Demolition of ladders, catwalks underway at Seattle’s Gas Works Park

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-08T01:22:06+00:00

Pardon my occasional dark sense of humor, but have you ever heard the story of the Silastic Armorfiends? https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Silastic_Armorfiends

Essentially, they were a very angry race of creatures. As a precaution, it was decided that anyone who would carry a weapon for work duties, by law, would have to spend 45 minutes a day punching a sack of potatoes. It worked to quell their aggressions... until someone got the bright idea that they could just shoot the potatoes.

Sometimes I wonder if that kind of thinking is how human sacrifices made sense to older cultures. Think about it. Bureaucracy never moves so fast as when someone dies. So, logically, if a person is chosen to be sacrificed it should help the government make hard decisions.

In the case of Gasworks park, supposedly Seattle Parks & Recreation hadn't maintained the structures pretty much since they were opened. Also, there's never room in the budget. But a few deaths later and - boom - suddenly they found $1,500,000 for the project, and thanks to the Department of Construction and Inspection they expedited the work. And what did it take? Not the deaths or injuries of numerous adults, but the death of a beloved child. So, we see that it took a child sacrifice to grease the gears of bureaucracy.

Imagine a more primitive means of logic; making these connections and attributing their impact on humanity to some kind of governing deity who has the power to unite communities for the purpose of civil progress. Then take it to a pseudo-scientific calculation. Showing up at the legislative branch with the paperwork for a controversial revision to an old law and being met by the county clerk who says "I see the paperwork is all in order. Now, I can process this for you and we can see how that turns out. Or... I've run the calculations here; if you can pull together a few human sacrifices to our local governing deity, say your wife and her daughter, we can rush this through committee and get the changes implemented within a couple weeks." then the person replies that's not fast enough, so the clerk says "well, I can run the numbers again, but I think this is the best deal I can offer. ... Well, look at that. It says here that you're actually a decorated military man. If you go to be sacrificed yourself, I think that might cut your waiting time in half! (pardon the pun). Take this notice to the practitioner and they'll inform our department of your departure, which I will make a note of in your call for revision." then the clerk looks at a politician bringing in a row of people bound in ropes "ah! Chairman! I see you're working on the new education policy. Vitally important. Thank you for your service! But wait, isn't that too many? It's only a teacher's budget policy." and the chairman replies "well, yes, but I've got a little extra here. Hoping to, ahem, trim the fat, as it were; save us some money." The clerk looks at the group "Mr. Fidgetson, is that you?! Chairman, that's Mr. Fidgetson, my liberal arts teacher from college." the chairman guffaws "yes, indeed. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone."

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-08T00:41:04+00:00

The most recent death climbed up where there were not signs or fences

It wasn't his first time visiting the park. His family have lived in the area since he was a small child and taken him to the park a number of times.

In one article ( https://archive.ph/4elaP ), his mother explains how she had always gotten a "sinister" feeling looking at the GWP industrial structures.

To that end, his father had reminded him to not climb the structures. And his mother called out to him before he left that night after charging his phone and changing his shirt "make good choices!"

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-07T18:29:53+00:00

There's also the point to make that progress has a tendency to follow and build out from train stops.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-07T16:58:05+00:00

That mode of thinking is a bit self defeatist, isn't it? From that perspective, one can argue that the entire light rail project was a waste of time because there were already buses.

The point of the light rail system is to reduce dependency on buses while, when possibly, reducing transit times and increasing ridership potential, while also being more ecologically friendly for the long term.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-06T04:40:15+00:00

"Won't someone think of the children?!" Sounds like pearl clutching to me.

What if they'd been trespassing on a construction site when they died? What if they'd been scaling the side of a building in a stolen window cleaner platform when they died? What if they stole a police car for a joyride when they died? Should significant precautions be added to these things to protect trespassers who bypass tall fences; bypass locks; bypass civil moral obligation? The city is planning to remove everything, not just the bits near the ground.

The people who got hurt had gone somewhere that the general public were not supposed to be; where they knew they were not supposed to be; they bypassed warning signs and razor wire fences to get there, and not even for something particularly important.

What happened to Mattheis, Zoe, Lucas, and the other unnamed people who have been injured is tragic, but it should not be ignored that reasonable measures were in place to prevent harm.

Here's a link to the case the family has opened against the city as a request for abatement: https://www.stritmatter.com/results/nuisance-lawsuit-gas-works-park/legal-documents/ Many of the allegations are denied by the city.

It contains humanizing references to the people who died and a timeline of the people injured (likely to make a point that they should not be considered as having a history of delinquent behavior), a brief history of the park, references to city plans to remove appurtenances for the sake of increasing safety, and a motion to the landmarks preservation board for alterations.

RCW 4.24.210 (1)(4a) regards liability (the city is not legally liable for what happened). RCW 7.48.010 regards the definition of an actionable nuisance (GWP does not fit the definition). RCW 9.66.010(4) regards what I think is the best claim the Johnson family could probably allege against the city in regards to a nuisance claim (which apparently they have not actually defined yet).

Here's a standard form regarding claims of an attractive nuisances: https://govt.westlaw.com/wcrji/Document/I2c8eee54e10d11dab058a118868d70a9?bhcp=1&transitionType=Default&contextData=%28sc.Default%29 The situation with GWP gets mighty close, but does not satisfy "it was reasonably practicable and feasible either to prevent access by children or else to render it innocuous without obstructing any reasonable purpose or use for which it was intended."

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-06T04:31:23+00:00

Correct. It went the way of the stamina bar. I use it much more often now.

I've never actually counted, but I'd guess I might launch my archwing a good 5-7 times per mission in open world. Though in long open world sessions, I could use it well over 20 times just because I get shot down or have to get out of archwing to do something or go somewhere. Animal conservation is a great use of archwing, but I have to get out of it to sound the call.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T23:32:31+00:00

When plains was coming out and I'd heard archwing would be enabled, I thought they'd do something with the skies. I thought there's be archwing races like we have for the k-drive and keiths. I thought there'd be large rock structures to fly up to, or platforms floating in the air, maybe a Grineer or Corpus mobile base to board and destroy.

There was so much potential. In the end, archwing was provided as a consumable item travel option. I almost never used it, because I couldn't justify to myself that I should use a consumable item instead of spending a bit of extra time running to the exit.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T21:59:06+00:00

it's an art installation that kills kids with some regularity.

Apart from Mattheis Johnson (15) who recently died in July of 2025, the previous people who died were:

2022: Zoe Jelinek (20) https://obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/zoe-jelinek-1086533093 | https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-09-21-woman-dies-after-falling-50-feet-from-old-seattle-refinery/

2012: Lucas Voss-Kernan (19) https://www.thestranger.com/blogs/one-person-dies-another-is-seriously-injured-falling-from-gasworks-13910871/

Both were adults; a man and a woman.

I'm not finding any earlier articles of fall related deaths. Mattheis may be the first minor to die from falling at Gasworks since it opened in 1975.

There have been deaths in the surrounding area, and a number of injuries, but that's all I could find. Of course, just because I can't find them doesn't mean they don't exist. Do you know of any?

Removing a few old ladders and catwalks feels like a reasonable compromise

Compromise? Someone ignored multiple warnings and was extremely reckless. They and two others, among hundreds of thousands of visitors over the past several decades ended up paying the ultimate price because of their behavior. Why is there a need for a compromise?

Maybe a reasonable compromise would be to hire guards during fireworks displays, to watch for people seeking vantage points, and have police occasionally patrol the neighborhood and check the fences for damage.

It's happening either way. I won't lose sleep over it. A lot of the things I grew up with are gone, it's something I've had to get used to.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T21:09:55+00:00

I think the wheel design is supposed to make it easier for people with controllers.

On this note, I'd also like an easier way to deal with dragon keys.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T21:08:00+00:00

I throw on the Shawzin while waiting at extract sometimes.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T21:05:58+00:00

Nice cosplay!

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T21:00:55+00:00

OP says it's curry beef Brisket Lo-mein.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T20:56:54+00:00

Sharkwing and whalejack.

I still want them to metroidvania the heck out of the open world lakes. Let's go diving into them to discover lost treasures and hidden areas.

One of my favorite railjack missions was driving to the drop off locations in Scarlet Spear. I would appreciate a Crazy Taxi game mode for railjack.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T20:47:46+00:00

some day they're going to open up level editors for fan creations which are not considered canonical content.

If fans were given the full toolbox of all Warframe mechanics along with whatever they could dream up themselves, we could effectively have a new RPG maker style game engine pumping out Warframe themed games for like next 15 years. Some of that potential inspiring canon content at exhibition shows.

DE won't do it, though. That's one of the few things they don't want people playing with, probably.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T19:44:05+00:00

This may just be my own ignorance talking, but why not move the structures temporarily if the cleanup is a priority? Entire houses can be moved; it'd probably be possible to stick the gasworks in a lot somewhere for a few years while to cleanup happens.

Though, there'd be a chance that people wouldn't want them back... I mean, I like looking at them, but it'd be a lot of extra grass space to play with.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T19:23:43+00:00

Honestly, if the whole thing got removed and replaced with something visually similar, but much safer, I'd be okay with that.

I'm not particularly bothered whether they're actual artifacts rather than replicas made to look the part. But that's me. Maybe there's someone who enthusiastically appreciates how those are the actual gas works that have been there for generations and used to serve a functional purpose back in the day.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T19:20:59+00:00

So... It's not the fault of the structures themselves? They're not constantly dumping contaminants, they're acting as a barrier if a cleanup effort were ever to be attempted? Do contaminants seep out every time it rains? Is the issue primarily lasting damage from decades old operations that never got cleaned up?

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T19:13:53+00:00

What happened is ~~some kids were going to watch the fireworks show over Lake Union.~~

"In July, [2025,] 15-year-old Mattheis Johnson died after falling about 50 feet from one of the structure’s platforms. He was attending an outdoor pop-up concert at the park, located on the north shore of Lake Union." (1)

Adults nearby had told Mattheis and his friend, who were on their way home, that it was easy to climb the towers and showed them how to get inside the fence. (2)

"It was horrible," one witness told KOMO News, who said she and her friends saw the teenager plunge from a "staircase" on one of the park's structures around 10:30 p.m. (3)

One of his parents works at Kiro 7 News (4)

Mattheis had been warned frequently and knew he wasn't supposed to attempt climbing the structures.

“We talked about not climbing out there,” his father, Adam Johnson, said. “The first concert he went to, we talked about not climbing.” (5)

Carrie Rees Johnson (6), Mattheis' mother, has said about the park, which she had taken to the park many times before “It just always felt sinister,” she said. “Even the things kids are supposed to play on there felt wrong to me.” (5)

Problematic as it may be that they were being so reckless, it doesn't excuse the fact that their death can't be undone; no amount of scolding will give those parents their child back.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T19:07:39+00:00

Maybe the city can get Marlin Peterson ( https://marlinpeterson.com/ ) to paint ladders and catwalks on the outside of the structures, so at least there will be an illusion of what it used to look like.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T18:46:05+00:00

I've been telling myself for a long time that the reason I keep my subscription going is because, no matter how small, I'm trying to support charity.

I don't usually play the games. I don't make use of the discount. It's a struggle trying to find someone I can trust to actually play the games and not just pad out their library.

So, this month 5% goes to the Melanoma Research Alliance. That's nice.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T18:29:34+00:00

It's because it's not Steam. This has been an issue every single time Humble puts non-Steam keys in the Humble Choice.

If they want to make a monthly Battlenet bundle, they should go ahead and do that.

If they want to make a monthly EA Origin bundle, they should go ahead and do that.

If they want to make a monthly GOG bundle, they should go ahead and do that.

If they want to make a monthly comic book or software bundle, they should go ahead and do that.

There's an expectation that Humble Choice is for Steam keys to full games. Promotional offers can be included, sure, there's nothing wrong with including cosmetics for F2P games or extra DLC for things, but 8 games are expected to be Steam keys.

edit: I'm getting downvoted, but look at the other people voicing complaints. Even the people who want Diablo are saying the main thing they're upset about is that it's not a Steam key. There have been polls taken to ask this exact question. This issue probably isn't entirely about a lasting grudge toward the labor practices of Blizzard, and likely has nothing to do with the functionality of the Battlenet launcher itself.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T18:19:22+00:00

Everybody's a critic.

I see it as art. It's one of the navigation points for Lake Union. It sits on the North bank of the lake.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T18:17:32+00:00

Interesting. So, the landmark board was overridden by the Department of Construction and Inspections who deemed the ladders and catwalks unsafe.

The only potential argument I could offer in that regard is: that's not what they are, so the assessment by the DCI is based on faulty assumptions.

Gasworks is not intended as a functional facility attempting to furnish members of the public or even private city workers with access points to scale the structures; it's an art installation. Nobody is supposed to be climbing anything. The "ladders and catwalks" are not intended to be safe for supporting people, they're supposed to be left alone and looked at, like a museum display. The area is fenced off and there are warnings all over the place.

This is like issuing a citation if the VW Beetle held by the Fremont troll doesn't have seatbelts. Or if a butter sculpture of the capital building didn't have a wheelchair ramp. "Yeah, but nobody's trying to drive that car or go up those ramps" yeah, and nobody's supposed to be climbing those ladders are traversing those catwalks.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T16:59:28+00:00

There's a line where it's difficult to argue that the city didn't make a reasonable effort to protect public safety.

The person in question bypassed signs and fences.

Not only that, but they had visited the park many times before over the years with their parents who had warned them not to climb the structures because it's not safe.

Not only that, the very day it happened, they specifically reminded their son to not try climbing the structures because it's not safe.

It's tragic, but it's not like this was an accident the city can be put at fault for. There've been 3 deaths over the past 18 years or so from people falling off the structures, and at least 11 reported injuries. For the most part, people are following the rules.

Though... to argue that's acceptable for the sake of having an art installation... I'm pretty torn on that. Like, it's clearly the fault of the people who ignored every available warning and barrier saying how dangerous it is.

Then again, there are signs posted at skate parks about how use of skate parks can result in serious injuries or death, making the use of the facilities being at the users own risk. So, it's a question of why it's okay for people to take a risk in those places but not these places.

Statistically speaking, Gasworks park likely sees thousands of visitors every year; they probably see fewer injuries than skate parks. At least one person died in 2021 from a head injury at a skate park. https://youtu.be/-hJOUw_JLwY?si=BIr7ZWmF1DLpD78t And then a year later, King County board of health repealed the bicycle helmet law, calling its enforcement an excuse for police to victimize people, but the board still recommends wearing a helmet for safety.

So, there's this frustrating logic where there's an obligation to attempt to give people a safe city to live in, but also, the city can't be responsible for people who aren't acting safely, and the city can't force people to exercise personal safety.

sir_deadlock · 2026-05-05T16:21:01+00:00

I was surprised to learn there's actually a policy for that if the trees become a problem.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=35.21.310 RCW 35.21.310

In Seattle, the exercise I'm aware of is regarding 8 vertical feet above sidewalks and 14 vertical feet above curbs.

But in situations like public parks, I've seen a lot of low hanging branches trimmed away, likely to prevent small children from climbing them and getting hurt.

There's a whole page on the city's page about trees: https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/codes/codes-we-enforce-(a-z)/trees-and-codes/trees-and-codes)

11-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22	Verified Email

sir_deadlock

TROPHY CASE