Getting Around

Could electric trolley buses on Beacon Hill be endangered?

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Electric trolley buses such as this one (downtown) have been a common sight on Beacon Avenue for decades. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
Electric trolley buses such as this one (downtown) have been a common sight on Beacon Avenue for decades. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
If you live along the northern part of the 36 bus route, you probably know that many of the buses on that route are electric trolley buses. The trolley buses are good neighbors to have around; they are quiet and don’t spew exhaust or contribute to global warming. Currently, Metro is facing a big budget gap, and there have been rumors that this may mean cutting back on electric trolleys or removing them entirely.

In an interview with Seattle Transit Blog, short-term County Executive Kurt Triplett said they have “3 years to make that decision” because the existing trolleys have that much service life remaining. Commenter “serial catowner” posted a skeptical reply:

Having seen some of this stuff go down in my previous life, I can tell you right now you’re in extreme danger of losing the electric trolleys–and getting them back wouldn’t be easy.

The process is disarmingly simple- first, when you ask, they tell you “Nobody’s thinking of that”. And then, suddenly, it’s all “Well, that decision was made long ago, there’s nothing to be done about it now”…

…If they weren’t quietly preparing to jettison the ETBs, Triplett’s answer would have been “No, of course not, we’re not going to lose the only buses we have that can keep running when oil prices go up”.

A follow-up comment from an anonymous “transit voter” struck home:

Serial Catowner has it correct. Just remember the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, how it met its demise. The long knives were out, and they found their mark.

We don’t claim to have any inside knowledge on what Metro’s plans are for the trolleys, and anonymous commenters on a blog are not necessarily reliable, but it seems to us that if you like the electric trolleys that run on Beacon Hill and elsewhere in the city, it would certainly be a very good time to let someone know how you feel. You can email County Exec Triplett at kcexec@kingcounty.gov or use the mailing address and phone number on his website. You can also contact King County Council members Larry Gossett and Dow Constantine, who each serve part of Beacon Hill. Constantine is running for King County Executive, so contacting him with your concerns on this issue may be particularly important.

Urban Planning

Baffling “neighborhood” planning continues

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by Frederica Merrell

(Freddie is heading up an effort to wrangle the city’s planning department, to get it to more fully engage with the community and develop concrete neighborhood-enhancing proposals, with an ad-hoc group of neighbors as the North Beacon Hill Planning Advisory Committee. At tonight’s committee meeting, Lyle Bicknell with the Seattle DPD was invited to come and discuss the next steps in the neighborhood planning process. See the event calendar for upcoming meetings. — Ed.)

The City is speeding to a conclusion on our neighborhood plan update! Lyle Bicknell, our man at Department of Planning and Development (DPD), came and chatted with 17 residents who attended the North Beacon Hill Planning Advisory Committee meeting tonight. He shared sketchy preliminary plan recommendations and described next steps for the process. Here are my best notes on what I heard. Please pipe in with your own views if you attended. We met at El Centro thanks to Executive Director, Estella Ortega giving us a nice space in room 307.

Mike Podowski from DPD, who is an expert on zoning, generously gave us 30 minutes of his time to start. We received a “primer” on the neighborhood commercial zone rules and proposed multi-family zone rules. He provided handouts and I am putting the extras at the library. I won’t go into all the details but here are points of note:

  • Most of the existing zoning in our urban center is neighborhood commercial (NC-40) with a pedestrian orientation.
  • We also have some multi-family zoning intermittently along Beacon Avenue and on 14th (L2, L3)
  • Within the lightrail overlay near the station, there is no requirement for parking to be built for new multi-family housing or for commercial development.
  • We have a pedestrian overlay which also precludes the construction of parking or street entry between any new business development and the sidewalk.
  • Many of our existing businesses do not meet this code but are grandfathered in, so the pedestrian character will only develop as new buildings are constructed.

Continue reading Baffling “neighborhood” planning continues →

Crime

Phone snatchers, gold grabbers near the hospital

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Debbie writes with an account of a couple of brazen robberies last night along Beacon Avenue near Jefferson Park:

I was walking north along Beacon Ave yesterday evening, using my earbuds with my iPhone on a call. The phone was in my left hand. At about 7pm, I passed by two young black guys in white T-shirts and shorts. One was wearing a light gray knit cap. They turned around and one of them grabbed the phone from my hand and the two took off down the sidewalk. When they turned and saw I wasn’t pursuing, they slowed to a walk and cut into the VA parking lot. They had pulled the earbuds off the phone and tossed them to the ground. I ran to pick them up and caught up to them. I demanded my phone back, but they denied having it. I didn’t think it was worth physically fighting over, so I turned back as they continued to walk through the lot.

A man who had just parked his car saw me run toward the thieves. When I was within earshot of him, I said they had stolen my phone, so he called the police. The two crossed Beacon Ave and jumped the fence into the golf course. After our reports were taken, the officer took me to the Jefferson Community Center, where there was another report. A woman had a 14 kt necklace ripped from her neck about 15-20 minutes earlier than my incident. It sounded like one or two of the men involved with her necklace were the same as the ones who stole my phone.

She also passes along some advice:

I had a first generation iPhone, so it isn’t worth a whole lot these days. But when I get another phone, I’m going to get black third party earbuds so it won’t look like I have an Apple product. I will be more careful when I have the phone out on the street, I’ll save involved and lengthy conversations for indoors, and I will be more aware of the people around me and make eye contact as the officer advised. The part of Beacon Ave that the theft occurred in is also somewhat empty, so as much as possible I’m going to walk along 15th Avenue instead until it connects to Beacon to avoid walking around the VA area.

I’m not sure I’d agree about that stretch of Beacon being much less ‘safe’ than the sparse stretches of 15th, but I’ll add another safety tip: instead of keeping your i-device in your hand, put it in a pocket.

Urban Planning

SDOT plans 15th Avenue South improvements

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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.

Slide1

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.

Slide2

Click for the rest of the slideshow.
Continue reading SDOT plans 15th Avenue South improvements →

Getting Around, Neighborhood Pride

Not just good looks: station lights indicate elevator position

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And here we thought they just looked nice. Photo by Wendi.
And here we thought they just looked nice. Photo by Wendi.
Apparently the new lights on the Beacon Hill station that we featured in a photo post the other day are not just for looks. We’re told they have a function, too. The lights are blue when the elevator reaches the street level, then change to purple as the elevator goes down to the platform. If this is true, it makes it easier to see which elevator to stand in front of while waiting for the door to open — as long as it’s dark enough to see them, and if you are not color-blind.

Edited to add: I watched them tonight and the colors constantly change, whether the elevators are moving or not. When an elevator opens, the light over that elevator does turn blue — but it also turns blue randomly when the elevator isn’t even moving. When the elevator closes and goes down again, it does seem to turn purple. But since the colors randomly change, and the blue color change does not come until the doors open, it doesn’t seem very functional. It’s awfully pretty, though!

Crime

Juan Carlos Bonilla sentenced for 2008 slaying of Debra Bonilla

Juan Carlos Bonilla was sentenced today to 23 1/2 years in prison for killing his wife, Debra Lynn Bonilla, at their Beacon Hill home last year. Juan Carlos stabbed Debra at least a dozen times with a 13-inch barbecue fork in front of their two young children.

Bonilla pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month. Standard sentencing would be between 13 and 21 years in prison, but prosecutors argued for — and received — an exceptional sentence in this case.

Further information is at the P-I and the Times.

Getting Around, Local Events

Night Market and other Saturday events to affect area traffic

This mural overlooking Hing Hay Park will have a fine view of Saturdays Chinatown-International District Night Market. Photo by J. Brew.
This mural overlooking Hing Hay Park will have a fine view of Saturday's Chinatown-International District Night Market. Photo by J. Brew.
If you are planning to leave the Hill on Saturday, you may want to be aware of some nearby events that will affect traffic.

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Night Market will run from 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm at Hing Hay Park. The market features local vendors with food, gifts, art, and more. There will also be entertainment, games, and the Bruce Lee movie Enter The Dragon at dusk. It’s free and open to the public. Streets in the area will be closed from 3:00 pm until Midnight. Easiest way to get there? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the International District/Chinatown station, then walk two blocks East on South King Street.

The Central Area Community Festival will run from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm at the Garfield Community Playfield, 2223 E Cherry Street. There won’t be any street closures, but you should expect heavy traffic in the surrounding area.

And, lastly, there’s a pre-season football game. The Seahawks will take on the hated Denver Broncos in Qwest Field at 7:30 pm. 45,000 are expected to attend, so avoid the stadium area if you need to drive at that time. Going to the game? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the Stadium station, then walk west, then north, to Qwest Field. It’s hard to miss.

Education

Van Asselt grant applications coming to your door

Keyunda Wilson, a teacher at Van Asselt Elementary School, writes to let neighbors know that the knock at the door this afternoon may not be from an annoying alarm system or magazine subscription salesman:

Van Asselt Elem. staff members will be going door to door today, 8/19 from 3-5pm, passing out flyers and sharing information about our plans to bring a community playground to the African American Academy building. We are applying for a grant and one of the requirements is that we get community members and neighbors to commit to helping us. Ways that you can support us would be to attend a planning meeting, donate snacks or building materials on the day of the build, help build the play structure, help gather signatures of commitment, etc.

Look for the dedicated staff members in your area and please show your support!

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Keyunda by email at krwilson@seattleschools.org or by phone at 206-252-7505.

Urban Planning

DPD rep to preview neighborhood plan update recommendations tomorrow

Neighbors gathered in May to discuss updates to the neighborhood plan. Photo by Jason.
Neighbors gathered in May to discuss updates to the neighborhood plan. Photo by Jason.
As mentioned earlier on this page, Lyle Bicknell, from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD), will be presenting preliminary recommendations to the North Beacon Hill Council‘s Neighborhood Planning Ad Hoc Committee this Thursday, August 20, at 7:00 pm at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Avenue South, in room 307.

The meeting is public and open to all.  Lyle Bicknell has been leading the Neighborhood Plan Update process for North Beacon Hill, Othello, and the Mount Baker Station area in Rainier Valley.  He will present zoning change options, as well as preview other components that DPD expects to include in the update.

Thanks to David Gackenbach for the reminder!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: B-boys, beats, burglar alarms, and block watches

The documentary film It Might Get Loud features Beacon Hill resident Randy Parsons.
The documentary film It Might Get Loud features Beacon Hill resident Randy Parsons.
Massive Monkees, who sometimes drop in at the Jefferson Park community center, demonstrated their dance moves to Beyonce’s “Work It Out” on this week’s episode of America’s Best Dance Crew — with the added bonus of hula hoops.

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Andrew Matson at the Times is interviewing Beacon Hill’s own Blue Scholars about their new EP OOF! later this week, and to whet your appetite, he’s posted a link to the video for “Coffee and Snow”, filmed and released during last December’s Snowpocalypse. The video features shots of Beacon Avenue, the VA hospital, and possibly the Othello Safeway, all covered in a thick layer of white. What other locations can you spot?

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Do you have a home security system? Madison Park Blogger has some hard truths about Seattle Police alarm response.

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Guitar craftsman and Beacon Hill resident Randy Parsons is featured in the new documentary film opening August 28, It Might Get Loud, about guitar icons from three different generations: Jack White, the Edge, and Jimmy Page.

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Beacon Hill neighbor Tess Martin tells us what the Beacon Hill library branch means to her, on the Friends of the Seattle Public Library blog.

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There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the new “green” homes on Beacon Hill. The developers, Dwell Development, have several projects in Southeast Seattle. They are definitely a different aesthetic than the typical Beacon Hill house, but interesting.

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Mike Cheney is looking to create a South Beacon Hill block watch for neighbors in and around New Holly and areas nearby. This effort would be completely unrelated to the Citizens for the 2nd Amendment group or Mike’s own informal neighborhood patrols. Whether you agree or disagree politically, Mike’s aim here is simply to help make Beacon Hill a safer place to live. If you’re interested in helping get a block watch organized, contact Mike: redboneshadow@yahoo.com.

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Amber Swim, Program Coordinator for Girls on the Run of Puget Sound is looking for female volunteer coaches to help deliver “an after-noon school prevention program that uses the power of running to educate and prepare preteen girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.”

Girls on the Run coaches do NOT need to be elite runners. Any woman who lives a healthy lifestyle and is committed to improving the lives of girls can be a GOTR coach. Details at http://www.girlsrun.org/coaching.html.

Amber can be reached by phone at 206-528-2118, or by email at amber@girlsrun.org. The deadline to apply is September 4th.