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; […]

West Seattle Bridge Update, June 26 At Wednesday’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force, SDOT proposed to allow general use of the lower bridge at Spokane Street from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., when traffic levels are lower. School buses will also be allowed anytime. Other types of uses, such as employer shuttles, healthcare workers […]

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 With the length of the bridge closure uncertain, but not short, ensuring good access to fire and EMS services in West Seattle is of vital importance. My office inquired with Fire Chief Scoggins about Fire and EMS response in West Seattle during the closure of the West Seattle Bridge. Chief Scoggins […]

Permanent Bus Pathway to Open for West Seattle/Downtown Buses King County Metro and SDOT have announced that, beginning on February 22nd, buses that formerly traveled between West Seattle to Downtown on the Alaskan Way Viaduct will access Downtown through Alaskan Way and Columbia Street. This is the permanent travel path planned for buses, and comes […]

ADU Legislation Update The Sustainability and Transportation committee voted on Tuesday to advance the Accessory Dwelling Unit legislation. There were several amendments that were discussed, including two of mine.  I support the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) which can provide more housing options in our city, as well as potentially provide an income source […]

Legacy Business Program Update At my last Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts (CRUEDA) Committee meeting on May 14, I hosted new acting Director Bobby Lee and Michael Wells from the Office of Economic Development (OED) to  give an update on the Legacy Business program that I have been working to develop since taking office […]

Bonuses for Hiring Police Officers The City Council passed legislation to create an incentive program for hiring police officers. I voted in support. This legislation allows the Seattle Police Department to provide bonuses of up to $15,000 for officers who transfer from other departments, and up to $7,500 for new hires. The legislation received from […]

Center City Streetcar Could Impact Other Needed Transit Investments, Such as a Sound Transit 3 Tunnel for West Seattle Last week Mayor Durkan announced updated construction and operations cost estimates for the proposed Center City Streetcar on 1st Avenue. The construction cost estimate has increased to $286 million, and operations costs have increased to $28 […]

District 1’s Young’s Restaurant and RainWise I was delighted to learn recently that a beloved District 1 business, Young’s Restaurant, became the first commercial site to complete the RainWise program!  If you’re unfamiliar with the RainWise program, it’s a Seattle Public Utility (SPU) lead effort to install rain gardens or cisterns to better manage rain. […]