Roosevelt

Spoke & Food: Bike to dinner for good on July 30

July 23, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 4 Comments

How about we take a timeout from bicycle infrastructure matters, and get back to basics: It’s fun to ride a bike. Especially in the summer. ESPECIALLY to go meet friends for dinner, at a local joint.

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Thanks to our own sponsors in the last year, the Ravenna Blog was able to help sponsor another great local thing: The fourth annual Spoke & Food evening of dining and bikes!

From the Spoke & Food website:

Participation is easy. All you need to do is to bike to and from one of our participating host restaurants on the evening of our event. Invite your friends or family to meet you, bring your neighbors, pack up your kids or go at it alone.

Each of our participating host restaurants have agreed to donate 20% of ALL of their patron revenues from the evening of the event directly to the local non-profit that we select each year.

Dine at any of the participating restaurants listed on the Spoke & Food website from 5:30-9:30 PM on Tuesday, July 30th, 2013, and 20% (or more) of your dinner bill will be donated directly to the Bike Works non-profit.

TWENTY different restaurants around Seattle are participating this year, two of which are in our neck of the woods:

50 North

5001 25th Ave NE #100;

just south of the Burke-Gilman Trail at 25th Ave NE

Vios Cafe & Pub

6504 20th Ave NE;

inside Ravenna Third Place Books

From the Bike Works About page:

Bike Works is an innovative organization centered around bicycles that combines youth development, community engagement, bicycle recycling and a social enterprise bike shop to help build a sustainable and healthy community.

We’ll be stopping by these locations on the night of the event to check in, and perhaps to nosh.

Filed Under: Events, Families, Food, Fundraiser, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Restaurants, Roosevelt, University District

Cafe Racer Love: Concert at the cafe and walk to Cowen Park on May 30

May 28, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

Those lost during the shootings at Cafe Racer a year ago will be remembered and celebrated this Thursday, May 30 with music and friends and a great deal of Cafe Racer Love.

Cafe Racer’s Kurt Geissel told us that Orkestar Zirkonium will play a concert at the cafe (5828 Roosevelt Way NE) at 8 PM. An hour later, at 9 PM, Cafe Racer will close early, and everyone will walk over to Cowen Park.

Taken on May 31, 2012 at Cafe Racer.

Earlier in the month, the Seattle Weekly and the Seattle Times both published pieces about the shootings, now a year in the rearview mirror. Both, touching portraits of a gathered family hit by violence, but moving forward in love and community.

Seattle Weekly (May 7, 2013): Cafe Racer, Gun Violence, and the Power of Song

Following the shooting, [Racer Sessions] grappled with whether or not to hold the usual Sunday-night session. “Ultimately we decided that there’s no way in hell we’d cancel it,” says Icasiano. “On a Sunday night, there’s nothing we would rather be doing than hanging out and playing music at Racer. We just figured we do music, so we should do that to help.”

Seattle Times (May 11, 2013): A year later: Cafe Racer lives on.

“Knowing that so many people are there for you, it’s mind-boggling,” [Leonard Meuse] said. “Powerful.”

Moving forward? It’s simple, he said. But not easy. His advice:

“Love. Love more than you can. The more you love, the more you put out, the more it’s going to come in.”

Want to know more about Cafe Racer in general? HistoryLink.org’s Peter Bletcha published this essay on “Seattle’s Famously Quirky Dive” in October 2012.

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Ravenna Blog posts about Cafe Racer from last year:

Shooting at Cafe Racer in Roosevelt (UPDATES) – May 30, 2012

Our post from the day of the shootings. Most recent updates were listed at the top of the post.

Cafe Racer community remembers, and celebrates (PHOTOS) – May 31, 2012

The night after the shootings, members of the Cafe Racer family met at the cafe to mourn together, and to remember their lost friends. And to make music together.

Video and impressions of Thursday night’s “Walk for Love” – June 1, 2012

Jens Wazel and Lucia Neare of Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders organized a “Walk for Love” that started at Cowen Park and wound its way through the neighborhoods around Cafe Racer, before finally stopping at the cafe. Respects were paid at the houses of those killed who were locals as the walk proceeded. Participants carried bells that gently rang during the procession.

Filed Under: Cowen Park, Meeting, Memorials, Music, Roosevelt, University District

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

May 18, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 4 Comments

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.

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.

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

Next step in NE 75th Street improvements? YOU.

April 12, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

On Monday, April 1, the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) shared a NE 75th Street Improvement Plan they had been working on since the tragic events of March 25.

Part of that plan was a timeline for this improvement work (PDF), and it is time for Element Number 2: Issue Identification and Outreach.

Intersection of 25th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street, looking east.

This is where YOU come in.

SDOT has set up three meetings in neighborhoods along NE 75th Street at which residents can share their frustrations about and ideas for the arterial, as well as discuss these issues with SDOT staff.

There are three dates for residents to choose from. Please attend whichever date fits your schedule.

Tuesday, April 23rd, 6-8:30 PM, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE)
Thursday, April 25th, 2-4 PM, Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)
Wednesday, May 1st, 7-9 PM, Calvary Christian Assembly (6801 Roosevelt Way NE)

View NE 75th St Community Meetings w/SDOT in a larger map

After these community meetings, the next step on the NE 75th Improvement Timeline is taking community input, combining it with collected traffic data, and coming up with a conceptual design to bring back to the community.

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Construction, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Department of Transportation, Traffic, Wedgwood

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

April 9, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 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.

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.

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

T-bone/Rollover collision at 12th Ave NE and NE 75th St (PHOTOS)

April 3, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

Wednesday morning, at approximately 10:15 AM, Seattle Fire Department units responded to a two car t-bone/rollover collision at 12th Avenue NE and NE 75th St.

Rollover scene, approximately 30 minutes after the collision. Photo by Allan Waite, Roosevelt resident.

From Seattle Fire Department PIO Kyle Moore:

Engine Company 16 , Engine Company 17, Ladder Company 9 , Medic 1 and Medic 44 responded to 12th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street for a 2 car MVA. It was a t-bone accident with an SUV on its side. The other car was a station wagon. Medics evaluated the driver of the station wagon and determined she did not need medical treatment. The driver and passenger of the flipped over SUV were transported to an area hospital by AMR as a precaution. The driver and the passenger of the SUV all were able to self extricate. They were wearing their seatbelts and the airbags did deploy.

Seattle Police are investigating the cause.

SUV after being righted. Photo by Allan Waite.

Filed Under: 911, Photos, Roosevelt, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department, Traffic

Details of local purse snatcher’s arrest; arraignment on Thursday (UPDATE)

March 13, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 7 Comments

We’ve obtained a copy of the charging documents filed on Friday, March 1 against Robin McDougall-Treacy, the area man arrested after stealing a woman’s purse and thought to have robbed five other individuals, at knifepoint.

McDougall-Treacy will be charged with robbery in the second degree for the Tuesday, February 26 attempted robbery of a woman in Roosevelt. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 14, and we will there to cover it. (UPDATE BELOW.)

Seattle Police Department investigators are also working on linking McDougall-Treacy to five other “striking similar armed street robberies” that occurred in our area between February 2 and the date of his arrest.

Here’s KIRO 7 News’ report from their 5 PM newscast that aired on Tuesday, February 26 about the arrest earlier that day:

Along with the charging documents, we also have the case investigation report, which includes the details of the burglary and arrest of McDougall-Treacy on Tuesday, February, 26.

February 26 Burglary and Arrest

At about 1:30 PM, several calls came in to 911 from neighbors in the 7100 block of Roosevelt Way NE. They reported variously that a woman had just been robbed on the street and the suspect could be seen, knife in hand, running through yards. He was described as a white male, in his 20s, with a heavy build, wearing a black hoody and a black scarf around his face.

Officers apprehended the suspect about eight minutes later in the backyard of a house on the 1000 block of NE 71st St. He was found hiding in an alcove, and had a red and black backpack with him.

A witness who had been chasing the suspect stated to officers that in the backyard of a nearby house, “he (the witness) slipped and fell, losing sight of the suspect,” who had been wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Moments later, the suspect, still running, was seen wearing a red sweatshirt.

Several witnesses and the victim herself participated, separately, in a “show-up” at the scene (to identify the suspect as the person who was seen stealing the purse and fleeing). The witnesses variously stated that the suspect was the man seen robbing the woman earlier and that his clothing (pants and shoes) matched those of the suspect.

When interviewed by an officer about the crime, the woman who was robbed explained that she had been walking down the sidewalk at approximately NE 71st St and Roosevelt Way NE when an unknown white male wearing a black hoody and jeans confronted her from behind. She felt a tug on her purse, turned around, and saw the suspect holding a knife sheath in one hand while he used the knife to cut the shoulder strap. The victim said that she and the suspect ended up on the pavement in the struggle for her purse, causing some pain to her elbow. As the suspect fled, the victim started screaming and gave chase, as did several other people (males) in the area.

The victim described her purse and the contents, which included her phone. Her phone number was dialed by a detective at the scene, which then caused a phone to ring from inside McDougall-Treacy’s backpack. However, her other stolen items and McDougall-Treacy’s black sweatshirt and knife were not found by officers in the area.

The day after his arrest (Wednesday, February 27), McDougall-Treacy’s backpack was searched and the victim’s missing items were located within, as were “a black jacket with hood, a black neck fleece gator, a black knit cap, a pair of black and grey gloves” and a three-to-four-inch silver-bladed folding knife. All of these items were placed into evidence.

The Storage Unit

When McDougall-Treacy was asked by a detective for the address of where he was living, “[McDougall-Treacy] said he could not stay at his parents’ house,” but added upon further questioning that he kept his belongings in a storage unit in the Roosevelt neighborhood. Among the items suspect had on him at the time of the arrest was a keychain that had the address and name of the storage facility on it.

When a detective called the storage facility, the assistant manager said that he was familiar with McDougall-Treacy who uses a storage unit rented out under his mother’s name. The assistant manager also said that their records indicated that the suspect had been at the facility on a day when one of the other robberies had taken place about two blocks away from the business (on Wednesday, February 20). The first robbery that day occurred at approximately 2:10 PM, and McDougall-Treacy was recorded visiting the storage facility at 2:13 PM. (The second robbery on February 20 occurred at approximately 2:55 PM near NE 65th Street and 36th Avenue NE.)

A search warrant was obtained for the storage unit which was searched the day after the suspect’s arrest. Detectives recovered “two folding knives, a black hooded sweatshirt, a pair of white sneakers and a brown purse (strap intact).” One of these knives resembles the weapon described by the victim of one of the other robberies.

Custody, Charging, and Next Steps

On Friday, March 1, Robin McDougall-Treacy was charged with Robbery in the Second Degree (for the robbery which occurred the day he was arrested) by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. Bail was set at $250,000.

At his arraignment today, Thursday, March 14, McDougall-Treacy entered a plea of not guilty to this second degree robbery charge.

McDougall-Treacy (far left) at his arraignment hearing at the King County Courthouse on Thursday, March 14.

McDougall-Treacy (far left) at his arraignment hearing presided over by Assistant Chief Criminal Judge Jim Rogers at the King County Courthouse on Thursday, March 14.

Additionally, the suspect was charged with robbery in the first degree for the robber by knifepoint that occurred on Wednesday, February 20, around 2:55 PM. The suspect entered a plea of not guilty for this charge as well.

The next date of activity in this case is a case setting scheduled for Thursday, March 28. A case setting is “an informal hearing where the prosecution and the defense have an opportunity to discuss the case.”

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Video

Section of 15th Ave NE north of Cowen Park Bridge to close for utility repairs

March 8, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

Next week, drivers and pedestrians alike may want to avoid a section of 15th Avenue NE due to some utility repairs that will close all but one lane.

View 15th Avenue NE Utility Repairs in a larger map

From the Seattle Department of Transportation traffic advisory email:

Next week a private contractor working on underground utilities will close all but one lane on 15th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 63rd and Northeast 65th streets. North- and southbound traffic will alternate with the assistance of traffic flaggers, and the sidewalk on the west side will be closed with a pedestrian detour to the east side of the street, also assisted by traffic flaggers. The crews plan to work from Monday March 11 to Friday March 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and possibly into the following week, if needed.

Outside of 9AM-3PM, the roadway and sidewalk will be reopened. Inside of 9AM-3PM, we may want to use NE 75th St instead.

Filed Under: Construction, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Department of Transportation, Traffic

Demolition begins along NE 63 St in Roosevelt; 6-story apartments to come (UPDATE)

February 28, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 4 Comments

From Jim O’Halloran this morning (of Roosevelt Land Use fame), some breaking construction news. As in: Four houses along NE 63rd Street in Roosevelt are about to be broken.

Implements of demolition along NE 63rd St between Roosevelt Way NE and 12th Ave NE. Photo by Jim O’Halloran

Four single family homes are making way for a six-story building containing four live/work units and 108 residential units. There are to be 70 parking spaces underground.

The project’s page on the city’s Department of Planning and Development site shows that the demolition permits were issued last November. But the permit for the “Shoring & Excavation of site for future building construction” was issued yesterday, Wednesday, February 27.

UPDATE (12:57 PM): From Jim via email, “A scant four hours later…”

The “after” shot, photo again by Jim O’Halloran.

Filed Under: Construction, Photos, Roosevelt, Updates

Fifth, possibly sixth purse snatching yields an arrest in Roosevelt (UPDATES)

February 26, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 6 Comments

At 1:29 PM this afternoon, KIRO 7 alerted us to some Seattle Police Department information indicating a fifth local robbery. And now it appears that there has been an arrest, ~~prior to~~ during a sixth attempt.

View Robberies by knifepoint in February (6) in a larger map

From the Seattle Police Department’s twitter feed:

Ofcrs searching for purse thief near 71/Roosevelt. Man in red windbreaker cut a woman's purse strap and ran off. More info to come.

— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) February 26, 2013

And this one, from half an hour later:

Officers have 1 person in custody near scn of 71st and Roosevelt purse snatching. More updates as we get them.

— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) February 26, 2013

Screen grabs from KIRO’s Chopper 7 live feed of the arrest scene (near NE 71st St and 12th Ave NE; via twitter)

http://twitter.com/tifotter/status/306525746036371456

Per scanner: 44 y/o woman assaulted in purse snatching. #Roosevelt #Ravenna Suspect in custody, 7 inch knife recovered.

— Mitch Spute (@MitchSpute) February 26, 2013

We will update this post with more information as we get it. BIG THANKS to our friends at KIRO 7 for their help today.

UPDATE (2:56 PM): The SPD Blotter has a post up now, with all the info known up to today, including the newest robbery, which happens to have been the very first:

The first robbery was reported on February 2nd, by a 91-year-old woman, who said a man armed with a knife had stolen her purse as she was walking up the steps to her home near NE 75th and 39th NE.

UPDATE (4:59 PM): Here is the recorded live feed from KIRO’s Chopper 7 during the arrest of the suspect (Flash required):

UPDATE (6:44 PM): Tonight’s KIRO 7 News segment on today’s attempted purse snatching and arrest (Flash required):

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Northeast Seattle, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Video