Ahhh…. the Traffic Calming Speed Bumps

May 20, 2019 by 3 Comments

The long awaited speed bumps are being installed along Beach Drive between SW Angeline and Beach Drive Terrace SW.

We can all take a deep breath and relax with total faith knowing that these traffic calming improvements are going to slow down the speeders.

 

Or will they? They don’t appear to be enough to slow down a Suburu appearing to go the speed limit prior to flying over the bumps. So why are the bumps so minute?

Beach Drive is considered a main road and the new asphalt bumps are apparently as high as they are allowed for emergency vehicles.

We’ll see if the speed bumps provides Beach Drive any calm with the increased summer time speedy cruisers.

Filed Under: Crime, Safety Tagged With: ,

Just another day in the park

May 6, 2019 by 1 Comment

There was an emergency call out yesterday afternoon at Me Kwa Mooks Park. Scupper and I decided to check it out and discovered that a young man had a seizure. The response was significant with a fire ladder truck, police and a “paddy wagon” due to the type of call that required at least seven to respond.

We didn’t know what to expect as we approached the park. The park and all along Beach Drive is busier with the warmer weather and there are more people who are camping along the street. Scupper and I said nothing as we approached the scene passing people who were completely enjoying their Sunday afternoon picnicking with friends, reading their books and soaking in the sun.

When we reached the scene, a young man was laying motionless on the park lawn near the sidewalk. The police and firemen were around him. We were told that he “suffered a seizure”.

Everyone enjoying the park seemed oblivious by the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles parked along the park.  Scupper and I starting walking back home as an ambulance headed back toward the park.

It wasn’t until we got home that we talked about how surreal the whole seen was. Have we become so used to extreme things happening, whether it’s crime, reckless drivers, homelessness, drugs OD’s or mental health issues that we’re completely unfazed? Were people in the park just trying to mind their own business or is this just another day in the park?

P.S. After getting back home, while we were taking the garbage out to the curb, we could hear someone screaming obscenities from the park for several minutes. No gun shots…thankfully!

 

Filed Under: Opinion, Parks Tagged With: , ,

City Pre-Summer Patrol

May 3, 2019 by 7 Comments

Hubby, aka the Intrepid Reporter Scupper, and I were on a walk tonight as I was trying to tell him about how the City of Seattle has decided to increase police patrols in seven neighborhoods for pre-summer… and ALKI is not one of them!

As we are walking home, we see a red Ford Mustang flying south down Beach Drive passing another car. We continue our walk to find a bicyclist who was hit by a glass bottle tossed by the window of the Mustang. She reported this to the police.

I am stunned that Seattle would not include Alki on the list of places to patrol pre-summer and I am even more stunned that Seattle would select neighborhoods.  Why not increase Patrol everywhere?

 

Filed Under: Crime

Potential Barking Dog Report: Wind, Waves and High Tides predicted for tomorrow

February 21, 2019 by 2 Comments

We have been keeping an eye on our mobile aps, WindAlert and PredictWind, which are both indicating that we could be in for quite a storm tomorrow morning. This, of course, coincides with very high tides of 12.8 feet at 7:00 am tomorrow morning.

Check out the tides predicted for tomorrow and how it potentially pairs with the wind forecast.

Here is the Puget Sound and Hood Canal Marine Forecast (last updated at 2:41 am):

 FRI  S wind 20 to 30 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. A chance of rain  in the morning then rain likely in the afternoon.

 FRI NIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after midnight.

If this forecast holds, we think there’s a strong potential that we could experience waves slosh over our bulkhead… especially if the wind direction leans to the southwest.

Last but not least, we’ve used a picture of a howling golden retriever for our “barking dog” reports warning of potential weather issues. We thought you might like to see our retriever in action.

Hitch dedicates this song to his favorite gal, Indie.

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: , , , ,

Community invited to Lowman Beach Park seawall and beach restoration meeting

February 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment

From the City of Seattle:

 Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the community to provide input on the preliminary design for the Lowman Beach Park seawall project. Please join us at the upcoming public meeting on Thursday, February 28, 2019 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Kenney, 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW.

Lowman Beach Park is a neighborhood park on the water located north of Lincoln Park at 7017 Beach Dr. SW. The Lowman Beach Park seawall is failing and needs to be removed. As visitors to the park have seen, the existing seawall is slowly falling over and sliding towards the water. It is SPR’s goal to remove the remaining seawall and continue the shoreline restoration work that began when the south half of the seawall failed in the mid-1990s.

In May 2017, together with Environmental Science Associates (ESA), the design consultant for the project, we presented design options to the community. We hired ESA as the design consultant to continue the design process that began with the feasibility study. The design will take into consideration both the habitat benefits of the seawall removal and the coastal engineering ramifications of that seawall removal. Given the design constraints for the project, the existing tennis court will be removed.  A remnant of Pelly Creek that currently flows under the seawall will be daylighted as part of the project.

For more information, please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/lowman-beach-park. If you have questions about the project, or if you need an interpreter or accommodations please contact David Graves, SPR Strategic Advisor, at david.graves@seattle.gov or 206-684-7048.

 

Filed Under: Parks

Broken News: Tree Down on Jacobsen is now Free Firewood

February 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Thanks to the thoughtful neighbor who put up this sign at the top of Jacobson. 
The downed tree is now a neatly stacked pile of nice sized firewood along Jacobson…just look for the sawdust for the free firewood.

PS: Scupper says Jacobson Road is pretty much bare and wet.

Photo Credit: Scupper

Filed Under: Breaking News, FREE Tagged With:

Winter Weather Advisory extended to 8:00 p.m.

February 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment 
The National Weather Service has just updated (as of 2:46 p.m) the Winter Weather 
Advisory until 8:00 p.m. tonight. I never thought I'd ever hope for rain! :)


...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM PST THIS
EVENING...

* WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches
  expected. Precipitation will turn to rain later this evening
  near the water and at lower elevations. The highest hilltop
  locations could set wet snow persist later into the night.

* WHERE...The Seattle Tacoma metro area.

* WHEN...Until 8 PM PST this evening.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be difficult.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will
cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads
and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.

For the latest road conditions in Washington state, call 5 1 1.
Filed Under: Weather

Are you ready for more snow?

February 10, 2019 by 6 Comments

This morning we decided to drive to Lincoln Park before the next winter storm hits. Beach Drive was overall in good condition to drive with sporadic spots of ice (we do have all wheel drive). The north parking lot at Lincoln Park was closed. The south lot was open and icy.

The National Weather Service recently updated the forecast with a Winter Weather Advisory starting at 4:00 pm today and a Winter Storm Watch beginning on Monday.

UPDATED: 1153 AM PST Sun Feb 10 2019

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 4 AM PST MONDAY…
…WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING
THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON…

* WHAT…Snow expected late this afternoon and tonight with
accumulations of 2 to 4 inches likely. Heavy snow accumulations
of 5 to 10 inches are possible Monday afternoon and Monday
evening before precipitation possibly mixes with freezing rain,
rain or sleet.

* WHERE…Portions of west central Washington.

* WHEN…For the Winter Weather Advisory, from 4 PM this
afternoon to 4 AM PST Monday. For the Winter Storm Watch, from
Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Travel could be very difficult to
impossible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will
cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads
and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant
snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue
to monitor the latest forecasts.

For the latest road conditions in Washington state, call 5 1 1.

I am seeing the “s-word” in the forecast until Saturday! Please note the NWS advisory above does cover well beyond Seattle… hopefully we won’t wind up with as much snow as it looks possible. If we were to receive the highest amount of snow as predicted in the forecast below, we’d wind up with over a foot of snow by Tuesday!

The snow does make some people happy.

Filed Under: Safety, Weather Tagged With: , ,

Snow!

February 9, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Last night, inches of beautiful snow arrived to the Beach Drive neighborhood.

Based on what I’m hearing from neighbors and what I see in our yard, I’m guessing we have about 4-6 inches of snow. I have not ventured out yet to see what the streets look like. Please let us know how the roads are in your area!

Winter Storm Warning is still in effect until 4:00 pm today. (Last update 3:45 am)

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS
AFTERNOON...

* WHAT...Additional snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are
  expected through midday. This will be on top of the 2 to 4
  inches that fell near the water in Seattle and 5 to 8 inches
  that have fallen elsewhere. North winds will increase today to
  15 to 30 mph with a few gusts to 40 mph. The wind may reduce
  visibility at times due to blowing snow, especially near
  shorelines of the inland waters.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Washington,
  including Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, Bremerton, Bellevue, North
  Bend, Redmond, Kent, Mount Vernon, and Oak Harbor.

* WHEN...Until 4 PM PST Saturday. Snowfall will slowly taper off
  today.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Heaviest snowfall at 345 AM extends from
  around Seattle northwestward to Port Angeles. The snowfall will
  taper off from east to west today. Travel will be very
  difficult today.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather
conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. If you
must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your
vehicle in case of an emergency.

For the latest road conditions in Washington state, call 5 1 1.

I guess it’s a good thing we braved the grocery stores for “combat shopping” after all! Although
I must admit, I enjoyed seeing neighbors and making new friends while waiting in the long lines. 🙂

UPDATED 7:44 AM

Here’s a great tool to see what roads have been serviced in Seattle. The picture below is from 7:40 am this morning. Click this link for updated road conditions in Seattle.

Filed Under: Weather Tagged With:

Winter Storm Warning and Gale Watch

February 8, 2019 by Leave a Comment

It looks like we could be in for a doozie of storm starting later today. I’m amazed at the pics I’ve seen on social media of the empty shelves in several grocery stores in West Seattle! We will continue to keep you posted as much as possible. If we lose power, you’ll find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beachdriveblog 

Here’s the data we have as of writing this post at 8:24 this morning:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (UPDATED 2:19 AM)


...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 PM PST
SATURDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6
  inches expected. Local snowfall accumulations of 8 inches. North
  to northeast winds will increase late tonight and Saturday to 15
  to 30 mph with some local gusts to 45 mph. The wind will likely
  reduce visibility at times due to blowing snow, especially near
  shorelines of the inland waters.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Washington,
  including Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, Bremerton, Bellevue, North
  Bend, Redmond, Kent, Port Angeles, Sequim, Oak Harbor, and Mount
  Vernon.

* WHEN...From Noon today to 4 PM PST Saturday. The heaviest
  snowfall accumulations for most of the area will occur between 3
  PM this afternoon and 10 PM this evening.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...A period of 2 inch per hour snowfall
  accumulations is likely during todays late afternoon and evening
  commute in the Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, and Bremerton area.
  Travel is likely to become very difficult. Areas of blowing snow
  could contribute to reduced visibility late tonight into
  Saturday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather
conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. If you
must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your
vehicle in case of an emergency.

For the latest road conditions in Washington state, call 5 1 1.

Puget Sound - Hood Canal Marine Forecast - Gale Watch 6:00 PM - Saturday Night (Last updated: 

 TONIGHT
 NE wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt after
 midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft building to 4 to 6 ft after
 midnight. Snow.

 SAT
 N wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon.
 Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. Snow in the morning then a chance of snow
 in the afternoon.

 SAT NIGHT
 N wind 25 to 35 kt. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft.

 SUN
 NW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the
 afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft.

Wind Alert has two different models of slightly different stories...both have snow.

Stay warm, Neighbors!

Filed Under: Weather Tagged With: ,
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