Morgan Community Association (MoCA)

We would like your opinion – which remaining Morgan Junction Neighborhood Plan items that qualify for Neighborhood Project Funds should go forward next?  Please see the below list and let us know which are your top three to submit this year.    The applications are due by Feb 27, so please reply by Feb 22  to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Thank you.

1.       Reconfigure and channel Fauntleroy Way intersections, landscape unused street ROW and islands at 40th and Juneau/39^th Ave SW, 45^th /Holly Pl., Lincoln Park Dr.

2.       Develop landscaped entryway in existing triangles on either side of Fauntleroy

                      Way SW at Juneau.

3.       Develop green spaces at SW Holly intersection with Fauntleroy and 45^th

4.       Improve California Ave SW streetscape with installation of landscaping and street trees.

5.       Improve pedestrian crossing at intersections in business district along California Ave.

6.       Improve pedestrian crossing at signalized cross-streets and bus stops along 35^th Ave sw.

7.       Pedestrian improvements to East-west streets including SW Graham, SW Morgan, and SW Holden.

8.       Install traffic calming/control devices on SW Holly, 48^th Ave, Frontenac & Myrtle, 38^th Ave SW, Juneau, or 42^nd Ave SW.

Morgan Festival – Saturday, June 13, 2009. 10:00 – 6:00.

The Morgan Festival returns with a dual purpose this year.  We’ll begin the day with the grand opening of the Morgan Park (and hopefully will have an official name to announce as well).  We plan on having vendors, food and music again and the owners of Beveridge Place Pub, Zeeks Pizza and the Feedback Lounge have all given permission to use their parking lots, so there will be room to spread out this year.  Chas Redmond is coordinating the music, if you have ideas for him, please contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Cindi is working on the vendor booths, if you would like to have a booth, please contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  We’ll also need lots of help during the week before (last minute tasks) and the day of (set up and tear down), please contact Cindi if you can help in that department.

Steve Sindiong, Presiding. Cindi Barker, Chas Redmond, Eldon Olson – officers

4 guests: Veronica Abraham, Stan Locke, Tracy, Fauntleroy NA,

5 persons from neighborhood

Introductions, Announcements, Updates

·         A letter has been sent on behalf of both SW District Council and Delridge Neighborhood District Council to Gov. Gregoire, Sims, and Nickel in support of the “surface plus subsurface” (surface plus transit plus deep-bored tunnel) option for the replacement of the Alaska Way Viaduct. (complete letter available from Chas Redmond or the West Seattle Blog westseattleblog.com ). There will be a public meeting Feb. 4 with Cheryl Chou of the Dept. of Neighborhoods, and a joint meeting with the Delridge Council in April .

·         The so-called “Density Bill” will soon be coming before the Legislature to increase allowable density for housing zoning in areas near Sound Transit lines (except several Duwamish area stations). This will increase density regulations to 50 occupants per acre (current MoCA area density allowance is 11 occupants per acre). Our understanding from Futurewise staff is that this is not intended to apply to the  the future BRT route in West Seattle.

·         At a recent open house for Long-Range planning of the WA State Ferry system, the plan was presented to increase the holding capacity at the Fauntleroy dock and to add a second level pedestrian entry facility. Question has been raised about whether this proposal is counter to City and County regulations. www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. 

·         Re. Re-striping of Fauntleroy (California to Alaska)– Now scheduled to take place in May, 2009. This will include new bicycle lanes in both directions, parking in both directions, one travel lane each direction and a center left turn ane. For further information, contact the W Seattle Blog or Seattle Dept. of Transportation. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

·         A model for intersection decorative painting for Seattle residential streets (based on model developed in Portland) is being discussed for Seattle. Call Seattle Dept. of Transportation, Jane Rebelowski, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or Neighborhood Traffic 206 683-0353   

·         Emergency Preparedness – Radio audibility tests were recently held throughout MoCA: Hiawatha neighborhood area has spotty reception; Fauntleroy area has limited audibility. Thriftway is creating of Board for coordination of community response efforts. The Emergency Medical Reserve Corp is also in process of coordinating response resources. 

·         Solstice Park – Trail development has been approved, now in process of planning. The project manager is Suzanne Friedman from the Parks Dept. Question raised about continuing control of invasive plants.

·         Morgan Junction Park – to be completed by April. The sidewalk repairs (complete with public art project with 10 frames of sidewalk art) will be done after the park is completed. MoCA approves the Parks Dept kiosk suggestion. The Pedestrian/Wayfinding kiosk will also be located in the Morgan junction area. The Park will not be named until after it is completed Previous requests to name the park in honor of Tim St. Clair may be hampered due to the most recent naming policy from the Parks Department.

·         West Seattle Trails – Wayfinding – Chas Redmond

Kiosks are now planned for Lincoln Park area, Fauntleroy Triangle, Morgan Junction, and the Ferry dock – with 20 on-street wayfinding signs near the kiosks in our area, with maps, signs, and public art. Meeting Feb. 11 (6:30 to 7:30) at Fauntleroy Church. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 206 652-2310.  

Big Brothers/Big Sisters – Veronica Abraham ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

206 763-9060, x228 (www.bbbsps.org) Community Recruitment Coordinator.

Two programs are offered in our area: one-on-one community-based activity mentoring for 2-3 hrs per week, and school-based mentoring for 1 hr per week. There are now over 2,500 matches in our area, targeting youth at risk, but over 100 youth are still awaiting mentors.

Kenney Redevelopment – recent meetings have revealed that there is a lot of confusion

regarding the process of planning and construction for expanded facilities at The Kenney. It was suggested that MoCA might sponsor a local neighborhood charette including neighbors, architect, Kenney administrators, etc. – perhaps a joint proposal of both MoCA and  the Fauntleroy Neighborhood Assn.

Morgan Junction Festival – Cindi:            June 13 (Saturday). Chas Redmond is in charge of Music, Cindi in charge of city permits, Eldon in charge of local merchants. This will be a combined festival and Morgan Junction Park Opening, with entertainment, vendors, food. At the Morgan Junction Park.  Help is needed for set-up, food, preparations for the day of the Festival. Call Cindi at 933-6968, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Neighborhood Project Fund – 2009 requests

Two fund sources are available: the Cumulative Reserve Fund (CRF) for

maintenance or repair of existing structures implementing the neighborhood plan and the Neighborhood Street Fund for transportation-related projects.  In 2008 applications, the sidewalk improvements adjacent the future Morgan Junction Park and the pedestrian improvements along Orchard Street leading to  the Orchard Street Ravine Park were approved. The  2008 application project that was not funded will be our 2009 priority:

Pedestrian facility along west side of 44^th Ave between Austin or Webster and

stairwell to Solstice Park.

Additional projects from the Neighborhood Plan that should be added to the CRF applications will be:

1.       Reconfigure and channel Fauntleroy Way intersections, landscape unused street ROW and islands at 40th and Juneau/39^th Ave SW, 45^th /Holly Pl., Lincoln Park Dr.

2.       Develop landscaped entryway in existing triangles on either side of Fauntleroy

                  Wy SW at Juneau.

3.       Develop green spaces at SW Holly intersection with Fauntleroy and 45^th

4.       Improve California Ave SW streetscape with installation of landscaping and street trees.

5.       Improve pedestrian crossing at intersections in business district along California Ave.

6.       Improve pedestrian crossing at signalized cross-streets and bus stops along 35^th Ave sw.

7.       Pedestrian improvements to East-west streets including SW Graham, SW Morgan, and SW Holden.

8.       Install traffic calming/control devices on SW Holly, 48^th Ave, Frontenac & Myrtle, 38^th Ave SW, Juneau, or 42^nd Ave SW.

Next Meeting: April 15, 2009 The Kenney – 7:00 pm

            Election of Officers

Fauntleroy Restriping

The City is still reviewing the community input about the restriping of Fauntleroy Way SW, but all indications are that they are gong to proceed with the restriping; they’re just deciding what other pedestrian markings to include.  In general, the flow through and speed data seems to have been studied and shown at the public meeting.  However, we have asked the city about what information they have that will help us understand the impacts in the Morgan Junction neighborhood, particularly about any studies that they have done or could do which tell us what the wait time would be for a MJ resident to turn onto Fauntleroy during peak commute hours.  (the Q & A is pasted below).

So since the city will not provide that data to help us evaluate the success of this program after it is implemented, we would like make the following request of you:

During the next couple of weeks, please jot down how long you wait to turn onto (left or right turn) or off of (left turn) Fauntleroy.  Just the basic info, date/day of week, time, which direction and how long you had to wait to find a break in the traffic to make your turn.  If you can do that for a week or two, that should be sufficient.  Then file that info away, so that when the restriping takes place, and if you think your wait time is increasing, you’ll be able to pull out that info and do a comparison.  This just seems like a reasonable thing to do, since the city has said that “if it doesn’t work, we can always restripe it back to 4 lanes”, but if we don’t have the data to determine if it’s working or not, they wouldn’t have any basis from which to make a decision. 

From: Cindi Barker

To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cc: Steve h Sindiong

Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 12:07 PM

Subject: Request for traffic entry information

Hi George, I have communicated with Pete Lagerway in the past and have also emailed and just last Friday 12/12, left a message for Eric Widstrand.  This message is to you, since you're now listed as the Public Outreach contact in the Q& A just posted. 

I live in Morgan Junction and am a member of the Morgan Junction Community Association.  One question which I've heard from our community members was not addressed in your Q&A just posted.  After the restriping and signal timing adjustments, how long will a Morgan resident have to wait to turn onto Fauntleroy during peak traffic hours and especially when a ferry has just unloaded?  Eric had said they had not done studies, and my phone call was to inquire if you can do those for us.
Cindi Barker
cc Steve Sindiong, president MoCA.

From: "George Frost" < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >

To: "Cindi Barker" < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >

Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 8:31 AM

Subject: Re: Request for traffic entry information

Cindi,
Here is the response I received from SDOT Traffic Operations:

"SDOT staff have observed that wait times are fairly variable depending on time of day and proximity to ferry unloading.  Wait times can range from ten to twenty seconds to several minutes.  Wait times may increase with the rechannelization but drivers have the option to travel through their neighborhood to make a turn from a signalized location if they find the wait time excessive.

SDOT does not typically evaluate intersection operations for non-arterial street/arterial street intersections because during peak hours it is expected that vehicles will experience congestion when trying to access an arterial from a non-arterial street.  Delay will be driven by the number of gaps available in the arterial traffic stream which is governed by vehicle platoons and gaps caused by traffic signals."

Hope this helps,
George Frost
SDOT Capital Projects
(206) 615-0786  

Alaska Way Viaduct – proposed letter from the Southwest District Council for your opinion

At the next MoCA meeting (Jan 21), one topic we will discuss will be the below proposed letter which is being routed for support with the members of the SW District Council, of which MoCA is a member.  This letter supports the surface plus subsurface (bored tunnel) as a West Seattle preferred option.  It is not normal MoCA practice to take a position on topics which would imply that MoCA speaks for the entire Morgan Junction Community, but we would like to discuss this at our MoCA meeting and see what the support level might be. 

Text of proposed letter:

Dear Governor Gregoire

Dear County Executive Sims

Dear Mayor Nickels

We, the undersigned representatives of the greater West Seattle community, would like to weigh in with our concerns and aspirations for your decision on  a replacement option for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

 West Seattle is one of several city neighborhoods which will have existing patterns of urban life changed, disrupted, modified, or otherwise altered significantly as a result of the choice of solutions.   We would like to express our support for the hybrid surface+subsurface route which has been discussed recently by a coalition of stakeholders.

We would like to cite our priorities and why they support this new option and would hope that in your considerations for a solution, you consider these elements and our perspectives and views for our city and the region

• Maintains Neighborhood Connectivity:   The replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct needs to maintain existing business and transit connections, and improve them by adding through-transit connectivity.  The surface+subsurface option does this.

• Direct Impact on Businesses Needs To Be Lessened:  The Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement is expected to impact as many as 50 percent of the waterfront businesses in such a way as to cause them to fail.  Many other industries and businesses which presently use the Viaduct will be impacted in ways which may cause losses or loss of jobs.  It appears possible that with the surface+subsurface option, the Alaskan Way Viaduct could remain open and in use while tunnel construction is underway.

• Professional and Personal Impact Reduction:  The use of a low-traffic surface and controlled access tunnel will reduce the time lost for business, transit and personal users of the SR 99. Transit, especially, needs to be improved.

• Resistance and Resilience to Earthquakes:  Because of the impact involved with the replacement in terms of inconvenience, construction time, civic and business disruptions, the replacement solution (s) should be designed and built with the expectation of surviving an earthquake.  The tunnel option will be safer in earthquakes and can be made resilient In Seattle’s soils and tectonic conditions.

• A Better Waterfront: Whatever the resulting solution produces, it must provide for additional recreational, cultural and commercial activity along the waterfront.  The adjacent roadway should provide an easily-traversed path from the wharves up to First Avenue and what is expected to be some form of frequent public transit at that point.  A low-use surface roadway with a controlled access tunnel supports these priorities.

• Environmentally Friendly:  The solution should reduce our existing carbon load on the region, including both use, (vehicle miles traveled) and construction and maintenance  (least footprint methods). Runoff must be contained and clean breathable air must exist in the waterfront area.  The surface+subsurface option supports these goals.

• Maintains or Enhances Existing Real Estate Values:  The replacement solution should result in an improvement of the overall conditions along the waterfront and a rise in property values adjacent to the improved waterfront.  The solution should be one which also does not reduce the property values of businesses and homeowners on the north and south ends of the previous Alaskan Way Viaduct.

• Quality of Life:  There is a collective sense or feeling which results from the interactions of residents, businesses, visitors, and others in a city.  This quality of life includes how well an individual interacts with the fabric of the city.  The essence of a city includes choices and access to a multiplicity of friends, and businesses.  With the Viaduct came access to the entire City; ensuring that the neighborhoods now reliant on the Viaduct - West Seattle, South Park, SoDo, Interbay, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Ballard, Wallingford, Greenwood - have easy access to each other, the enhanced waterfront, and the rest of the City and enriched downtown is essential to our quality of life.  Ensuring that transit is integrated into and part of any replacement solution is also essential in maintaining the existing quality of life.

We would like to thank you for providing the extraordinary leadership which this project demands.  We would also like to state that all of us - the undersigned and those we represent - are encouraged and hopeful that the new "surface+subsurface” (Surface+Transit+Deep Bored Tunnel) option is moved forward to the EIS stage and pursued aggressively.

We would also like to see further enhancements of the transit component, presently the weakest and least satisfactory element of any of the many options.  We believe that transit, if provided at significantly enhanced  levels, would allow for an even more enriched urban fabric with an even more connected set of neighborhoods and downtown attractions, including a new waterfront.

Attached to this posting are three files that are a result of the Dec 4, 2008 Community meeting about the Kenney proposed expansion and redevelopment. One file is the minutes taken by Cindi Barker. The second file is the list of concerns with items from the Dec 4^th meeting added in. The third document is a compilations of all the concerns from the other file that are related specifically to Design Review issues. This document was suggested and created by a community member, Jerome Diepenbrock, who thought it would be useful for the Dec 18^th meeting. He has categorized the design related issues into each guideline that is most relevant, and could be helpful for those who intend to provide public comment at the Dec 18^th meeting.

Attachments:

Design Review Guidelines Kenney & Comments.pdf	[Kenney Design Review related comments, grouped by guideline section]	86 Kb
Kenney Redev concerns from first public meetings.doc	[Full list of concerns]	70 Kb
Minutes Kenney Community Mtg Dec 4 2008 .doc	[ ]	63 Kb