[Editor’s note: We received the following from Darrell Bulmer, Communications Lead, Seattle Department of Transportation]
This week, work has begun on N Midvale PL and N 45th St. The new configuration is reflected in the graphic at bottom.

Work this week included clearing of vegetation, fence placement, drainage improvements, and concrete services in the project work zone. Crews will work this weekend installing the conduit crossing for the new rapid flashing beacon on N. Midvale Pl.  East and West bound traffic will be detoured on Saturday, May 16 while we work in the roadway. 

As early …

No one needs to be told that Covid 19 has not just caused a whole lot of damage to global health; it has also caused widespread, serious economic damage as well. Literally millions of people have been rendered jobless nationwide in just the past couple of weeks. Front and center has been the food industry. It’s impossible to walk down Stone Way or 45th and not notice all the closed restaurants and cafes which have left unemployed cooks, wait staff, baristas and bartenders in their wake. But many other folks have been affected, among them people in the performing arts.…

There have been so many heartening stories coming out of this crisis. Globally, we’ve seen the introduction of the “balcony party”, which I hope will stay “a thing” after the quarantines have passed. Here in Wallingford, people like Kenn Herman are working on 3-D printed face masks for healthcare workers. Parents (and grandparents) are putting teddy bears in windows for kids out for isolated walks to count. Pet owners are rallying around local businesses like Wally Pets to ensure the businesses and their staff remain healthy. And businesses that are not able to operate traditionally, like Commune Yoga, are finding …

I was comfortably reading the Super Tuesday results in my jammies and slippers this morning when I heard a crash and, looking out the window, saw the electrical and Internet wires bouncing like a high-school “wave” science experiment.

I ran out the front door and saw an eighteen-wheeler making its way quickly down our narrow stretch of 4th Ave NE, making its get-away towards NE 40th Street. Glancing back at the electrical pole, I saw that it had apparently taken a tight turn and overestimated its clearance.

My wife, son and I all ran down the street to make sure …

The two-plus year sojourn of the Nickelsville homeless encampment on the City Light-owned lot at 3814 4th Ave NE is coming to end shortly.
March 31st is the day that the city permit authorizing the village officially expires and that the Nickelsville-led residents have agreed to vacate. After briefly pushing for March 21st (the first day of Spring, and thus probably-not-coincidentally the first day they could sweep the village without breaking the “No Winter Evictions” line), the City agreed to the later date in exchange for a written promise from Nickelsville and residents to peacefully vacate on the 31st. (Can …

Late last year, a group of neighborhood volunteers announced the formation of the Friends of Meridian Park (FOMP), an officially sanctioned “Friends of” of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department. They’ve been meeting and pulling together a set of recommendations and are hoping to get some public input on priorities. Would you mind taking this short, five question survey for them?

Take the Survey

From what I can tell, the big challenge with Meridian Park is the same one facing open spaces around Seattle: a growing homeless population, many of whom have mental and substance abuse problems, with nowhere …

Looking west along 40th St. from Wallingford.

It’s been a while since we wrote about this project, but that certainly doesn’t mean the work has stopped. I was walking along 40th between Meridian and Stone Way last Friday, November 15, and discovered that the sidewalk was gone. There were a few spots with freshly poured cement that were nice and smooth. But most areas had been dug up leaving just dirt to walk on. One very short section was entirely closed off leaving me to walk in the street for a bit.
Motorists need to beware, too. To facilitate the …