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Author: Nate Strong

About Nate Strong

Customer Success Lead at @Socedo. Marketer. @SeattlePacific Grad. @ournorthseattle Blogger. Lover of #sql, @marketo, #data. #AvGeek. Skier. ENTJ.
Transportation

Lake City Way Northbound Closed This Weekend

Get ready for a traffic snarl this weekend in North Seattle – Lake City Way is going to be closed starting Friday, November 18 at 7pm and will not reopen until Monday, November 21 at 5am.

This is a part of an ongoing project by SDOT to increase pedestrian accessibility in the notoriously devoid of sidewalks North Seattle.

Source: SDOT

Here’s the blurb from SDOT (Source):

Both Northbound lanes of Lake City Way NE will be closed for weekend work starting November 18 at 7 PM, and will reopen by 5 AM on November 21. Uniformed peace officers will be on site for the duration of the closures to facilitate the detour onto westbound NE 125th St for northbound traffic on Lake City Way NE. Pedestrian detours will be located at the north crosswalk of the intersection of 125th and Lake City Way. Follow detour signage on site. This work is weather dependent and could be postponed if the forecast isn’t favorable.

Buses will be rerouted, for details on bus information please visit King County Metro website at: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/alerts-updates

Here are the details of the project, also on the same page:

In 2018, the southbound bus stop on Lake City Way at NE 125th was expanded to give access to two buses at the same time. Now, SDOT will improve the bus stops along the route for better transit and pedestrian accessibility. Here are the planned changes:

  • New sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of Lake City Way between 30th Ave NE and NE 125th St
  • Widened sidewalks will make a better pedestrian environment for customers
  • Moving the bus stop closer to 125th St will make it easier to transfer to or from westbound and eastbound buses
  • New bus loading is important since a bus comes to this stop every 3 minutes during the PM peak
  • Improved traffic circulation by allowing two buses to load and unload simultaneously. The new stop will be able to fit two buses at a time, so that buses don’t have to wait and slow down traffic for everyone
  • Adding new pedestrian lighting for safer and easier access
  • Expanding the bus stop requires removing 6-8 one-hour parking spots along the east side of Lake City Way, but loading zones for businesses will remain.
  • Removing 6-8 one-hour parking spots along the east side of Lake City Way NE
Education

John Rogers Replacement Community Meeting: Tuesday Nov 29

New John Rogers Sketches
Provided Courtesy of Seattle Schools

If you live in Northeast Seattle, you probably are aware that John Rogers Elementary School is slated for a full building replacement on the existing site. This $91 million project will start construction this upcoming summer and is projected to take 2 years.

Seattle Schools hosted a very informative meeting in July about the project (presentation), and they’re going to host another update.

John Rogers Update Meeting will be on November 29 from 6-7pm

According to Seattle Schools, they will “introduce the project team, update you on the most recent designs, and answer questions.”

The Teams link to the meeting (it will be virtual) will be posted on the project site on Monday, November 28.

Transportation

Release: Sound Transit seeks feedback on ORCA LIFT $1 fare pilot

Press release from Sound Transit

Earlier this year, Sound Transit reduced the one-way ORCA LIFT fare on all Sound Transit services from $1.50 to $1.00 as part of a six-month pilot project. A brief survey and service area-wide public engagement process will gather feedback and help develop a Fare Equity Analysis to support a possible Board decision on making this a permanent fare change.

Online survey

The public can take the ORCA LIFT $1 Fare Pilot Survey here.

The survey is also available in Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Russian, Korean, and both Traditional and Simplified Chinese, which can all be accessed via the main survey page.

The survey is available through December 9.

Sound Transit remains committed to working closely with its partners to continue serving the public. Efforts will continue to prioritize serving riders who depend on Sound Transit’s services, including seniors, people with disabilities, Title VI protected populations (race, color, national origin), low-income and limited-English-proficiency populations.

Politics

Darya Farivar increases lead for LD 46 State Rep Position

While not all the votes are counted yet, it seems that disability rights activist Darya Farivar has opened up a significant lead over Pediatrician Dr. Lelach Rave in the competitive LD 46 of just under 5,300 votes as of this writing according to the WA Secretary of State.

Current Results (Source: WA Secretary of State)

This lead would be hard to overcome especially since the latest drop of votes increased Farivar’s lead over Rave, however nothing is out of the realm of possibility in elections.

Farivar has claimed victory on Twitter, but Rave has not conceded as far as we can tell. We’ll see how things continue to go as the votes are counted.

Transportation

1st Anniversary Results are in for the University of Washington Light Rail Station – and it’s stunning

Sound Transit just announced in a press release on Friday that since adding the University of Washington station to the Central Link line, ridership has increased by 89% on the average weekday.  This means that 65,000 people are now riding Link Light Rail any given day.  Apparently, weekend ridership is also up 73% as well.

For most North Seattleites, the University of Washington Light Rail station has been a welcome, but half-step towards accessing our nascent public transit system.  The Roosevelt and Northgate stations are slated to open up in 2021, which should bring almost full operations to North Seattle.  Also, since ST3 passed, the 130th infill station will be on the docket, but much further down the road.

Here’s the press release:

Since light rail began serving Capitol Hill and the University of Washington, average ridership on Link grew to 65,100 people each weekday

One year ago Sunday, Sound Transit launched light rail service to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium, contributing to an 89 percent growth in average weekday ridership on Link from February 2016 to February 2017.

Weekend ridership on Link has also been strong, averaging 39,400 on Saturdays and 29,200 on Sundays—a 73 percent jump to last year.

In February alone, 1.5 million people rode light rail—a 78 percent increase for the month compared to February last year.

“I can’t think of a better way to mark U Link’s first birthday than by celebrating the dramatic growth in ridership since light rail service began serving Capitol Hill and UW last March,” said Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “As we expand light rail to other communities, thousands more will soon enjoy the ease and comfort of riding Link.”

“The demand for light rail service—during the work week and weekends—is proof that investments in its continued expansion is critically needed,” said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. “Light rail expansions now and in the future will provide a vital regional transit network that is essential to supporting population growth, jobs and a robust regional economy.”

During the fourth quarter last year, the UW and Capitol Hill stations accounted for 16,000 of 65,600 average weekday boardings on Link.

More ridership information can be found here: soundtransit.org/ridership.

Original Source

 

Correction: We had originally called this the University District Light Rail station, largely because that’s how it’s seen now, even though there will be a University District light rail station coming in 2021, around about the same time they open the Northgate Station.

Local Initiatives

D5: Your Voice, Your Choice Meeting is Tomorrow

A series of meetings have been going on over the past few weeks around projects that can be submitted for funding requests through the City.  This is a great way to get involved in our District, and the next meeting (second of four) is tomorrow at 10:00am at the Northgate Community Center.

Here’s the quote from the signup page:

Thank you for your interest in being on the Your Voice, Your Choice Project Development Team in your district.  So far, we have received over 600 project ideas citywide!  Through these project development team meetings, you and others in your district will help decide which 8-10 projects will advance to SDOT/Parks for a more thorough cost and feasibility review and eventually on the ballot in June. Anyone is welcome to attend one or all four of these meetings within their council district.

In each of the below meetings, meeting participants will be asked to review and evaluate project ideas based on need, impact, and equity within the district. These will be interactive meetings that evoke discussion, learning and discussion about needs in your district, and thoughtful consideration of projects’ benefits to your district. This is about helping to identify those projects that are going to serve the highest need and provide the most benefit for your district, not about advocating for the particular project that you may have submitted.

Sign up to attend here – represent your community tomorrow!

More information can be found here.

Politics

Mayor Murray Announces Funding for New SPD North Seattle Precinct

A friendly press release showed up in my inbox this afternoon – which should be great for our North Seattle Precinct.  It sounds like North Seattle is getting some attention down at City Hall!

Here’s the press release:

SEATTLE (April 22, 2016) – Mayor Ed Murray today announced the funding strategy for the new Seattle Police Department North Precinct, slated to break ground in 2017 and open for business in 2019. The mayor will propose no new taxes to pay for the project.

“Because of our vibrant local economy and vigorous real estate sales, we can construct our new North Precinct within existing and projected resources,” said Murray. “While we do have other public safety infrastructure projects on the horizon, there is no need to send a public safety levy to the ballot in near future.”

Seattle continues to collect large receipts in the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) from the sales of residential and commercial properties, which can only be used to pay for City capital projects, including transportation infrastructure, Parks buildings and public safety facilities.

Due to projected ongoing strength of REET receipts, the mayor will not propose a public safety levy in 2016 or 2017.

To date, $21 million has been appropriated toward the $160 million precinct project, which will be located at Aurora Avenue North and North 130th Street. The mayor is proposing to fund the remaining $139 million through a combination of REET receipts, 30-year bonds financed by future REET receipts, and the one-time sale of other City assets.

The new North Precinct will accommodate future growth in the Seattle Police Department and replaces the existing North Precinct facility at 10049 College Way North, which is seriously over-crowded. Expansion at the current site is not possible and the existing building constructed in 1984 to house 154 staff, is now home to more than 250 personnel. Planning work began on this project in 2013.

In 2015, Seattle collected a record $73 million through REET on commercial and residential real estate transactions. The City projects that REET collections will continue to remain strong: $56 million in 2016, $56 million in 2017, $60 million in 2018 and $64 million in 2019. A portion of these revenues will be directed towards the construction of the new North Precinct facility.

“Public safety and community policing are high priorities for Seattle residents,” said Councilmember Debora Juarez. “A new police station will house more officers in a better location, which will help ensure police are available to residents when they call. Safe communities are healthy communities.  The proposed financing approach for this facility means we can make a significant investment in our community without asking voters for a new tax increase.”

“With the current North Precinct overcrowded and sitting on a swamp, a new precinct building cannot come soon enough,” said Councilmember Tim Burgess, chair of the Council’s finance committee. “The Council has long pushed to move this project forward as quickly as possible, and I’m pleased that Mayor Murray has developed a solid funding plan to advance construction.”

As part of the City’s effort to respond to homelessness, the City continues to partner with Mary’s Place to provide additional temporary shelter for homeless families within the old PI Bank building at 130th and Stone Way, which currently stands on the site of the new precinct.

Real Estate

Tyler’s Real Estate Updates: Where Did All These New People Come From

If you’re like most of my clients, you’ve noticed that things in North Seattle are looking very different than they did in years past. New developments are going up, sold signs are covering “for sale” signs, and the remnants of construction crews getting homes ready for market. Not to mention the traffic increase!

Make no mistake… the secret is out about North Seattle! With our fantastic schools, focus on community and Seattle’s unfathomably competitive housing market, folks are shifting their dreams north to find affordable housing. And why blame them, with the average Seattle home value climbing 13.4% in 2015 to $536,700 according to Zillow. While North Seattle communities like Greenwood maintain an average home value of $487,700 or Lake City Way preserving an average of $401,191, North Seattle has become the place where value is found.

So here’s the million-dollar question… Do you think this market will sustain itself? Are we headed for another burst bubble? With the median purchase price of residential homes in Seattle quickly climbing past $550k today, you have to think this craziness will slow down, right? Will North Seattle see the same insane home prices akin to communities like Fremont, Greenlake, Wallingford, Queen Anne and Magnolia? Do we want North Seattle to become the next Ballard?

While no one can predict the future, everyone has the ability to read the data. Whether or not you’re in favor of the economic rise it seems that Seattle growth is not slowing down anytime soon. With a growing economy and industries of tech, health, non-profit, bio-tech and aerospace as well as a growth estimation of more than 200,000 people by 2040, the sheer lack of supply and massive amount of demand has proven that the Emerald City is a great investment.

According to Seattle Business Magazine, “Between 1970 and 2015, regional employment advanced at a 2.5% annual rate, more than 50% faster than the nation.” This steady increase is due to “people following the jobs.” And when people follow jobs, they buy houses, thus pushing prices up.

So what does it mean for North Seattleites? As the middle class continues to get priced out of the city, more folks are beginning to look north. With the installation of the University of Washington Light Rail station and plans to expand further north, North Seattle is on the cusp of something much bigger.

Question: In what North Seattle neighborhoods have you seen the most development? What do you think of this growth?

This article is part of a series by Tyler Davis Jones, a North Seattle Real Estate agent.  We interviewed Tyler a few months ago: see here.

Breaking News

Power Outage Affecting Morning Traffic in Lake City and Northgate

A large power outage affected Lake City and Northgate traffic and residents this morning, most likely due to the heavy winds that are sweeping through the region. Seattle City Light is aware of the problem and is Investigating, according to their website.

Traffic is backed up on Lake City Way between about 145th and Northgate Way and parts of Northgate Way are also backed up.

Here’s a map of the outage:

Lake City Power Outage

Local Business

Mayor Murray Statement on Greenwood Fire

As many of you know, there was a heavily damaging fire in Greenwood last night – some of you were posting about explosions being heard in the neighborhood, and unfortunately this is true.  It appears that 9 firefighters were hurt during the actual fight.

Here’s a report from KOMO on the fire.

Also, Mayor Murray released a statement this morning:

SEATTLE (March 9, 2016) – Seattle Mayor Ed Murray issued the following statement regarding last night’s fire and explosion in the Greenwood neighborhood:

“My thoughts are with the Seattle firefighters injured from last night’s explosion in Greenwood and I wish them a quick recovery. These men and women risked their lives this morning, as they do every day, to keep our community safe. I am grateful for their service and all of our first responders.

“As the investigation and clean-up continues today, I ask that commuters along the corridor be patient. Please follow updates from the Seattle Department of Transportation and King County Metro on detours and alternate transit routes to keep people moving through the neighborhood and away from the scene during the investigation.

“Greenwood is a close knit neighborhood and an incident like this is felt by the entire community. I know neighbors will do everything they can to support these businesses as they begin the long and challenging task to recover and repair from this incident. The City will also be there to do what we can to help those affected with the clean-up and help local business owners as they work to get back on their feet and re-open their doors.”

Thanks to the first responders/firefighters who put themselves in danger every day to keep us safe.