All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
Beach Drive was temporarily closed at the 3800 block of Beach Drive from an apparent car fire that took place in the garage of a condo.
When we arrived at the scene, the building was being aired out and residents were waiting for the okay to return to their homes.
By land and by sea, Seattle police are keeping their word regarding increased visibility along the Emma Schmitz Memorial Park. This cruiser was spotted off the park Monday afternoon…
Is this show of force making you feel safer? According to Captain Paulsen of the SPD during his report to concerned residents on March 20, he stated:
One of the things I have done is thrown some extra patrol cars down in the area, it’s not so much going to catch somebody or anything, but … this type of crime causes a lot of fear and we want to subside that fear by having this presence down there for you all. … Trying to think what else I’d like to say in regards to that. (watch video on West Seattle Blog)
According to many of the neighbors within a stones throw of Emma Schmitz, shedding some light on the park would help the nerves a whole lot more. A little digging has uncovered a successful attempt to light up a nearby park just north named Cormorant Cove (just so happens that Greggettes body was recovered at this park).
When asking Seattle City Light what needs to happen to get the same treatment for Emma Schmitz, a representative responded…
The flood light on the pole by Cormorant Cove Park is being paid for by HARBOR WEST CONDO HOA which is the condominiums right next door. The light is actually angled toward the condo's although it is illuminating the park area too. If you'd like a flood light at Emma Schmitz Park my advice is to contact and get approval from Sea. Parks & Recreation at (206)684-4075. The monthly fee for a 400 W flood is $17.64.
Well, I can tell you that this particular light is squarely focused on the park. There's another light on the pole just to the south that illuminates the condos parking lot. Less than $20 bucks a month?… I'll bet 2 months of park lighting that other Beach Drive neighbors would kick into a fund for lighting the lower section of Emma Schmitz for years to come.
Scupper for Beach Drive Blog
A small crowd gathered on Emma Schmitz Viewpoint to watch a seal pup gather some sun on this lovely Spring evening.
A huge thanks to photographer TonJe' Taylor for sharing her camera battery with me.
Blakely Rock off the northeast of Bainbridge Island is the scene of several public agencies working on polishing their on- shore & near-shore rescue techniques and procedures. Among the participating agencies include the Coast Guard, various city fire departments, police, and the Washington State Fish and Wildlife.
The recent coverage from the Bainbridge Island Review mentioned that this is not the first year for these rescue exercises at Blakely Rock (a popular destination for Puget Sound divers & kayakers at low tide). Corey Williams, technical trainer for Northwest Maritime Rescue was quoted…
“We are going to be running a couple different scenarios based on some search and rescues from last year; panicked swimmers and divers, … A lot of agencies have no problem getting the kayaker out of there, but they don’t know what to do with the kayak,” Williams said. “If they leave it there, will they go through the proper procedures of reporting the kayak?”
Given warmer weather approaching and the popularity of personal sized paddle craft, this is time well spent by these agencies. You never know when one those guys trolling for salmon from a paddle board actually catches something and gets yanked off their boards!
Scupper, for Beach Drive Blog
Thank you to Rayetta for sending us this wonderful photo from the regatta today. Could they have had better weather? I don't think so!
Happy 100th birthday wishes go out to four homes spread out along the Beach Drive strip. Here they are in all their vintage glory from south of Lowman Beach to north of Mee-Kwa-Mooks…
While all these homes are reported to have been built sometime in 1912, King County records may not exactly be the end-all in accuracy. Case in point comes from a fabulous publication "Celebrating 150 Years, Architectural History of West Seattle's North End" (which the owners of the most senior abode of the entire drive graciously lent to me). The assessor's office reports their 4701 Beach Drive home to have been born in 1900 yet research gathered for the book states…
Originally part of a 140-acre tract of land homesteaded during the 1860's by Leonard Oulet and his brother George, who were loggers, two structures at this location were mentioned in the Homestead Certificate from October 1869.
King county records listed several other homes with birthdays prior to 1912. Here's belated birthday wishes to two homes built in 1904, one in 1906, two in 1908, one in 1909, and seven uh… make that six still hanging around from 1910…
Note: There are great houses in the neighborhoods just off the main drag as well. If you are the owner of a 1912 beauty, let us know. You just may find a Beach Drive Blog Gnome sitting somewhere in your front yard!
Scupper, reporting for BDB
As residents of Beach Drive, who live not far from Emma Schmitz Park, we joined with others to take part in Greggette Guy's vigil on Sunday evening. After taking a stand to walk united in her memory and listening to her father's tearful plea to make the park safer, some ideas have been formulating.
Greggette's father would like the dark lower sidewalk of Emma Schmitz, often covered in graffiti and not in street view, to be closed at dusk and better lit. He would also like a memorial in her name. What if we, as a community, come together to have a light installed to make the lower sidewalk safer and have it dedicated in Greggette's name?
I'm reading on West Seattle Blog tonight that the Seattle Police Department state they feel the murder probably took place in that section of the park. Representatives from the city have shared stats of how safe Beach Drive is…in my opinion, two murders in that park in that area in 20 years in the same area is not acceptable. Pruning back and removing shrubs is not enough. Even with ALL shrubs removed, a murder or other crimes could happen without anyone being able to witness from the street. The lower sidewalk, as Greggette's father said on Sunday evening, is a "death trap".
Via Facebook today, I noticed that Sally Bagshaw was promoting a "large public funds neighborhood match" program. I feel that the city should have the responsibility of keeping that sidewalk safe and well lit to avoid crimes. Perhaps our Beach Drive community can help raise funds to do something special to dedicate the lighting in Greggette's memory. Funds may also be raised to help increase the reward for tips leading to the capture of her murderer.
Again, just some of my thoughts in light of recent events.
What can we do?
What can you do?
Who do you know?
I'm proud to be a West Seattle-ite and love my neighborhood. I'm so saddened about what happened to Greggette. Let's take action as a community to do what we can to make sure this doesn't happen again.
I would love to start fund raising and would appreciate hearing any advice or input from our readers who have experience with this.
Everyone and anyone reading this post CAN do SOMETHING.
Tonight about 70 or more people gathered at the north point of Emma Schmitz Park and walked the park to Jacobsen and back. Neighbors reunited and perhaps met for the first time during this calm, cool evening at this event organized by Judy Bentley.
Candles and flashlights were lit as we stood together in silence. Ms. Guy's father appeared to thank everyone for the vigil and for remembering Greggette. He said that they used to walk this area together and that she enjoyed walking here during storms. He called the lower area of Emma Schmitz (which is out of view from the street) a "death trap" and he wants Seattle's Mayor McGinn to do something to remedy this. He would like to see the park closed at night with better lighting and a memorial to be created for his daughter. Several people came forward to offer condolences and hug Greggette's father. He said that had he known she was going to walk Beach Drive that night, he would have joined her.
The media was quick to interview Greggette's father after his words to our group.
Neighbors held several casual discussions with many ideas of what can be done to make this area of Beach Drive a safer place. Many have offered to volunteer their services or time. A neighbor is organizing a sign up so that people don't need to walk alone along this stretch of an area that "should" be safe. I believe that in Greggette's memory, many of us will work toward making this park a safer place through our own actions and by contacting our local politicians so that we can hopefully deter something like this from happening again.
Click here for West Seattle Blog's coverage, including a video of Greggette's Father and what he had to say to our neighborhood.
We received word this morning from a Beach Drive neighbor that a vigil and walk has been planned tonight, March 18th at 7:00 PM to remember Greggette Guy and to claim the parks as safe public space.
We'll gather at the north end of Emma Schmitz Park on the waterfront side of Beach Drive and walk the length of the park, carrying candles and flashlights as needed. We'll accompany anyone who needs company on the walk home.
A warm thanks to our community for organizing this event!
In light of the recent unsolved murder along Beach Drive, we're hearing from several neighbors that would like to make the Emma Schmitz Memorial Viewpoint/Mee-Kwa-Mooks park a safer area for both visitors and residents.
The most obvious area of concern is the lower, out of sight walkway that runs along the beach.
This section of Emma Schmitz Memorial park is known for it's drug scene, costly graffiti and now the likely scene of a second murder. For years, we have warned our kids to never walk down there when headed out towards Alki.
The first improvement should be better lighting… or any lighting at all given that there isn't any at this time. Another idea we're hearing (and totally behind of) is a permanent surveillance camera along with a few posted signs making people aware of it. A little less privacy is a small price to pay for being able to safely stroll on our sidewalks.
Beach Drive Blog is asking for help from any of you that have connections with the City or Parks Department to find out what it would take to make these improvements a reality. Several folks have already mentioned that they would chip in if necessary.
God bless and rest in peace Greggette Guy
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