White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Spotted that new business in the works on the far south end of Delridge while out surveying the roads: Tropical fish and pets. About a mile south, we checked McLendon, which hadn’t yet received the shipment of salt and deicer they were hoping to get today. Also, thanks to Rhonda for pointing out that the county has a roads hotline; it’s also mentioned in this news release we just received:

King County Transportation crews gear up
for another round of bad winter weather

Yet another winter storm with heavy snow possible in some King County communities by Wednesday evening has road and Metro Transit crews scrambling to get ready this afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a storm warning for up to 6 inches or more of snow for eastern areas of the county and a trace to two inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon in the Seattle metro area. Additional snow may fall tomorrow evening. That means virtually all areas of King County could be impacted by snowfall beginning early tomorrow morning with snow showers continuing throughout the day and evening.

While we may see varying degrees of snowfall around the county, residents should take this storm seriously if they plan to travel tomorrow. Depending on the timing and location of the snow, morning and afternoon commutes could become a major headache, especially for east King County residents. Travel conditions are expected to worsen as the day progresses.

In anticipation of the storm, the King County Road Services Division, which has been operating around-the-clock since Saturday, is applying anti-icer to major arterials, bridges and arterials located on steep hills. The division will also remain on 24-hour operations to plow and sand.

But depending on the timing and severity of the storm, it will be very difficult to keep roads clear, especially during morning or afternoon commute times. Motorists should be aware of this potential and plan their trip accordingly to avoid becoming stuck or having to abandon their vehicle. Given the forecast, motorists may even want to consider postponing non-essential travel.

King County Metro Transit is planning on chaining most of its buses for the Wednesday morning commute, and warns bus riders that service could be delayed by the weather conditions throughout the day – particularly in outlying areas of East and Southeast King County.

Many buses may be on snow routing, if not for the morning commute then by midday and late afternoon. Metro may have to switch to snow routes in some locations with little notice. So, the best way to stay on top of the reroutes is to check the adverse weather information on Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000.

Bus riders are reminded to:

Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office;
Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;
Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and
Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

And of course, the county is again reminding motorists to be prepared for winter driving. That means: having plenty of gas in the car; driving with all season tires, chains and warm clothing; and please don’t abandon your vehicle in the middle of travel lanes.

Residents are also encouraged to report problems on roads in unincorporated King County by calling (206) 296-8100, or 1-800-KC ROADS if they live outside the greater Seattle calling area.

Here’s a link with more on the county road hotline. Meantime, another photo – this is from a couple hours ago, on SW 99th looking east across 15th SW (which was in decent shape, as was 16th SW through the business district, though both were wet and likely to reglaze tonight):

Highline Public Schools will be 2 hours late today; Seattle Public Schools is also going to start 2 hours late. Meanwhile, a winter storm watch is up for late Tuesday through late Wednesday (forecasts here). For Metro bus updates, here’s the latest list of the ones on “adverse weather” reroutes.

Some pictures of White Center on this sunny winter day.

Rozella Building

Sidewalk on 16th Avenue SW

Winter sun seen through maple tree

Looking Down 16th Avenue SW

Cafe Rozella

From the Metro website just minutes ago:

That warning, and complaint, on the scanner just now, on a frequency where we’ve been monitoring everything from police to sheriff to Fire Department communications for the region, including a frequency on which school-bus drivers and dispatchers have been communicating — after that line, came the rebuke, “I don’t know who drove this to make it OK.” If the professional drivers are having trouble, that’s another good reason to avoid hitting the road if you possibly can. We’ve heard “sheet of ice” dozens of times in these communications.

The side roads have not been sanded so the hills remain very trecharous and icy.  Avoid if you can.  Myrtle SW in front of Sanislo Elementary School is an ice-sheet on a hill.  DO NOT attempt going up or down Myrtle in front of Sanislo.  Parents can park a block away – preferably away from Myrtle – and walk their kids up the sidewalk.  Very bad accident on this street yesterday.  If you don’t have chains you will not be able to go up the hill and you will skid down the street – endangering pedestrians and property.  Same goes for all non-arterial hills.  Be Safe – Avoid the Hills and Dont’ drive if you don’t have to.

We’re calling around to try to find chains. Schuck’s in White Center doesn’t have the size we need and told us they’d sold $10,000 in chains and antifreeze this weekend alone!

Highline Public Schools and Seattle Public Schools are both on two-hour delay; those and other districts are listed on SchoolReport.org. Holy Family School is starting at 10 am; Shorewood Christian School is closed. More as we get it. Here are various info-links:

County info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including Metro reroutes)
Metro “adverse weather” service status
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter

5:57 AM UPDATE: Metro has now updated its page with Monday morning info. The 128 is on its “adverse weather” routing, among other White Center/West Seattle-area routes listed here. Here’s the table:

Another update tonight from the county – read it here. We are also keeping watch for any updates from both the Highline and Seattle school districts on potential school changes/closures for tomorrow and will post that information as soon as it’s available; you can also watch the regional closure-information site SchoolReport.org. 9:03 PM UPDATE: We have word that Holy Family School will start late tomorrow, 10 am.

We noticed earlier that there was no updated “bus problems” information on the Metro website – despite numerous reports in our West Seattle Blog snow/ice coverage about stranded buses – and sent County Executive Ron Sims a Twitter message wondering what the problem was. He replied the system was down but being fixed. Sure enough, now there’s updated information – hope it helps.

Icy roads everywhere, even if you’re not on a hill. More snow showers on the way, says the National Weather Service, which has a “winter weather advisory” in effect till 3 pm (see the newest forecast here).

Three-plus hours of snow now, and the National Weather Service says it may not entirely let up before midday Sunday (a “winter weather advisory” is now in effect through noon). Check the “live” traffic camera on our right-hand sidebar for the latest look at the roads; here’s the latest forecast – note tomorrow’s high is predicted as “near 30.” Brrrr!

4 pm, holiday party and open house at Cafe Rozella – Ricardo wrote about it here. Remember, bring donations for the White Center Food Bank. After that, if you are still searching for holiday fun in the area, one of Seattle’s most popular Christmastime attractions will visit West Seattle tonight — the Argosy Christmas Ship (5:15 pm Seacrest Pier, 8:50 pm Lowman Beach north of Lincoln Park, 9:40 pm Alki Beach; here’s its full-season schedule – if you miss it tonight, it’s back in West Seattle at Don Armeni Boat Ramp Sunday night, and in the South Sound at Des Moines and Dash Point Monday night).

A new Harris Survey asks the question, which would you forgo first, sex or internet access.   According to the New York Times:

According to the study, 46 percent of women and 30 percent of men would opt to forgo sex for two weeks instead of giving up access to their precious Internet for the same period.

More broadly, those surveyed said access to the Internet ranked highest among the discretionary spending items they could not live without. Cable television, dining out, shopping for clothes and gym memberships followed in declining importance.

Well, I for one would easily give up TV over internet access.  As for sex, well, that’s a tougher call.

In the Times’ real-estate section, a nice feature about White Center-neighboring Top Hat, including some quotes from Heidi Johnson of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council. Read it here.

At least, that’s the purported source of this comment just posted this afternoon on our Monday night post in which we broke the news about the annexation-process deal between Burien, Seattle, and two fire districts. So we thought we’d give it its own post:

Members of the White Center and broader North Highline Communities:

We have observed the blog postings making interpretations of the proposed memorandum of understanding between King County, Burien, Seattle and Fire Districts 2 and 11 regarding proposed annexation boundaries for the cities of Seattle and Burien.

Questions and interpretations are being offered. The intent of this posting is to address both.

First, the MOU is a proposed memorandum of understanding between the cities of Burien, Seattle, King County, and Fire District 2 and Fire District 11. The MOU lays out general policy principles and specific activities that the parties agree to in support of transitioning North Highline from unincorporated to city status and to ensure fire and life safety services are not jeopardized by any annexation proposal by either city. This is not an “Interlocal Agreement” as defined by state law nor does it allow for “annexation by interlocal agreement.” The MOU is premised on each city filing their proposals before the Washington State Boundary Review Board and then, if approved by the BRB, the annexation question being put before the voters of North Highline for a decision.

THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE MOU WAS TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE BOUNDARY REVIEW BOARD PROCESS INITIATIED BY BURIEN THIS SUMMER:

• Fire and Life Safety Services Protected — In the event of annexation, Burien, Seattle, King County and the Fire Districts all agree to work collaboratively to maintain the level of fire and life safety services to North Highline communities and neighborhoods of North Burien, Arbor Heights and urban unincorporated areas of South Park.

• Agreement to Burien’s Proposed Annexation Boundary through minor adjustment — Many of the stated concerns with Burien’s proposed annexation boundary are resolved with a small adjustment that maintains Fire District 11’s Headquarters outside of the area to be proposed for annexation by the City of Burien.

• Agreement to coordinated phasing of Annexation Election Proposals for consideration by North Highline residents — The MOU recognizes that there is broad diversity of opinions and preferences in the North Highline communities regarding annexation to Seattle and Burien and acknowledges both cities represent reasonable governance alternatives. The MOU supports Burien’s proposal for annexation election for the southern portion of North Highline and Seattle’s proposal for an annexation election for the northern portion of North Highline.

• Agreement that both Seattle and Burien should have access to the same level of state funding if either city is able to move forward with annexation of White Center and the northern portion of Boulevard Park

— Both cities acknowledge that the cost of serving this area (“Area Y”) is greater than the cost of serving the southern area proposed for annexation to Burien (“Area X”). The MOU acknowledges this through the agreement to have all parties work collaboratively to amend the annexation state sales tax credit law so that both Burien and Seattle would have access to up to $5 million if either annex Area Y.

The aim of the proposed MOU is to remove the obstacles that stop both Burien and Seattle from making annexation proposals to the voters of North Highline. The mediated agreement presumes the decision to annex will rest in the hands of North Highline voters.

If you have questions or comments about the mediation agreement, please feel free to contact the King County Annexation Initiative at: annexation@kingcounty.gov. Thank you. – King County Annexation Initiative

The latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service, published minutes ago (just before 10 am), is backing away from snow possibilities (except “slushy” on “higher hills”) around here. Read it here. And still keep getting ready for those low temps starting later in the weekend and continuing on into next week – that’s where the true trouble could lurk.

Every time we’ve been to the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition‘s meetings, the WC dance club Evolucion comes up, and some people start venting. Some of that spilled over here, after our report on the club’s security manager attending last month’s meeting. Tonight, Evolucion owner Alfred Lopez accepted an invitation to meet with the group. (Watch the video above.) Questions for him revolved around parking, the club’s capacity, rumors that the club was expanding (it’s not, but he’s adding a fire sprinkler system) and whether there’s gang activity at the club.

The parking questions were the most frequent. Overall, the crowd claimed that the uptick in all manner of crime was due to the club. But several in the crowd pointed out that Evolucion cannot be blamed for everything, contending that several other establishments, such as The Wall and Brewsky’s are problematic as well.

Lopez says that he does not serve alcohol, but acknowledges that teenagers sneak out to drink, saying he has measures in place to deal witht that. Also, he uses off-duty officers to patrol his place, which led someone to say that if he’s using the police to patrol, then his place must be dangerous.

OTHER NEWS: The meeting opened with Seattle Police officer Adonis Topacio running out some crime stats for the past 6 weeks. He said that burglaries always go up around the holidays, so beware. Also, the BB gun burglars have been largely apprehended and a “substantial amount” of the goods they stole have been recovered. One new twist we hadn’t heard:The BB Gun bandits confessed to police that they were on their latest spree to raise cash to pay for the restitution they’d been slapped with from previous burglary busts.

Ok, so we live in a part of the country that gives us wet roads most of the year.  So why is it, that when it starts to rain, we have wave of collisions by drivers who fail to heed simple cautionary driving methods?  Really, you’d think everyone driving in Seattle just moved here from Southern California.  Wait, many just did.  So, for those of you who failed drivers’ ed, here are some general guidelines.  Drive slower — I don’t care if your SUV is equipped with all-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes, you will need longer stopping distances in wet and icy roads.  Allow greater space between your car and the guy in front of you.  Should s/he hit the brakes, you will not ram into their rear end.  Anticipate greater braking distance.  It takes a longer distance to stop your car when you are driving on wet or icy roads.   Ease into braking by anticipating stops, pedestrians or foolish drivers cutting you off:  drive defensively.   Let the jerk have his way.  If some nitwit wants the right-of-way despite the fact that it is yours, let him go, his karma will catch up with him shortly.  Finally, get a good book and some videos.  If you don’t have to drive, DON’T.   Stoke up the space heater, fireplace or wood-stove and enjoy the opportunity to cacoon.  Most critically, don’t drive like an idiot!  Be smart and be safe.

At West Seattle Blog, we have running coverage (see it here) from the briefing at which the two “finalist” scenarios for the Alaskan Way Viaduct central waterfront section have just been unveiled to state, county, and city leaders. At least one of the scenarios also includes: “Park and rides would be expanded in Burien, White Center, and Shoreline.” Much more information to come. ADDED 4:21 PM: The “expanded park and ride” for White Center is mentioned in BOTH scenarios that now are under active consideration – “surface/transit” and “elevated bypass.”