Spongy Grounds by Emma Schmitz View Point

April 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment

We had some anxious neighbors wanting us to make everyone aware of some changes to the earth in Emma Schmitz View Point. We did encourage them to contact the City of Seattle.

This is at the southern part of where the rock bulkhead and the metal seawall meet. It looks like it could be a possible water line leak? Our intrepid reporter, Scupper, took this photo and commented that the grounds are quite spongy.

UPDATE 9:36 AM:

Scupper talked to Seattle Public Utilities worker who mentioned that the nearby water meter is spinning. He was in the process of contacting Seattle Parks to ask for direction of how to proceed. Apparently the parks department is in control of everything beyond the public sidewalk where there is a park.

This spongy bulge (aka the Beach Drive Bulge) should be resolved soon.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Parks, Safety

Happy Friday!

May 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

We thought you’d enjoy this picture of an early morning musician at Mee Kwa Mooks.

Filed Under: Music, Parks

Community Meeting about Lowman Beach Park seawall next Wednesday, May 31, 2017

May 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment

NEWS RELEASE
Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Jesús Aguirre, Superintendent

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2017
Contact: Karen O’Connor, 206-233-7929
karen.o’connor@seattle.gov

Community invited to Lowman Beach Park seawall meeting

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the community to the Hall at Fauntleroy at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31 to learn about the Lowman Beach Park seawall and provide input on design options. The Hall at Fauntleroy is located at 9131 California Ave. SW.

Lowman Beach Park is a neighborhood park on the water located just north of Lincoln Park at 7017 Beach Dr. SW. At this meeting, SPR will present the project background, analysis of the coastal processes (wind, waves, tides, sediment transport/littoral drift) and design options, as well as gather community input.

The Lowman Beach Park seawall is failing and needs to be removed or replaced. As visitors to the park have seen, the existing seawall is slowly falling over 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.

We hired Environmental Science Associates (ESA) as a design consultant to undertake a feasibility study to look at options for removing the seawall, taking into consideration both the habitat benefits of the seawall removal and the coastal engineering ramifications of that seawall removal. Given the design constraints of the project, it is likely that the existing tennis court will remain in place.

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, Puget Sound

Emma Schmitz Overlook lower access closed starting next week

November 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Emma Schmitz Overlook’s lower access will be closed starting November 28th through December 9th to replace the rusty old handrails.

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Filed Under: Parks Tagged With:

Update: Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall project

June 14, 2016 by 1 Comment

It’s been since December 2014 that the public comment period ended in regard to the Alki Coastal Erosion project spearheaded by the Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project outlines a plan to replace a stretch of seawall that precariosly holds back the 50″ diameter sewage pipe that flows around 2 million gallons of wastewater per day.

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A representative from the Army Corps Public Affairs Office promptly responded to my inquiry in wondering what the delay was for getting construction started….

“According to our project manager, we received a letter of concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Officer and we sent our feasibility report and appendices to our higher headquarters in Portland June 1 for review and approval. We are now waiting for them to review – if they determine we’ve adequately addressed their comments, then we’ll be ready to get going on the Design and Implementation phase. We are anticipating approval this summer.”

I’m not sure if “approval this summer” will result in any near-term progress. However, I can tell you that the Seattle Parks Department’s truck drivers are getting pretty nervous how the seawall is holding up every time they park near it to backfill the erosion

The newly refinished Barton Pump Station and nearly completed Murray Ave Station won’t do much good if the main artery to the West Point Treatment Plant ruptures due to a collapsing seawall. All of us living down near the beach will know first hand the meaning of “it all rolls downhill”.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Bulkheads, In the News, Parks

Anglers at Mee Kwa Mooks

June 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment

What’s with all the tents at Mee Kwa Mooks today? Well…it’s the second annual Emerald Waters Fly Fest!

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This event is free and features a cook-off. Last year, the event was held at Lincoln Park. Mee Kwa Mooks appears to be more conducive for this event with the lack of picnic tables. Click here for more info.

 

Filed Under: Events, Parks

Reader asks about park bench replacement at Beach Drive & Jacobsen

March 11, 2016 by 3 Comments

A very popular rest stop at the south end of Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook took a tumble from corrosion back on February 23rd (shouldn’t have eaten that last bite). Neighbors and out-of-towners have enjoyed watching the scenery under the huge “Raptor Tree” that Eagle & Osprey often use to spy on prey. Love that tree!

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Appears that the 2 legged benches are all failing at the weld just under the bench. There a few more with the same design near the drinking fountain that had caution tape applied immediately after the Jacobsen bench toppled . The tape has since come off and the older benches still stand… barely

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The newer 4 legged butt rest looks like a much better design for being near the saltwater…

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As far as replacement, we reported a few years back on plans to rebuild that entire section of the deteriorating seawall. No bench replacement or additions were to happen until the seawall issue gets solved. Construction was intended to start last Summer but the design work was never finalized. A response from the Army Corp of Engineers back in November 2015 didn’t show much progress.

 Unfortunately I don’t have any updates at this point. We are still working through our feasibility phase process before we can move into final design.

I have a current email out to the Army Corp asking for any further progress & will update as soon as they respond.  Meanwhile, the storms keep pounding it and the park department continues to backfill the erosion.

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Picture above taken on the stormy morning of 3/10/16… photo below was furnished by a Beach Drive neighbor the very next morning. Park department workers mentioned that they really didn’t like parking their heavy equipment on the slumping strip of grass which precariously covers  the 54″ sewer line carrying 50 million gallons of sewage per day!

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Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Bulkheads, Parks, Puget Sound, Safety, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Killers chasing chum off of Beach Drive

November 5, 2015 by 2 Comments

Several onlookers lined the sidewalk along Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook watching a nearby Orca pod. The whales have been spotted all over the area for the last couple of days according to West Seattle Blog reports. The Orca are most likely chasing the large fall chum salmon run which contains nearly 90% of the entire annual chum numbers that migrate down to central & south Puget Sound.

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It was also reported that The Whale Trail organization has spotted other aquatic species in the area as well.

 

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Well, maybe not ALL of them…

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

Filed Under: Just for fun, Parks, Puget Sound, Wildlife

Escape the Stench

September 25, 2015 by 2 Comments

This is just in from a Beach Drive neighbor, Mary:

West Seattle has a real treasure a short distance away from Beach Drive’s odoriferous low tides: The Arboretum at South Seattle College’s north end.  Leaves there are beginning to turn reds and yellows.  Amble the winding paths through pleasant-smelling shrubbery (e.g., Golden Elaeagnus).  The award-winning dwarf conifer collection also begins changing colors this fall. Free guided tours Oct. 10.

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Filed Under: Not on Beach Drive, Parks

I’ll bet THEIR mellow was harshed!

June 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

As many of us were standing at the base of Mee-Kwa-Mooks park last night wondering why a dozen or so fire & rescue units (and more converging within a dog’s howl) were blocking Beach Drive SW, a group of kids were sitting around an illegal fire set 150 yards up the hill in the tinder dry forest.

IMG_4209This freshly created pit wasn’t here during the day yesterday

Can you imagine the scene?? Just sitting around the fire cracking a beer talking about a new carbon fiber hood or up-coming protests when… “are those sirens coming this way?”. Then justified paranoia sets in as the first responder slams on their brakes at the bottom of the hill with another dozen screaming on the way! I can picture the precious PBR’s being sacrificed to the fire in effort to calm the smoke not to mention the already drank ones puddling at their feet.

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Last night’s onlookers watching responders searching the waters for false alarm parachuter

I’m pretty certain the kids were mingling with the crowd of on-lookers by this point and relieved that they weren’t “the incident”. There’s only a few really good stories friends get to share together. I’ll bet this is one counts.

All kidding aside though, the fire up in the park appears to have burnt all the way out. One spark the wrong way and we would’ve had a real situation. There was a pretty decent northerly blowing and several houses (friends) bordering the park in harms way.

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The old illegal pit circled by the old Schmitz mansion’s concrete retaining wall blocks appears to have been put out of service by purposely fallen trees (what could possibly go wrong with that method?). The dead bush in the foreground is drier than an old Christmas tree in June.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Crime, Just for fun, Parks
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