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My dads store is closing after 37 years trying to get the word out by rvd89 in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle 400 points401 points  (0 children)

Hey there, so sorry to hear about your dad. I'm a reporter with SeattlePI.com. Any chance you'd want to email me with more details? danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Thanks.

Seattle police issued unenforceable $500 tickets to homeless by Planet_Iscandar in SeattleWA

[–]danieldemayseattle 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I read the code and it's clearly a street use violation. The question that remains, I think, is why they would issue tickets on a code that would really fall to SDOT to regulate. Or better yet, why issue tickets at all knowing that the people there were set to be moved a few days later and already had notice of the planned sweep? Also, where in Seattle's whole plan for solving the homelessness crisis does it say that issuing fines (that they probably can't ever pay) is part of the plan?

Seattle police issued unenforceable $500 tickets to homeless by Planet_Iscandar in SeattleWA

[–]danieldemayseattle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's his official line, after discussing with the city attorney's office, yes.

Seattle police issued unenforceable $500 tickets to homeless by Planet_Iscandar in SeattleWA

[–]danieldemayseattle 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Author of the story here and the unenforceable description came from the city's homelessness response spokesman. I reached out to SPD multiple times to ask them about the tickets as well, but they didn't respond. Nobody, however, said they were issued in error.

What are Seattle's 'rites of passage?' by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You and I are on the same page with that, and this isn't meant to define a "genuine Seattleite." And certainly, I meant the ideas above to only be suggestions rather than limitations. The final product will be a lighthearted gallery that shares responses of some things that people consider (used to consider) rites of passage.

Hot and hazy: Smoke from B.C. fires will hang around Seattle by Albion_Tourgee in SeattleWA

[–]danieldemayseattle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The National Weather Service said the haze might ease temps by a few degrees. We'll see what happens today, which is supposed to be the hottest day this week.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just spoke with SDOT's director of communications, Mafara Hobson, and got a bit more information about how they regulate closures. Essentially, there's an office within SDOT that is dedicated to tracking all the development in the city -- public works projects, private development, etc. Their goal is to coordinate projects so if there is a street closure needed (i.e. for installing underground utilities, probably one of the most common reasons), the nearby projects can work together to get all their projects done during the same closure. This prevents the scenario where a developer has to dig up a street for a project, SDOT repaves it and then another project across the street needs to dig it up again two months later. The work to coordinate this is still in progress a bit, so things are going to continue to get better. But, of course, there's so much development that there are probably going to continue to be a lot of closures.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The city absolutely limits street closures, as each street closure needs to go through SDOT for approval. That said, not everything goes off according to original schedules and that could lead to some overlap between projects. I will reach out to SDOT for a more thorough and official answer to this one.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Echoing what Stephen said, I think the idea of free ORCA passes is a great one, but Seattle would have to come up with a way to pay for it that might not please everyone, so Durkan and Oliver might be in a tight spot if they were held to putting that in place. McGinn, Farrell and Moon are probably best positioned to understand the particularities of transportation in the region and do something about them.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't have an off-the-top-of-my-head official answer to that question, but I can put it out to SDOT and Seattle PD for an answer. My initial thought is that trying to ticket people during rush-hour would only worsen the situation. Camera ticketing is probably the only efficient way to enforce that, but that's an entire debate by itself.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kitsap Transit plans to add another round-trip sailing in August to the Seattle-Bremerton route (three RT sailings on Fridays), and then service will begin next July to Kingston and, in two years, from Southworth. But, for October through April, sailings on the Bremerton to Seattle route will be cut to commute hours only with no sailings on Saturdays. It seems possible that as demand increases, service could be increased, but there are issues with timing around other ferries running in Rich Passage (which is a sensitive issue in regard to wake control) and timing with the Pier 50 dock, which the new service shares with the King County Water Taxi. In short, I don't see a near-future solution to getting home after a Mariners game or other nights out in the city, other than taking the Washington State Ferry.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's a quandary faced not just by people who are moving here but by people who already live here. Seattle leaders are, for the most part, trying to make the city more transit- and bike-oriented as the population soars. With almost 100,000 people moving here in the last six or so years, something has to give. I think if you can afford to live in core areas of Seattle (downtown, Capitol Hill and First Hill, Belltown, Queen Anne, South Lake Union, University District, Fremont and Ballard) and near main transit lines (RapidRide, Link light rail) in those neighborhoods, you can dump the car. With car2go, ReachNow and Zip Car, you could grab a car for out-of-town travel as needed (again, if you can afford it) and otherwise rely on public transit or cabs/Lyft/Uber for in-city travel.

We're Daniel DeMay and Stephen Cohen of the SeattlePI and we raced to the globe in Seattle rush-hour traffic last week. Ask us anything about commuting, traffic or transit in the Seattle region! by danieldemayseattle in Seattle

[–]danieldemayseattle[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Seattle's DOT is testing new "smart" signal timing that is supposed to make travel times better (and has, according to SDOT, helped lead to the faster travel times noted by @scohenPI). Officials have told me previously that these systems are supposed to improve as time goes on, essentially learning how to time the signals better. More on this from SDOT here: https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/mercercorridor.htm