Beacon Hill Blog

Rocking, cycling, and gardening: Beacon Hill sights

The new ROCKiT space non-profit music and art organization on Beacon Avenue held their grand opening this weekend. Bridget Christian was there, and has posted a great set of photos from the event on Flickr. She says, “GREAT place for kids… all kinds of art stuff to do, books, instruments to mess around on.”

Jesse Vernon, of The Stranger, recently discovered the Chief Sealth Trail, which, he says, starts on Beacon Hill and then “transports you to Kubota Garden via Ireland. Or New Zealand. Or some other place with rolling green hills I’ve never been.” However, some commenters on Vernon’s post complained about the trail’s hills, and one commenter, Kinkos, suggested that the best way to ride the trail is to “take light rail to beacon hill, ride to the trailhead, then ride downhill on the trail to near the end – to the rainier beach sta. catch the train back to beacon hill, and repeat.”

Willie Weir has been photographing his Beacon Hill garden all year as part of an “exercise in extreme local travel” — enjoying the sights close to home that we often overlook. He’s posted a gorgeous video collection of last spring’s photos on YouTube.

Tags: art, bicycles, chief sealth trail, gardening, kubota garden, music, photography, rockit space, willie weir

Beacon Bits: Dancing, cycling, volunteering

America’s Best Dance Crew started with nine dance groups at the beginning of the competition. On Sunday night, local heroes Massive Monkees made it to the top three. See them “Tearin’ Up My Heart” here. This week was extra-special for at least one of the group — Samnith Ly, otherwise known as Lil’ Lazy, married Lianna Kalyanei on 9/9/09 at 9:09 pm. Congratulations to the newlyweds!

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Neighbors Willie Weir and Kat Marriner are on a bicycle adventure… to Portland. Willie writes in his blog Yellow Tent Adventures, “what if rather than having a city as a starting point, the city WAS the adventure?… We have visited Portland before. But how will our experience differ while pedaling around the city on a couple of fully-loaded touring bikes?” Willie and Kat won’t be sleeping in a hotel, but instead, they are bringing their camping supplies and planning to camp in the city — somewhere. How are they getting the bikes to Portland? By train, of course.

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Anthony B. Robinson writes about the experience of volunteering at a Beacon Hill food bank — Crosscut

Tags: bicycles, dance, food banks, massive monkees, volunteers, willie weir

SDOT plans 15th Avenue South improvements

At the July North Beacon Hill Council meeting, Judith Edwards invited Brian Dougherty of the Seattle Department of Transportation to present SDOT’s possible improvements to the 15th Avenue South corridor from Beacon Avenue south to Spokane Street and on to Columbian Way. Neighbors along this corridor were specially invited to attend and share their views and opinions about what’s wrong and what’s right about traffic there, and to weigh-in on the potential improvements.

Q: What’s the difference between a bike lane and a sharrow?
A: Sharrows for wider areas of roadway that are not wide enough for a dedicated lane, or for downhill stretches where bikes are expected to maintain vehicle speed.

The changes are largely driven by the bicycle master plan which prioritzed routes along 15th Avenue South & 12th Avenue South from Jose Rizal Park to Columbian Way. The changes for bike facilities are planned for this year. Markings and traffic changes can be installed with relative ease with current configuration from Jose Rizal Park to Beacon Avenue. At Beacon, peak parking restrictions (7-9am, 4-6pm) cause problems for bike facilities. Neither bike lanes or sharrows work in current configuration.

Almost unanimously, the neighbors along 15th felt that traffic runs too fast for the street, and when combined with the parking situation and lack of well-marked and signalled crossings makes it very dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.

The slides of the presentation are below. If you’d like to share your thoughts with SDOT on possible traffic flow or parking improvements, you can email Brian at brian.dougherty@seattle.gov.

Click for the rest of the slideshow.
More »

Tags: bicycles, parking, pedestrians, sdot, traffic

Give it Up: An open letter to my local and state representatives

by Willie Weir

(Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Willie Weir, cross-posted from his blog, Yellow Tent Adventures. Check it out!)

Mayor Nickels–give it up. Seattle City Council members. You too. As well as King County Council members, Governor Gregoire, State representatives and all candidates for the above offices.

I’m talking about your car. For a week. Just a week.

You see, my wife and I answered the call to help the region and the planet by giving up our car over four years ago. With climate change upon us, it was imperative that we transition out of our auto-centric society. Get on the bus. Get on our bikes. Get out and walk.

There were plenty of incentive programs offered by our city and county governments, including the Way to Go Seattle: One Less Car Challenge. We took advantage of the Washington State Vehicle Redistribution Program… our car was stolen. We opted not to replace it.

We were in a good position to give up our car. We don’t have kids. We live on Beacon Hill with frequent bus service (and now light rail). We have stores, restaurants, a library, and a park all within a ten minute walking distance of our house. We both do most of our work from home.

Easy.

OK. Walking up the hill from the grocery store with a 20lb Thanksgiving turkey in an excursion-size backpack wasn’t easy. Waiting outside in a 40 degree drizzle for a bus that never came wasn’t fun. And taking 4 buses and a ferry to get to Sequim wasn’t convenient.

It didn’t take long to understand that for someone who owns a private vehicle, our city and region’s public transportation, bike paths and pedestrian corridors are top notch. Because when it isn’t easy, fun or convenient… you take your car.

When I joined the ranks of the carless, I began an education in how auto-centric our green little region is, and how far we have to go to get to be a truly livable place … for everyone.

How many of my neighbors park their cars across the sidewalk. How cracked and poorly maintained those sidewalks are. How fast the cars fly by on our residential streets. How few cars yield to me in a cross walk. How few bike racks there are outside the businesses I frequent. How poorly signed (or not at all) the bike routes are throughout the city. How terrifying biking can be in downtown Seattle. How little park space we have downtown and how much space we devote to parking.

So many issues and problems invisible to me while driving in my own personal vehicle.

Now I’m asking you all to give up your car. Not for four years. Just seven days.

For seven days live the life that few have chosen and many have no choice but to live.

Believe me, no matter how long you have lived in or served this region, you’ll learn things that will surprise you.

I know I did. And I’ve lived here for 25 years.

The best decisions about transit and neighborhood planning will be made by government officials who have taken the time to live a life without a car as an option.

Give it up.

We’ll all be glad you did.

Sincerely,

Willie Weir
Beacon Hill, Seattle

Tags: bicycles, living carless, pedestrians

Images of June on Beacon Hill

Photos from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr:

Thanks to everyone who posted photos in the pool! We love seeing all of your amazing views of the Hill.

Tags: bicycles, jefferson park, sunset

Bike lane added to 15th Avenue S

15th Avenue South at the north tip of Beacon Hill has been restriped, with a bike lane added to one side of the street and sharrows to the other side.

This part of 15th tends to have drivers who drive excessively fast. Cyclists, remember the bike lane doesn’t guarantee your safety, so please be careful out there; drivers, please watch out for cyclists both here on 15th and elsewhere on the hill, and remember that it is illegal to drive in the bike lane.

(The dedicated bike lane does run only a few blocks before going back to “sharrows”, but it’s a start! — Jason)

Tags: 15th avenue s, bicycles, bike lanes

Beacon Bits: liquor licensing, disaster preparedness, and a bike ride to Alki

• A new applicant, Young Rae No, has applied to assume the liquor license at the M.C. Food Store at 4800 Beacon Avenue South (Beacon and Columbian). The license being applied for is “Grocery store — beer / wine”: a “license to sell beer and/or wine for off-premises consumption in bottles, cans, or original containers.” See the notice here.
• A Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) disaster preparedness program is coming to North Beacon Hill, with a workshop on June 4. Presenters from the city’s Office of Emergency Management will discuss safeguarding your home before a disaster happens, quake-safe actions, and building neighborhood preparedness teams. The workshop is free and open to all, at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South, Thursday, June 4, 6:30 – 8:00 pm.
• 37th District Representative Eric Pettigrew is hosting a community access meeting about health care issues on Monday, June 1, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Room 209, 1634 19th Avenue. The meeting is free and open to the public.
• Hello Bicycle is hosting their first Beacon Hill group bicycle ride this Saturday. All are welcome. Be at Hello Bicycle at 10 am for a moderate speed bike ride with the group to Alki Beach, and return just after noon for tacos from El Quetzal. Hello Bicycle is at 3067 Beacon Avenue South.

Tags: bear, bicycles, disaster preparedness, eric pettigrew, health care, hello bicycle, liquor license, mc food store, not on the hill

Beaconian tells of bicycle journey through Thailand and Laos

Beacon Hill resident and KUOW commentator Willie Weir and his wife Kat spent three months in 2006 bicycling in Thailand and Laos, enjoying amazing travel experiences while discovering the differences and unique challenges of each country. Weir will present the story of their journey, A Tale of Twos: Cycling Thailand & Laos, at the REI flagship store on January 22 at 7:00 pm.

Tags: bicycles, travel, willie weir

Hit and run of bicyclist at 21st & College: can you find the driver?

A bicyclist was struck and injured by a ’80s Oldsmobile Cutlass or Chevy, navy blue in color with a white top, that fled the scene at 21st Ave. S & S College St. this afternoon at approximately 1:49pm. The rider suffered life-threatening injuries from the impact and medics transported him to Harborview. Anyone with information about the vehicle (which probably has front-end damage) or its owner is encouraged to call 911 and report it.

More details at SPDBlotter.

View Larger Map

Tags: accidents, bicycles, hit and run

Beacon Bits: Veterans, bridges, and Metro, schools, and snow

• A panel advocating for veterans of the (first) Persian Gulf War will hold public hearings at the VA medical center on Beacon Hill this month. The Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans will be here Jan. 14 and 15. The committee is holding a series of public meetings to receive feedback before recommending programs to help Gulf War vets. — Now Hear This (P-I blog)
• The city’s blocked off part of bicycle/pedestrian sidewalk on the Jose Rizal Bridge to fix an erosion problem. No estimate for completion given, though. — Getting There
• With this Sunday night snow, so far Seattle schools are still opening on-time and Metro advises checking for service revisions before you head out tomorrow. SDOT has 16+ trucks out sanding and plowing. Drive carefully if it doesn’t all melt off overnight!

Tags: bicycles, hospital, jose rizal bridge, medical center, pedestrians, repair, va, veterans

Say “Hello” to Hello Bicycle

Earlier this evening, I stopped in at Beacon Hill’s newest neighborhood business, Hello Bicycle. Mickey, the owner, has some temporary signage up and the doors open for customers. Still to be worked out are lighting, phone, and additional display racks, but they’ll be happy to show you some bikes for sale, get you some repair parts, or fix and tune your old Schwinn, Mongoose, or Cannondale.

The grand opening is still a little ways off, but feel free to stop in during their “soft opening.” The shop is located at Hanford and Beacon, right across the street from Kusina Filipina.

Tags: bicycles, business, hello bicycle