Greetings neighbors. With the Mayor’s announcement selecting the path of repair for the WSBridge, we now have an idea of the timeline we face hosting the detour route traffic. The SDOT Home Zone planners are at work in our neighborhoods, doing additional traffic counting and outreach to all involved. While HPAC traditionally pauses our community meetings during Nov/Dec months due to holidays, the executive board and traffic committee chairs will continue to monitor this work.
Please continue to contact us if you have traffic issues to report. We have a batch of the free SDOT traffic calming signs seen here for your use. Available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Join us Wednesday, October 28, as SDOT planners check-in with Highland Park, Riverview & South Delridge residents, to report back to the larger community on what was heard on the Home Zone walks of October 20-21, and collect additional feedback from community to develop a proposed home zone plan. A home zone plan involves the entire neighborhood working together to prioritize improvements that calm traffic and improve pedestrian mobility and neighborhood livability during the impacts of the WSBridge detour routes.
We will also hear a brief update on the progress of Highland/Holden intersection planning work.
Meet your neighbors and help build a safer, more user friendly community. Log in virtually here:
Wednesday, October 28 Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm Link to meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89407392875 Meeting ID: : 894 0739 2875 Call into the meeting: +1 253 215 8782 US
To request an interpreter or accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact the City at 206-400-7511 or WestSeattleBridge@seattle.gov 24 hours prior to the meeting date.
Join Us for Our HPAC Monthly Meeting Weds., Sep 23, 2020 at 07:00 PM on Zoom
We’ll hear from SDOT & Department of Neighborhoods folks about this and other survey projects moving ahead now and in 2021. Plus, discuss how we want to work with the City to mitigate traffic impacts going forward. There will also be a preliminary introduction to the Home Zone concept – steps that will be taken to keep our area safe, walkable and connected during the WS Bridge reroute traffic.
Meet neighbors! Get involved with neighborhood concerns Time: Sep 23, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/88180711768 Meeting ID: 881 8071 1768 One tap mobile+12532158782,,88180711768# Dial in+1 253 215 8782
HPAC is Seeking Several New Executive Committee Members
Find yourself spending more time in your neighborhood? Are you seeing it differently? Do you have an interest in the history as well as an investment in its future? Do you have ideas about how to make it safer and more enjoyable?
Highland Park Action Coalition (HPAC) invites neighbors from Highland Park, Riverview, & South Delridge to join us in sharing your thoughts, concerns and interests in our community.
This volunteer organization welcomes all residents as participating members and actively offers opportunities for leadership roles.
After 5 years in leadership at HPAC, Gunner Scott is stepping down as HPAC’s chair effective September 18, 2020. While he will no longer be a part of the of the day to day at HPAC, he will continue to support the great work of HPAC and the neighborhoods in other ways. We wish him the best and thank him for his service.
As you know, HPAC’s goal is to address community needs and advocate with Government agencies and policy makers. We need your voice and energy to make that happen. HPAC has been very successful at advocating for the neighborhood for the last 10 years with regards to:
Micro Policing Plans Traffic Concerns Improvement of safe routes for schools Highland Park Elementary support Delridge Wetlands Street and sidewalk improvements, curbs, visibility, speeding, noise pollution Homeless Encampment issues Greenbelt Trails Dumar Substation rezone Preserving the Myers Way property for future public uses Relocation of a proposed County Jail expansion Supporting collaborative efforts with surrounding groups such as Earthcorps, the Duwamish Tribe, District 1 Neighborhood Council and others.
And with your help, HPAC will continue to work on other topics that concern our area.
PLEASE consider joining our next HPAC Zoom Meeting on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7pm!Our main focus at the moment is traffic!! However, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and learn about joining HPAC at that time.
Hope to see you there! Highland Park Action Coalition Traffic Impacts Committee
Craig, Kay, and Donna will continue to lead HPAC’s work on traffic mitigation and more support is needed to keep HPAC a vibrant neighborhood advocacy group. Therefore, HPAC is seeking neighbors from Highland Park, South Delridge and Riverview to help steer the coalition and advocate on behalf of our beautiful and diverse neighborhoods. If you are interested come a virtual meeting or email hpacchair@gmail.com.
Thursday, Aug 13, 2020 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Via Virtual Meeting: The meeting is open to all, but due to our 100 person Zoom capacity we will prioritize attendees from Highland Park, South Delridge, Riverview and Roxhill.
Join HPAC and SDOT on a presentation and discussion about the Highland Park/South Delridge/Riverview Traffic Survey Results.
About The Neighborhood Prioritization Process The survey was to enable neighborhoods to prioritize which projects felt, as a community, would best address the impacts of the High-Bridge closure. The survey included lists of potential projects that were generated from ideas SDOT received from community, along with some of their own ideas, and projects from existing transportation and neighborhood plans. While a much larger mix of projects remain on SDOT’s radar, they recognize the need for immediate action. Therefore, the lists included projects that can be completed quickly and cost less than $100,000.
HPAC continues to raise issues with SDOT’s process for mitigating the impact on the detour through Highland Park, Riverview and South Delridge
July 20, 2020
Dear Councilperson Pedersen,
This feedback is to express our grave concern and request clarifications regarding the Reconnect West Seattle Community; in particular on the Roxhill, Highland Park, Riverview, S. Delridge Prioritization Ballot.
The very large number of projects offered speaks to the historically ignored infrastructure needs in these neighborhoods, which are now suddenly front and center and being asked to host the tremendous amount of bypass traffic off the peninsula. We commend SDOT for listening to the community input and trying to get as many things onto this list as possible. With the personal safety goal of Vision Zero as a target, ideas for a number of ways that traffic can be addressed and calmed are offered. However, funding is unclear.
Assuming that we have 10 projects at 100K each, may we count on the city allocating one million dollars to these neighborhoods? Or, is this a ‘not to exceed’ cap? Who will make the final recommendations?
The process within the agencies and the WSBTF is unclear, and the results uncertain to the neighborhood.
In regards to the balloting itself, the document is difficult to understand. We’ve spent 3+ hours converting the formatting to sort it in a logical way, tracking each project on the accompanying map and noting specifics and relationships between the suggested projects. The map itself is incredibly disconcerting.
Please note the (at least) 26 reference point numbers that are not on the voter survey. Please see image.
This confusing presentation could result in scattered and ill-informed input from the public to be misinterpreted by the agencies involved, leading to results that do not reflect what the community is actually asking for.
The process for addition and consideration of ideas that are not on the ballot is also unclear. For example, we have a legacy “cut through” route (20th Ave SW) between SW Holden and Delridge that is nearly untenable now; it doesn’t appear to have much help offered through this process and could be expensive to address. How do we help advocate for these horribly impacted neighbors?
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. We are resolved to assist in outreaching this planning but are dismayed at the form, contents and speed of the action to date.
We eagerly invite you to join us on a socially distanced tour of the neighborhood so that you can observe the serious traffic burdens that our neighborhood is feeling already.
Sincerely,
Gunner Scott, Chair Craig Rankin, Vice Chair Kay Kirpatrick, Executive Member Donna Burns, Executive Member HPACchair@gmail.com www.hpacws.org
Stop By Reconnect West Seattle Virtual Office Hours
Reconnect West Seattle is SDOT’s vision to restore travel across the Duwamish to similar levels seen before the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure and to reduce the impact of detour traffic in Duwamish Valley neighborhoods.
Do you have questions about the Reconnect West Seattle surveys? Want more information on a proposed improvement? Need help filling out a neighborhood prioritization ballot or survey?
Please stop by SDOT’s virtual office hours to get your questions answered. Technical experts will be available to provide more details about Reconnect West Seattle and the neighborhood prioritization process before the ballots and surveys close on July 31.
Dates
Time
How to Access the Office Hours
Wednesday, July 29
12 PM – 1 PM
Link to the online meeting.Audio conference information: To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or call the number below and enter the access code.+1-408-418-9388 Event number (access code): 146 470 3249
Thursday, July 30
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Link to the online meeting.Audio conference information: To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or call the number below and enter the access code.+1-408-418-9388 Event number (access code): 146 492 4055
The office hours will be hosted through Webex using the links above. Ask your question in the chat function, and we will assign a technical staff member to respond. Questions not asked in the office hours can be sent to westseattlebridge@seattle.gov or 206-400-7511. Recordings of the virtual office hours will be posted on the Reconnect West Seattle webpage.
NOTE: These virtual office hours will be limited to answering questions about the Reconnect West Seattle survey and the neighborhood prioritization process. All other questions about the bridge closure, low bridge policy, or other related items should be directed to westseattlebridge@seattle.gov or 206-400-7511.
Visit our West Seattle High-Rise Bridge website to stay up-to-date on the bridge, see frequently asked questions, view inspection reports, and find links to our West Seattle Bridge blogs.
1. Reconnect West Seattle Survey This survey is for everyone who lives or works in West Seattle. The survey is the community’s chance to let SDOT and our partners know what you need to move on and off the West Seattle peninsula at similar rates to before the High-Rise Bridge closure, but with a significant reduction in travel lanes. If you live or work in West Seattle, please take the Reconnect West Seattle Survey by July 31st! Your participation will help SDOT prioritize the right improvements in a highly resource constrained environment due to COVID-19 impacts.
2. If you live or work in one of the following neighborhoods, please fill out your Neighborhood Prioritization Process Ballot by July 31.
The Neighborhood Prioritization Process Ballots enables your neighborhood to prioritize which projects you feel, as a community, will best address the impacts of the High-Bridge closure. The ballots include lists of potential projects that were generated from ideas SDOT received from community, along with some of their own ideas, and projects from existing transportation and neighborhood plans. While a much larger mix of projects remain on SDOT’s radar, they recognize the need for immediate action. Therefore, the lists include projects that can be completed quickly and cost less than $100,000.
Drop-in to HPAC for virtual conversation on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 07:00 PM about the Reconnect West Seattle Survey for Roxhill, Highland Park, Riverview, S. Delridge. Are you confused by the survey? Want to advocate for ideas not on the survey with neighbors? Drop into this Zoom session for an open ballot discussion!
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85111951312 Meeting ID: 851 1195 1312 Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 Meeting ID: 851 1195 1312 SmartPhone One tap mobile +12532158782,,85111951312#
HPAC, which represents the neighborhoods of Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge, and are currently one of the impacted areas of the detour due to the closure of the West Seattle Bridge, urges you to support an amendment to the STBD ballot measure to make Routes 131, 132, and 128 and 113 eligible to receive funding from the STBD as proposed by CM Herbold.
We look forward to Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD) ballot measure which funds extra Seattle bus service beyond KC Metro funding, but the existing criteria for funding service requires 65% of stops to be within Seattle, which leaves out these routes due to the % figures for stops below. The amendment allows for funding for routes serving historically low-income communities that are below 65%:
Highland Park
Route 113 (55%)
Route 128 (53%)
Route 131 (61%)
South Park
Routes 132 (47%)
As you know, this area is in the direct path of two of the alternate routes to the First Avenue South bridge, via SW Holden/Highland Park Way on the north, and Roxbury/Cloverdale on the south.
These three neighborhoods are mainly residential and have had limited street infrastructure improvements over the last 25 years or more. The impact of additional vehicle traffic is already being felt, particularly on streets that were not designed to handle 20,000 vehicles a day, let alone up to 100,000 vehicles.
Our neighborhoods suffers from a historical lack of investment that has held the neighborhood back in numerous ways. A traditionally working-class area that provided affordable housing for workers in the industrial Duwamish Valley below, boom and bust cycles over the last century have acutely restricted the area’s growth and prosperity, leading to the neighborhood being redlined in the 1930s. Even today, with the exception of South Park, Highland Park remains one of the most (if not the most) affordable neighborhoods on the Duwamish peninsula.
Data the American Community Survey (5-year Series, 2009-2013) show that Highland Park (Census Tract 113) has a lower median income ($53,182) than Seattle as a whole ($65,277). Additionally, Highland Park has a higher proportion of residents who identify as a race or ethnicity other than White (49.8% versus Seattle’s 29.4%).
In Census Tract 265, which overlays the southeastern-most portion of Highland Park in the City of Seattle and a portion of White Center (part of the North Highline unincorporated urban area), the proportion of residents who identify as a race or ethnicity other than White increases to 60.1%, while the Median Household Income drops to $35,857.
Those with lower household incomes have less access to private cars which makes public transit often their only option to get jobs, school, and conduct daily life. Additionally, to access frequent transit, like the Rapid Ride lines, requires folks to take the 131 or the 128 to access the Rapid Ride C or the future H line. The route 131 is also one the closest route that serves the Duwamish Longhouse, even at 1.5 miles away.
As we have at least two years of this detour through our neighborhoods, we must do everything we can to get folks out of cars and onto public transit. Please include these routes in the STDB measure.
Thank you
Gunner Scott
Chair, HPAC: Neighbors Building Community in Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge
The unexpected closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge has dramatically impacted West Seattle and the nearby Duwamish Valley communities. Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has launched Reconnect West Seattle. To provide the public with SDOT’s vision to restore travel across the Duwamish to similar levels seen before the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure. At the same time, we want to reduce the impact of increased detour traffic in the Duwamish Valley neighborhoods like Highland Park and South Park.
To achieve this vision, SDPT is asking for public input in identifying challenges, prioritizing solutions, and creating a plan that will help people safely ride the bus, bike, walk, or take a water taxi as the phased reopening of our economy continues.
HOW TO INFLUENCE SDOT aka How to HelpShape Decisions
1. Take the Reconnect West Seattle Survey This survey is for everyone who lives or works in West Seattle. The survey is the community’s chance to let SDOT and our partners know what you need to move on and off the West Seattle peninsula at similar rates to before the High-Rise Bridge closure, but with a significant reduction in travel lanes. If you live or work in West Seattle, please take the Reconnect West Seattle Survey by July 31st! Your participation will help SDOT prioritize the right improvements in a highly resource constrained environment due to COVID-19 impacts.
2. If you live or work in one of the following neighborhoods, please fill out your Neighborhood Prioritization Process Ballot by July 31.
The Neighborhood Prioritization Process Ballots enables your neighborhood to prioritize which projects you feel, as a community, will best address the impacts of the High-Bridge closure. The ballots include lists of potential projects that were generated from ideas SDOT received from community, along with some of their own ideas, and projects from existing transportation and neighborhood plans. While a much larger mix of projects remain on SDOT’s radar, they recognize the need for immediate action. Therefore, the lists include projects that can be completed quickly and cost less than $100,000.
July 10: Neighborhood Plans are released to community and ballots open
July 10 – 31: With SDOT playing a support role, community organizations and neighborhoods will prioritize a list of potential actions and projects specific to their neighborhood.
August: SDOT and WSB Community Task Force analyze community feedback
September: Reconnect West Seattle Plan
Next Steps: Sign-up for West Seattle Bridge updates and emails www.seattle.gov/reconnectwestseattle • Consider bicycle trips where and when possible • If driving, please do so outside of the peak commute hours (6-9 am and 4-7 pm)
June 24, 2020 Community discussion on SDOT Mitigation Projects Process: a discussion about West Seattle Bridge detour traffic through our neighborhoods, identifying additional concerns and ideas, and reviewing ideas HPAC has presented for mitigation projects. Two members of the West Seattle Bridge Task Force who represent our area also attended. Meeting Recording: https://youtu.be/fuyhdRDjCDE
Next Scheduled HPAC Meeting: Currently, HPAC does not have meetings scheduled for July or August, but if there are opportunities to provide input, inform decisions, or take action regarding SDOT WSB Mitigation Projects and/or Highland Park Way SW and SW Holden St Safety Project, we will convene meetings as needed.
HPAC’s next regular meeting is scheduled for September 23, 2020 and will be an all virtual meeting.
HPAC’s Traffic Impacts Committee We are looking for neighbors, business owners, homeowners and renters in Highland Park, Riverview and South Delridge to assist us in continuing to identify the needs of the neighborhoods, follow up and hold accountable SDOT, elected officials, and the Mayor. To find out about the next virtual meeting our Traffic Impacts Committee or provide ideas or information about impacts your street is experiencing email HPACTraffic@gmail.com
HPAC Community Listening Session – Join Us This Week!
Join us this Wednesday, June 24, 7-8pm for a community listening session around the increasing West Seattle Bridge detour traffic through our neighborhoods and ideas we have for mitigation projects. We will also share what we know about the upcoming Project Prioritization Process.
We will have at least two members of the West Seattle Bridge Task Force who represent our area in attendance to hear from the community.
The meeting is open to all but due to Zoom capacity we will prioritize attendees from Highland Park, South Delridge, Riverview and Roxhill.
We’ll hear from SDOT & Department of Neighborhoods folks about this and other survey projects moving ahead now and in 2021. Plus, discuss how we want to work with the City to mitigate traffic impacts going forward. There will also be a preliminary introduction to the Home Zone concept – steps that will be taken to keep our area safe, walkable and connected during the WS Bridge reroute traffic.
