Seattle Parks and Recreation opens severe weather shelter at Bitter Lake Community Center

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Posted: January 15, 2020

Seattle Parks and Recreation will be operating Bitter Lake Community Center (13035 Linden Ave. N) as a warming and emergency overnight shelter for families with children, and people living in vehicles. Single adults and couples are welcome at this facility as well. This shelter will operate 24 hours a day beginning tonight. The shelter has an occupancy of 70 beds. Referral forms are not required, and limited services will be provided.

All regular Bitter Lake Community Center programs and activities, including preschool programs, are cancelled while the shelter operates.

For more information on severe weather shelters operating in Seattle, please visit: https://www.seattle.gov/humanservices.

Freezing temperatures put our neighbors living unsheltered at even greater risk, so please help the City get them into safer, warmer places. The City and its regional partners are working 24/7 to help bring people into warmer, safer places. If you are concerned about an individual living unsheltered, or in need, call 2-1-1, a resource line that can help connect an individual to resources. When the 2-1-1 line isn’t open, the 24-hour Crisis Line 866-427-4747 can provide information that the City provides on warming shelters, similar to how they do for sheltering information for people experiencing homelessness. If it is an emergency, contact Seattle Police by calling 9-1-1. SPD has transport vans to take people to warming centers and shelters.

Know your Snow Routes!

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Posted: January 12, 2020

As snow & ice heads our way throughout the coming week, Seattle Department of Transportation crews will be working non-stop to plow & clear streets!

To maintain access to essential services, we prioritize clearing the most critical routes for transit and emergency response vehicles first. These are the streets used by the most people and which lead to hospitals, schools, and emergency services.

 

Map of plow routes.

Our winter weather response plan – gold and emerald routes.

Know our Snow Routes and plowing priorities.

These critical streets are broken into two tiers: Gold and Emerald.

 

Gold Snow Routes

Our gold snow routes provide regional connections. Our goal is to plow and maintain snow and ice-free pavement for all travel lanes within 12 hours of a significant lull in the storm.

 

Emerald Snow Routes

Our emerald snow routes provide citywide connections. Our goal is to plow and maintain snow and ice-free pavement for one lane in each direction within 12 hours of a significant lull in the storm.

Because our crews are already working around the clock to maintain service on the Gold and Emerald Snow Routes (to make sure our busiest streets are safe for travelers), we do not have capacity or resources to plow and treat all of Seattle’s streets.

 

What streets have been plowed?

You can keep track of what roads have been plowed in our updated to-the-minute interactive Winter Weather Response Map (for best viewing use Firefox or Chrome). It shows the roads that our crews have serviced within the last hour, the last 3 hours, or are closed. The map also reports incidents that we’re responding to.

Seattle Storm Response Map

Reminders: stay home (if you can), sidewalks, and transit.

 

Need to travel?

We encourage folks who are able to work from home should do so. If you need to travel to work or shop for groceries, please allow yourself plenty of extra time for travel and consider taking public transit or walking to your destination if possible.

 

Transit – check for snow routes. 

In the event of snow, King County Metro will likely alter their bus schedule. Depending on ice and snow accumulation, some buses may be put on snow routes, or Metro may put the Emergency Snow Network in effect and reduce the number of bus routes that are operating. Stay up-to-date on bus operations and follow @KCmetrobus on twitter. Check @SoundTransit for Link light rail updates. Thank you, transit operators who are out there keeping us moving!

 

Shovel those sidewalks.

Last, but certainly not least, we need to all work together to keep our sidewalks clear and safe. Sidewalk clearing is everyone’s responsibility, so please help your neighbors out by shoveling your sidewalk before the ice has the opportunity to form. Make sure that the cleared path is at least 36 inches wide so that people with mobility aids like wheelchairs can get around too. If you see a curb ramp that hasn’t been cleared yet, pitch in to help your community stay safe and moving. Watch the video we developed with Rooted In Rights to hear from neighbors who were snowed in last year.

For information on winter storm preparedness, check out Take Winter by Storm and What to do to Make it Through. Also, take a look at our blog post Winter is Coming, But You Can Take It By Storm for more preparation tips!

Plan for Winter Weather

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Posted: January 10, 2020

Stock up on supplies

  • Seven days of:
    • Non-perishable foods (canned foods and dried goods)
    • Water (a gallon per person, per day)
    • Prescriptions & medical supplies
  • Warm clothes and blankets
  • Batteries for flashlights

Test your smoke/CO alarms Now is a good time make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms are working by testing and replacing batteries if necessary. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, in the hallway outside of bedrooms, and inside each bedroom. CO alarms should be on every level of the home outside of the bedrooms. Learn about the Seattle Fire Department’s free smoke/co alarm program.

When the power goes out

Do’s:

  • Put on warm clothes and blankets
  • Use battery operated candles.
  • When using candles with flames, place them in sturdy metal, glass or ceramic holders. Extinguish every candle before leaving a room or going to sleep.

Don’ts:

  • Don’t use your outdoor grill or gas stove/oven to heat your home. These emit carbon monoxide, a lethal odorless and colorless gas.
  • Avoid placing candles and other heat sources next to combustible materials like curtains, carpet or table cloths.

Make space for ambulances, fire engines and trucks

Please do not park illegally because this impedes our ability to quickly respond to emergencies. Avoid double parking, blocking access to hydrants or parking too close to roundabouts and traffic circles.

Check the weather and road conditions

The following agencies will provide updates on their services as the weather gets colder:

  •  

New Year, New Resolution: Keep Plastic Bags and Plastic Wrap Out of Recycling

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Posted: January 6, 2020

Below is a message from Seattle Public Utilities about recycling. Also, a message from another organization about other items not to put in the recycle bin.

As of January 1, 2020, plastic bags and plastic wrap will no longer be accepted in curbside recycling bins. For more information, check out the Q&A below for details:

Q: Why are plastic bags and plastic wrap not allowed in the recycling bin?
A: Plastic bags and plastic wrap are the most problematic materials for recycling processors. When thin plastics, like bags and wrap, get tangled in recycling equipment, the processing facility has to shut down. Stopping the equipment to remove the plastic slows processing down, drives up costs, and is a potential safety risk for workers.

Q: How should I dispose of plastic bags and plastic wrap?
A: You have a couple of options:
1) Take them to a drop-off location to be recycled (as long as they’re clean and dry). To find a drop-off location near you, go to www.plasticfilmrecycling.org.
2) Put them in the garbage.

Q: What exactly do you mean by plastic bags and wrap?
A: Plastic bags include grocery bags, produce bags, bread bags, and zip-top sandwich bags, along with shipping pillows and bubble wrap. Plastic wrap is typically used as packaging for items like paper towels or toilet paper, as well as lightweight dry cleaning bags and most other thin, flexible plastic.

Q: Does this mean I should stop bagging my recycling?
A: Yes! Recyclables should be placed loose in your recycling bin. So-called “recycling bags” are unnecessary if your recycling is Empty, Clean, and Dry and actually make it much harder for workers to sort materials when they arrive at the recycling facility.

To learn more about the new standards for recycling, including keeping plastic bags and wrap out of the recycling cart, go to www.seattle.gov/utilities/recyclerig

Construction on the Northgate Pedestrian/Bike Bridge will begin January 13

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Posted: December 23, 2019

When Sound Transit’s Link light rail station opens in 2021, the already growing Northgate neighborhood will become one of the region’s most active transit hubs. Today, a 10-lane interstate divides the neighborhood, and to walk between North Seattle College and the existing transit center takes 25 minutes or more. We are building a new pedestrian and bike bridge to address this.

The new, accessible, all ages and abilities bridge will improve access to communities, services, and opportunities on the east and west sides of I-5 in Northgate and Licton Springs, helping knit together a historically divided area. It’ll also reduce travel time for people walking and biking between the east and west sides of I-5. When complete, the bridge will help connect the neighborhood’s thriving job and retail centers with the rest of the city and region.

The new bridge will span roughly 1,900 feet over I-5, landing at North Seattle College on the west side and at 1st Ave NE and NE 100th St, near the future light rail station, on the east side.

If you are interested in learning more about the construction process and timeline, you can attend one of our drop-in sessions planned for January.

Tuesday, January 7: Noon – 1:30 PM

North Seattle College (The Grove)

9600 College Way N

Wednesday, January 8: 8 – 9:30 AM

Aljoya Thornton Place

450 NE 100th St

Thursday, January 9: 5 – 6:30 PM

Olympic View Elementary School

504 NE 95th St

These are open, informal opportunities for you to come and go as fits your schedule and speak with project staff. If you can’t make one of these events, you will be able to access the information on our project webpage.

 We hope to see you there! 

The Lack of Pedestrian Safety on Aurora Ave. N

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Posted: December 14, 2019

There have been six pedestrian deaths on Aurora Ave. N this year.  In past years various efforts and projects have tried to improve safety, but Aurora is still an unsafe place for pedestrians.  

A recent article in The Urbanist, titled We Must Design Aurora Avenue to Put Safety First, calls for action to improve Safety.  Mayor Durkan’s call for improvements in traffic safety may be an opportunity to focus on Aurora. Below is the first paragraph of the article in the Urbanist.

When a pedestrian is struck and killed in your neighborhood you are at a loss for words. When it has happened five times in a calendar year, you are in a crisis. Safety for pedestrians along Aurora Avenue is out of control. Seattle residents want to fix it, but the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has said they don’t have the budget. And even with Mayor Jenny Durkan’s announcement of a Vision Zero initiative, SDOT said it will begin developing an Aurora Avenue redesign plan… starting in 2021. Not exactly a rapid timeline.

SPU Broadview Projects: Follow up to Nov. 7 open house

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Posted: December 8, 2019

Thank you to everyone who attended our Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) community drop-in session on Thursday, Nov. 7. We had several great conversations and learned more about what’s important to your community.

After the meeting, we updated our frequently asked questions document to address some additional questions we heard. The updated document is available on our website.

Next steps
Over the next several months, we’ll continue refining the grey infrastructure and natural drainage system designs. We hope to have the natural drainage system locations along NW 127th St and NW 130th St finalized by early 2020. Once finalized, we will communicate these locations on our website and via mailers to homes nearby.

If you have questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact us by emailing SPU_BroadviewProjects@seattle.gov or calling 206-233-1534.

Broadview-Thomson Holiday Tree Sale

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Posted: December 1, 2019

Broadview-Thomson PTA
8th Annual Holiday Tree Farm
Saturday, December 7⋅10:30am – 4:00pm
Weekly on Sunday, Saturday, 4 times
Broadview Thomson K-8
13052 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133, USA
 
Description:We sell beautiful, high quality holiday trees and wreaths with all proceeds going to support our 5th Grade IslandWood outdoor education experience. Free delivery of trees is also available. Please stop by Broadview-Thomson during the first 2 weekends of December to pick out the perfect tree for your household to enjoy! (Note: if you are a BT family and able to volunteer your time during the tree sale, please sign up for a shift here: http://bit.ly/Islandwood)

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