Public Safety and Human Services Committee During most of 2020, regularly scheduled City Council committee meetings have not taken place. Committee meetings have mostly been cancelled due to COVID 19, the need for the Budget Committee to meet over the summer in order to amend the 2020 budget due to revenue shortfalls, and the regular […]

West Seattle Bridge Update, November 20 Mayor announces decision to pursue repair for West Seattle Bridge Yesterday Mayor Durkan announced the City will proceed with a repair for the West Seattle Bridge. Her statement is linked here. I released this statement: “I agree repairing the bridge is the best approach to restore safe access as […]

West Seattle Bridge Update, August 7 Reconnect West Seattle Over 15,000 people filled out SDOT’s Reconnect West Seattle surveys in July. For the neighborhood prioritization ballots, Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill had 1,072 responses; South Park 301; Georgetown 209, and SODO 69. SDOT reports that most people expressed concerns, in the following order, about traffic and congestion; […]

Coronavirus Updates Governor Inslee and Secretary of Health Wiseman announced yesterday restrictions on the “Safe Start” phased reopening in Washington. These restrictions come after an increase in the number of covid-19 cases. Across the state we now have over 50,000 cases, 1,500 deaths, and 5,000 hospitalizations due to the virus. In order to try and stymie the increase the Governor has changed […]

West Seattle Bridge July 10 Update Today the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is launching Reconnect West Seattle. The Reconnect West Seattle Framework outlines SDOT’s approach to identify traffic mitigation projects along bridge closure detour routes, establish new mode share goals by zip code, and identify SDOT’s plans to help travelers make their trips on […]

Today is Juneteenth On Wednesday, I joined my City Council colleagues in unanimously approving a proclamation recognizing today, June 19th, as Juneteenth.  Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African-Americans in Texas first learned that slavery had been abolished two and a half years earlier by the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.   The first Juneteenth celebration […]

West Seattle Bridge Update: May 29 Lower Bridge Maintenance Closure SDOT has announced that the lower bridge will be closed for maintenance during the evening and early morning over the next few days, in order to work on the bridge’s controls and communications systems used to operate the bridge. Here’s the schedule for closure: Friday […]

West Seattle Bridge: May 8 update Emergency Response Plan On Monday, May 4th SDOT announced an emergency response plan developed with a multi-agency task force in the event that the West Seattle Bridge becomes unstable. The plan would entail evacuation of areas near the bridge in the event it becomes necessary. SDOT says “there are […]

West Seattle Bridge Closure SDOT announced the abrupt closure of the West Seattle Bridge on Monday, March 23rd at 7 p.m., after a bridge inspection showed expanding cracks. SDOT’s notice says “complete closure is required to maintain safety as our top priority.” I received notice of this when the Mayor called me to let me […]

COVID-19 Update As of this morning, Public Health – Seattle & King County confirmed 58 cases of novel coronavirus in King County residents, including 10 deaths.  231 residents in the State are under public health supervision for being at risk of exposure.  As more laboratory capacity for testing comes online, more tests and results will […]