Crown Hill Business Association

Land Use Application 3011964 was submitted to allow a four-story structure containing 48 residential units above three live work units. Parking for 34 vehicles to be provided at grade.

The applicant applied for a Master Use Permit on April 20, 2011. The final determination and requirements to secure the Master Use Permit for this project can be viewed here.

The snow took it’s usual toll on our roadways this past week. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT deployed four Pothole Rangers crews in response to the potholes created by the recent freezing weather.

You can report potholes by calling 206-684-ROAD (7623) or by visiting www.seattle.gov/pothole. Or track pothole requests by visiting the City’s pothole map at web1.seattle.gov/SDOT/potholemap/.

DOT crews filled 25,110 potholes in 2011, two and a half times the number filled in 2010. With the start of the new year, the department has $9 million available to address street surface repairs including potholes. Approximately $8.5 million of this is dedicated to arterial streets.

The second round of public meetings on Metros proposed System Restructuring starts February 13th at Ballard High School, 1418 NW 65th St, Seattle, from 6-8 pm

Learn more about proposed changes here.

Provide feedback online using this survey.

Learn more about other plans, policies, and projects where Metro wants the public to have a say:
· Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/haveasayatkcmetro
· Metro Matters blog: http://metrofutureblog.wordpress.com/

City Hall belongs to the people of Seattle. That’s why for the third year in a row, we’re asking the community to come downtown to City Hall and enjoy local music and food, learn about resources the City provides, meet local elected officials and connect with opportunities to make our community a better place. Mayor McGinn, the Seattle City Council, City Attorney Pete Holmes and representatives of City departments will be available for questions and discussion, along with:

· live music
· on-site farmers market
· local food trucks
· dogs from the Seattle Animal Shelter who are looking for a good home
· Q&A with elected officials
· tours of the mayor’s office and Council offices
· workshops on understanding your credit and how a bill becomes a law

Click here for more information.

Guy Generaux is back from semi-retirement to work full time the next couple months to get the 2012 Crown Hill Business directories ready for publication. Welcome back Guy!

Since we postponed the luncheon thanks to snowmageddon 2012, we wanted to get the word out sooner than next week. By advertising in the directory, members will receive a free CHBA membership and support our association. Please contact Guy right away to reserve your ad space.

Guy Generaux or cell phone (206-423-7563)

View more information here:

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is leading a national study to evaluate the use of energy-saving LED streetlights, with Seattle serving as one of a number of test sites. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle City Light are coordinating with the NEEA on the Seattle study.

The Seattle arterial chosen for the study is 15th Avenue NW – the section between NW 65th Street and NW 80th Street. The testing will require a complete closure of the roadway between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. for each of the three weekday nights. The closure will not impact east/west traffic on either NW 65th or NW 80th Streets, but it will impact cross streets.

Another impact may be the need to reschedule deliveries. In preparation for the 2012 study SDOT will be analyzing turning radii at key points to ensure large trucks (up to WB-67) can safely make the movements required as part of any temporary detours.

This segment of 15th Avenue NW will be temporarily utilized to run a series of tests comparing lighting conditions and driver input on visibility. Impacts for businesses along this segment, for the three weeknights of planned work between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. include:

• Street parking removed
• Emergency vehicle access only directly from 15th Avenue NW

During testing, regular traffic will not have access to the roadway, though interested parties will be encouraged to watch from the sidelines as researchers test on two different nights, on both dry and wet pavement, and for a third night demonstrate findings to media and area leaders.

The results of the study will support national outdoor lighting standards efforts as well as the development of an LED street and area guidebook for the Northwest. This guide would potentially note how cities can save money with the reduced power demands of LED lighting. By maximizing energy efficiency, NEEA is helping the Northwest achieve a more sustainable future – keeping energy rates and bills low.

Whom do I contact to learn more about the study?

For more information on this study; its sustainability goals; and its resulting energy-efficiency assessments, you may contact:

Stuart Goldsmith, SDOT Project Manager / stuart.goldsmith@seattle.gov / (206)615-0860
Paul Elliott, SDOT Community Relations / paul.elliott@seattle.gov / (206)684-5321

Most of you have heard about the denial of service attacks on web sites. While most of us don’t have web sites that would be likely targets of this kind of attack, we all have phones. Turns out, phones can be attacked in a similar way. Purchase a nefarious service to tie up any phone line around the world. The service makes it impossible for a bank to call a commercial customer to verify a large transaction.

For about $5 an hour, any phone line can be made effectively useless by flooding it with incoming junk calls. Think of this as one of those robo-dialers gone mad. Think the political calls in October get on your nerves, you’ve not seen anything yet.

The short version – if your phone line suddenly begins to receive many consecutive dead air or automated voice calls in a row, to the point where your regular customers can’t get through, chances are high your accounts are being hacked.

The details from the FBI can be read here.

Read more details from the Krebs on Security report, here.

A new mini-median appeared suddenly last week at the above intersection. While it was not on the 85th Street Paving project list of possible mitigations, is was deemed critical enough that it had to be rushed through with minimal outreach and a very short timeline.

Traffic engineers believe that most of the accidents are caused by left hand turns from southbound 15th to east bound 83rd, and from west bound 83rd to south bound 15th. As such, they’ve put a mini median/pedestrian island in, and eliminated those two left turns. The first day the changes were in operation, in a 5 minute period, three dangerous left turns (only one of them illegal) were observed during peak evening commute. We have assurances that monitoring will continue to see if additional changes are needed.

The lack of notice is frustrating, as is consulting neither the Crown Hill Neighbors nor the Crown Hill Business Association when we’ve done some planning and analysis about medians in the area before rushing to lay down asphalt and paint. Five local businesses were contacted directly, and we think their operations are not hampered, but we’ll be in contact with them to monitor their reaction.

Just after the new year, SDOT will begin major construction to repair and replace the existing roadway and install drainage improvements on N/NW 85th St between 15th Ave NW and Greenwood Ave N. Neighbors and area commuters should plan ahead and expect traffic delays.

Beginning as early as January 4, NW 85th St will be closed to eastbound traffic between 15th Ave NW and 8th Ave NW (Phase 1). All eastbound traffic, including Metro buses, will be detoured via NW 80th St. Construction activities in this area will limit westbound travel lanes and prohibit parking along NW 85th St.

Roadwork between 8th Ave NW and Greenwood Ave N (Phase 2) will also start in January. Phase 2 work will intermittently reduce travel lanes for eastbound and westbound traffic to allow space for construction. Rebuilding the intersection at N 85th St and Greenwood Ave N will require multiple weekend intersection closures. Intersection work is planned to start in late-January.

What to expect during construction

· Eastbound detours via NW 80th St
· Reduced lanes for westbound traffic
· Reduced traffic lanes in Phase 2
· Multiple weekend closures at Greenwood Ave N
· No parking on NW 85th St from 15th Ave NW to 8th Ave NW
· Temporary sidewalk and driveway closures
· Noise, dust and light impacts
· Occasional nighttime work activities
· Restricted access to side streets adjacent to NW 85th St for extended periods
· Pedestrian access to businesses and residences will be maintained at all times

During eastbound detours, do your part and help keep neighborhoods safe

The first few weeks of eastbound detours on NW 85th St are likely to be difficult for commuters, residents and businesses. Please bear with us while we make adjustments and work to keep people safe and traffic moving.

SDOT is asking commuters to:
· Use signed detour routes and avoiding cutting through neighborhood streets
· Follow posted speed limits
· Allow additional time for your trips
· Use alternate routes to I-5 and Highway 99
· Consider using transit, biking or walking instead of driving during peak commuting times
Safety improvement project coming to 15th Ave NW and NW 83rd St

The intersection of 15th Ave NW and NW 83rd St has been at the top of SDOT’s collision list for several years. To improve driver and pedestrian safety at this intersection before eastbound detours begin in January, a new concrete island and a median curb will be installed. These changes are scheduled to be implemented this month, and will prevent left turns onto NW 83th St from southbound 15th Ave NW, and left turns onto southbound 15th Ave NW from NW 83rd St.

For questions or comments regarding this safety project, please email Mike MorrisLent, SDOT Traffic Operations Engineer, at mike.morrislent@seattle.gov.

Stay involved

For more information:
· Call the 24-hour project line: (206) 496-9993
· Email: pave_85th@seattle.gov
· Visit: www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_85th.htm

Next steps for Road Safety Summit: Join city staffers on Monday, 12/12
If you attended a public forum or submitted a comment online we appreciate your suggestions on how to make our roads safer for all users and ask you to join us on Monday evening for our final Road Safety Summit meeting.

Monday, December 12, 2011 – 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall
600 4th Avenue, 1st Floor

The Summit Workgroup is beginning to develop action areas and next steps based on what they’ve heard from the public, what traffic safety data tells us, and best practices. We’ll discuss the results of public comment and where we go from here. RSVP here if you plan to attend.

City of Seattle
Office of Mayor Mike McGinn

Rebecca Deehr
Policy Analyst
PO Box 94749
Seattle, WA 98124
T: (206) 233-2662
F: (206) 684-5360
rebecca.deehr@seattle.gov