I-5 Express Lane closure this weekend as Northgate Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge spans arrive

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Posted: February 26, 2021

The I-5 Express Lanes will be closed all weekend to facilitate this delivery and construction across I-5. The express lanes are closing early (at 9:00 pm) on Friday, February 26 and will remain closed all day Saturday and Sunday. They will reopen Monday, March 1, at the usual time. 

By fall 2021, you will be able to walk, roll and bike safely above I-5 using the Northgate Ped/Bike Bridge thanks to your investment through the Levy to Move Seattle. The Northgate Link Extension is expected to open this year and the Northgate Ped/Bike Bridge is a crucial piece of an important puzzle we’re putting together with regional partners to ensure walking, rolling, and biking to the Northgate Station is easier and safer.  

This weekend, our contractor will deliver one of two final bridge spans, which have been constructed off-site. They will be stored in the median between the express ramp and I-5 northbound lanes. They will be installed over I-5 in the coming months. 

Earthquake warning system to roll out in Washington, Oregon

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Posted: February 17, 2021

 The earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert will be capable of delivering alerts directly to wireless devices in Oregon on March 11 and to Washington state in May, completing the West Coast rollout, the U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday.

The ShakeAlert system, which warns of significant quakes, has been enabled in California since October 2019.

The system uses a network of sensors that detect the start of an earthquake and calculates magnitude, location and the expected amount of shaking. It sends the information in real time to distributors that send out alerts to cellphones and the internet.

The information moves so quickly that people may have valuable seconds to protect themselves before shaking arrives, trains can be slowed or industrial processes stopped.

The USGS said that as of Jan. 31, the West Coast network was 70% complete, with 1,132 out of 1,675 seismic stations installed.

The USGS and partners plan a Feb. 18 outreach to Pacific Northwest residents on Reddit and a test message on Feb. 25 to Washington’s King, Pierce and Thurston counties, delivered to wireless devices through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alerting & Warning System.

Learn how to opt in to the Feb. 25 test here.

This article is from KNKX

Snow and Rain Flooding and Storm Drain Cleaning

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Posted: February 15, 2021

When the weather warms, a combination of rain and melting snow can cause urban flooding. The SPU Operations Response Center and operations crews will stay vigilant and be ready to respond to flooding. Customers can help reduce ponding or flooding by removing snow and ice from local storm drains with a snow shovel, garden shovel, rake or another strong tool.

 Customers can also call SPU Operations Response Center at (206) 386-1800 to report flooding or ponding from a blocked storm drain. 

Wireless Emergency Alert Test Coming Feb. 25

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Posted: February 9, 2021

The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) is a system that broadcasts public safety messages over the commercial cellular system. Customers with compatible smartphones can receive geographically targeted, text-like messages alerting them to threats to safety in their area. All WEA alerts, regardless of type, behave the same. The device makes a distinctive notification sound and vibration and the message pops up in a text window on the screen. The WEA system is one of multiple methods that will be powered by the ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning system.

On Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 at 11 a.m. PST, the Washington Emergency Management Division and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will jointly send a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) test message across many wireless devices in King, Pierce and Thurston Counties. You must OPT IN to receive the test. Read directions below to learn how to do this. If you don’t live in these counties, we’d invite you to opt in anyway so you will be ready when we do a larger test. This demonstration is a run-up to our launch later this year of an Earthquake Early Warning system in Washington state.

The full notice is available at their site.

Seattle Parks and Recreation needs input on concept designs for Bitter Lake Play Area and Comfort Station Renovation

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Posted: February 4, 2021

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Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the community to participate in an Online Open House on Tuesday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m. for the Bitter Lake Play Area and Comfort Station Renovation project. Please register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hEZP73eaTayHmb2ADQ72uA for the online event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information and directions on how to participate in the webinar. Please visit the park, 13035 Linden Ave. N, and join us online to meet the design team and provide input on the three concept designs they have developed.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the initial survey for this project. Your input was incorporated into the design from Hoshide Wanzer Architects and Berger Partnership, and they are eager to share the concept designs with you and gather your feedback.

The project will provide a modern, all-gender comfort station/restroom facility, new play equipment that provides play opportunities for all abilities. In addition, the project will make safety and  accessibility improvements that meet the standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For more information please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/bitter-lake-playfield-play-area-and-comfort-station-renovation or contact Kevin Bergsrud at kevin.bergsrud@seattle.gov or 206-684-5831.

A look back: Playland ‘Fun for All” and Seattle Center’s Fun Forest

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Updated: January 20, 2021

By Will Murray

In 1930 a small amusement park stood at Bitter Lake near Seattle Washington when Carl E. Phare arrived to build the Dipper an 85’ tall 3400’ long wooden roller coaster towering over the lake and Playland was born. Soon more rides followed; Shoot the Chutes, dodge em cars, Merry-Go-Round, haunted house and free parking for 12,000 cars! Playland featured a midway with games, a restaurant and Funhouse.

Photo of Shoot the Chutes at Left

Admission was 10 cents and 10 cents per ride including the Canals of Venice and entrance to a large dance hall. Playland operated annually from Memorial Day to Labor Day and hosted thousands of fun seekers including a yearly All Seattle crossing guard day when rides were free.

 Finding Playland a 2009 documentary produced by Broadview resident Greg Brotherton features personal stories of Playland including Tobin Fraley whose parents and Grandfather worked at Playland, Tobin describes the park as a living entity that offered a sense of belonging. Playland was so successful a young entrepreneur named Walt visited and spoke at great length with park owners before returning to California to start Disneyland. Elsie Von Stubbe recounted Walt Disney filming a Mickey Mouse club episode in their backyard at 145th and 3rd NW in the Broadview neighborhood. In 1961 the City of Seattle purchased Playland. Bitter Lake Community Center now stands where the Shoot the Chutes ride operated, and Broadview Thompson K-8 school was built on the western entrance to Playland.

Just as Playland shut down, Seattle’s 1962 Century 21 World’s Fair opened with an amusement park of its own. The Gayway was a small amusement park on the World’s fair grounds located near the monorail entrance featuring 20 rides and a popular cotton candy – snow cone concession sponsored by U & I sugar. From April 21 to October 21 1962 the fair drew 10 million visitors and Seattle was on the World stage. After the fair Gayway became the Fun Forest which operated until 2011. In the 80s Disneyland officials pitched an ambitious $70 million update of Seattle Center that was turned down by the City of Seattle. Over an 80 year stretch many generations of visitors and Seattle residents alike enjoyed thrills, chills and good old-fashioned fun at Playland, Century 21 World’s Fair and the Fun Forest.

New Sound Transit Link light rail stations are coming to NE 130th and NE 148th Streets

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Posted: January 12, 2021

Sound Transit reports below on the status and outlook for NE 130th and NE 148th stations.

by  on January 12, 2021

Summary 

  • The Shoreline South/148th Link light rail station is planned to open in 2024. The NE 130th St Station is scheduled to open in 2031, however in February 2020 the Sound Transit Board approved advancing final design and may consider opening the station sooner. 
  • In our NE 130th St & Shoreline South/148th Stations Multimodal Access Study, we created a roadmap for future improvements to make it easier to walk, roll, bike or take transit to these stations.   
  • We want to make it safe, and convenient for people of all ages and abilities to walk, roll, bike, and take transit to the future light rail stations. 
  • Together, the 18 proposed projects create a complete network to support multimodal access to the future stations, as well as the proposed SR 522 Bus Rapid Transit Stations along NE 145th St. 
  • As part of this study, we also identified potential funding sources for each of the projects. This is a helpful guide for future investments! 
  • We will coordinate project concepts from this study with other city departments and partner agencies in the study area. 

Multimodal access studies – like this one for NE 130th St & Shoreline South/148th St stations – create a roadmap for future improvements to make it easier to walk, roll, bike or take transit. 

The Shoreline South/148th Link light rail Station is planned to open in 2024. The NE 130th St Station is scheduled to open in 2031, however in February 2020 the Sound Transit Board approved advancing final design and may consider opening the station sooner. 

To build fully-connected, multimodal transportation systems, regional transportation teams rise to the challenge. We work collaboratively to build a transportation ecosystem that ensures all the assets in our region – Link light rail stations, sidewalks, bus routes, and more – fit together to keep you connected. Transportation investments require significant coordination and partnership between different agencies to make a complete and seamless system that gets people around the region. 

Read the full report at this link.

 

Speed Limit Reduced to 25 MPH on 3rd Ave. NW

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Posted: December 31, 2020

A couple years ago Seattle passed an ordinance to lower speed limits on arterials.  Unless posted differently arterial speed limit is 25 MPH.  It has taken a while to change the signs on arterials around town, but recently the signs on 3rd Ave. NW changed from 30 MPH to 25 MPH.

Neighbors near 3rd Ave. NW have urged lower speed limits, for pedestrian safety, so this is a step toward that.  

We will need to adjust our “auto pilot” speed when we drive on 3rd Ave. NW.

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