Monday, March 25.

Dan Schulte, husband of Karina and father of Elias, was joined by his sister, Marilyn, and two of the doctors involved in the care of Karina and Elias.

Dan and Marilyn’s parents, Judy and Dennis Schulte, died at the scene.

While the community has been able to follow medical updates on Karina and Elias’ conditions on their CaringBridge site, this is the first time that detailed medical information on the pair has been released.

UPDATE (5:51 PM): KIRO 7 has kindly made their footage of the entire press conference available (Flash player required):


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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)

Hundreds walk to remember, honor the Schulte family (PHOTOS) (last updated on Monday, April 1)

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)

Filed Under: Events, Hospitals, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Ravenna, Seattle Children's, Updates, Video, Wedgwood

Flashing school zone beacons going up on NE 75th Street (UPDATE)

April 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

This morning, a crew of three Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) workers started installing the first of two flashing school zone beacons on NE 75th Street.

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We were told by a crew member that both beacons, one on either side of Eckstein Middle School, would be installed by tomorrow, Friday, April 5.

Once the beacons are in, the next step is for Seattle City Light to hook them up to power.

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These flashing school zone beacons are one of the first projects listed by SDOT as planned improvements to NE 75th Street.

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Thank you to the Wedgwood Community Council, who spotted the work happening this morning and spread the word on twitter.

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UPDATE (Monday, April 22): On Friday, April 19, we got word from Seattle City Light’s Scott Thomsen that a crew had connected the east beacon that morning already, but would be back around 1 PM to connect the other.

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With that notice, the entire Ravenna Blog newsroom sped up the hill, in the rain, to catch the crew at their work…only to reach them just as they were pulling away!

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That was fast.

Now that spring break is over for Seattle students, we’re looking into whether the beacons have been in use yet or not. We’ll update this post again when we know for sure.

Filed Under: Eckstein Middle School, Photos, Ravenna, Seattle City Light, Seattle Department of Transportation, Wedgwood
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