One Lane Of Suicide Hill On NE 41st Street Temporarily Closed For Repairs



The steep section of NE 41st Street, also known as Suicide Hill, between 42nd Avenue NE and 43rd Avenue NE, is down to one lane of traffic while repairs are completed on the bad conditions of the road surface, a Laurelhurst Community Club Board member told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff.

LCC said that road crews are repairing an entire section of the western direction portion of the downhill road, which was broken up due to the roots of trees planted on the parking strip, which are now gone. 

Crews are about 80% complete on the project but have had some delays with the rain, which affects the cement work.  Work should be completed by this weekend if there is no rain.

The Laurelhurst Community Club told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff that the name, "Suicide Hill," is derived from the historical fact that sporting teams at the UW used to jog up the hill as part of their training. Their route would take them up the big hill.  Because it’s such a steep hill and hard to run up, the students called it “Suicide Hill.” 

 

 

 

 

 

Police Pull Over Speeding Driver Near Suicide Hill Yesterday

Bottom of dangerous hill looking east on NE 41st Street

Yesterday about 7:30am a Seattle Police Officer pulled over a driver going way too fast on NE 41st Street commonly known as "Suicide Hill, "  the the dangerous hill on NE 41st Street between 42nd Avenue NE and 43rd Avenue NE.

A nearby neighbor told us the driver was  "finally getting caught doing what so many of the drivers in that area do so often along NE 41st Street."

Robin, who works on road safety with the Laurelhurst Community Club, has  over many years witnessed accidents and near misses,  And now he is working to improve the safety in that area.

Following a review in October by Jim Curtin , SDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator, several modifications and changes were recommended to ensure better safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. 

One of these recommendations was Seattle Police patrolling for speeders and this will continue to occur as neighbors report speeders driving in excess of 50mph down the hill.

Other changes to the area now in place are SDOT "SLOW DOWN" signs. However, a neighbor told us that "so far some of the speeders seem to be going too fast to read them".

Other changes will be:

• Cutting back trees for visibility, especially those on on the north side of "Suicide Hill" and in the right-of-way to improve sight lines for all who travel along the corridor. This work will occur on NE 41^st Street between 42^nd Avenue NE and 43^rd Avenue NE.
• Replacing faded regulatory signs at the intersection and refresh the stop bars.
• A  new advisory sign indicating an advisory speed of 15 mph going downhill will be installed west of the Laurelhurst Park entrance and a new 30 mph speed limit sign will be posted at a location east of 48^th Avenue NE or 50^th Avenue NE for the westbound direction.
• Remarking the stop bars.

In October we posted about a dog that was struck and killed by a speeding driver on NE 41st Street and in  December we reported about two car accidents, one in which one person left in an ambulance and the other the speeding driver lost control and hit the median sending one tired into the fence at Talaris and knocking part of it down.

We also posted comments from neighbors who live and drive through that area.

 

Laurelhurst Community Club wrote this to Police Sergeant Newsom yesterday, following the incident:

The Laurelhurst Community Club is grateful that you have provided police officers to monitor speeding on Suicide Hill (along NE 41^st in Laurelhurst). There have been serious accidents along this stretch and to date SDOT has been unable to solve the problem. The speeding cars scare our neighbors and it’s just a matter of time before someone is seriously injured. Thank you very much for your efforts.

Robin reminds drivers that the speed limit for all Seattle streets, unless otherwise posted, is 25mph.

 

 

 

How The Name "Suicide Hill" On NE 41st Street Came About

Bottom of dangerous hill looking east on NE 41st Street

We received several emails about the name "Suicide Hill” which we referred to in the post about the dangerous hill on NE 41st Street between 42nd Avenue NE and 43rd Avenue NE, which the City is now trying to make safer with some immediate upcoming changes.

Two neighbors asked us to remove the name from the post and we complied. However, it is not a name we made up, but a name that has been used for quite some time and has a different meaning than what people may think.

Jeannie Hale, Laurelhurst Community Club President, gave us this information:

The name comes from the fact that sporting teams at the UW used to jog up the hill as part of their training. Their route would take them up the big hill. 

Because it’s such a steep hill and hard to run up, the students called it “Suicide Hill.” 

The students would meet on the Battelle/Talaris property very early in the mornings on weekends—making quite a bit of noise as young people sometimes do. LCC worked with the University and the students now meet at CUH and I’m not sure of the current route.

The name caught on—even with the City of Seattle, who use that name as well to refer to the very steep hill. 

"Slow Down" Signs Stolen Stolen From Dangerous Suicide Hill (NE 41st Street)

 



A Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) Board Member, Robin, let the Laurelhurst Blog know that "Slow Down" signs he put out near Suicide Hill have been taken.

Robin, who works on road safety with the Laurelhurst Community Club, has  over many years witnessed accidents and near misses. He has been working for several years now on improving the safety in that area.


And neighbors have continually reported speeders driving in excess of 50mph down the hill. Neighbors also say that drivers unfortunately go too fast to even read the Slow Down signs. 

Robin told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff:

At our last LCC meeting we were all rather pleased at all the new 20 mph speed limit signs posted up and down the south side of NE 41st Street which added 

to my SLOW DOWN signs on the north side of the street.  

My signs have been up for over 2 years but the others are brand new and have been up just 2 weeks. 

Last week every one of the signs on both sides of the street were stolen. This is the third time mine have been removed.

This is the very last of a batch of my "SLOW DOWN" signs.  All the rest have been stolen over the past three years.

Last January SDOT made changes to the dangerous area that included:

• Cutting back trees for visibility, especially those on on the north side of "Suicide Hill" and in the right-of-way to improve sight lines for all who travel along the corridor. This work will occur on NE 41^st Street between 42^nd Avenue NE and 43^rd Avenue NE.
• Replacing faded regulatory signs at the intersection and refresh the stop bars.
• A  new advisory sign indicating an advisory speed of 15 mph going downhill will be installed west of the Laurelhurst Park entrance and a new 30 mph speed limit sign will be posted at a location east of 48^th Avenue NE or 50^th Avenue NE for the westbound direction.
• Remarking the stop bars.

Last October the Laurelhurst Blog posted about a dog that was struck and killed by a speeding driver on NE 41st Street and in  December we reported about two car accidents, one in which one person left in an ambulance and the other the speeding driver lost control and hit the median sending one tired into the fence at Talaris and knocking part of it down.

Robin reminds drivers that the speed limit for all Seattle streets, unless otherwise posted, is 25mph.

If anybody has any idea who could have done this or where the valuable signs are, please contact laurelhurstblogger@gmail.com. 

   

Speeding Drivers Reported Throughout The Neighborhood

one of two new speed radar signs

on NE 45th Street

The Laurelhurst Blog received this information from a neighbor:

As I was approaching the intersection of NE Surber Drive and 42nd Avenue NE on November 16th, my car was almost struck by a white Subaru rounding the corner going about 35 miles per hour as I was turning turning onto 42nd Avenue NE.  

Several years ago a resident on NE Surber Drive contacted the Laurelhurst Blog Staff wondering how effective the speed cushions are because he has seen cars, especially larger vehicles, such as SUVS, avoiding the speed cushions, thus still being able to maintain a high rate of speed. 

The speed cushions, which are three inches high, were installed in  December of 2011 between NE 41st Street and 41st Avenue NE, due to numerous neighbors raising concerns about speeding cars over the last several years. 

One neighbor at the time commented:

At the yield sign at Surber Drive and 42nd Avenue NE there used to be round bumps (I'm sure there is another name for them) and painted stripes to the right of the yield sign. Drivers going right onto 42nd Avenue NE cut to the right of the sign and sometimes even pass cars that are turning right from the correct side of the sign. Twice I have even witnessed drivers coming from Webster Point area and turning left onto Surber left of the sign on the left side of the road. Very scary!

The City installed the speed cushions after more than 60 percent of affected neighbors signed a petition submitted in July of the same year.  The well-travelled corridor had been on SDOT’s priority funding list and SDOT told the Laurelhurst Community Club  at the time that funds were finally available to "address the relatively high speeds." 

Another frequent area of speeding is NE 41st Street commonly known as "Suicide Hill,"  the very steep hill on NE 41st Street between 42nd Avenue NE and 43rd Avenue NE.  Neighbors report speeders driving in excess of 50mph down the hill. 

The Laurelhurst Blog posted many comments received by neighbors and others who frequently use that street. 

In 2013 a neighbor commented:

We came across a car wreck at the cross streets of NE 41st Street and 43rd Avenue NE. Ever since we moved in almost two years ago, I frequently cross NE 41 Street from 43rd Avenue NE. Every time I cross that street I'm thankful I made it safely. I often thought it might take an accident for the City to put stop signs on the 45th Street  sides, both east and west. Perhaps the unfortunate accident will make this happen. 

Several years ago the Laurelhurst Blog reported about a dog that was struck and killed by a speeding driver on NE 41st Street and in  December the Blog reported about two car accidents, one in which one person was taken away in an ambulance and the other the speeding driver lost control and hit the median sending one tired into the fence at Talaris and knocking part of it down.

Robin, who works on road safety with the Laurelhurst Community Club, has  over many years witnessed accidents and near misses around Suicide Hill.  He has been working to improve the safety in that area over the last few years.

Speeding around Laurelhurst Elementary School has also been seen.  In February a  parent that lives near  Laurelhurst Elementary School reported  that he often see teens speeding and/or texting while driving through the School zone. 

NE 45th Street is also another frequent speeding corridor.  In September, Children's Hospital worked with SDOT to permanently install speed radar signs on NE 45th Street in both directions, towards the bottom of the hill. Children's Hospital initiated the request, to Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to improve traffic safety, after a pedestrian was struck at the intersection of NE 45th Street and 40th Avenue NE, in March of last year.

In Seattle, the speed limit on all residential (non-arterial) streets is 20mph.  The speed limit on arterial streets is 25mph, unless otherwise posted. 

Another Incident On NE 41st Street

 

Bottom of dangerous hill looking east on NE 41st Street



We received this email from Robin, who lives near NE 41st Street, also known as Suicide Hill, about another incident in that area.

This is one of many reported incidents, including accidents, fence knocked down and a dog being hit a few months ago.

Following a review in October by Jim Curtin , SDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator, several modifications and changes were recommended to ensure better safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. Jim also spelled out a plan for improving safety of this dangerous area of the neighborhood.

One of these recommendations was Seattle Police patrolling for speeders which will continue as neighbors have reported speeders driving in excess of 50mph down the hill. And just in January a driver was pulled over for excessive speed. 

Robin, who works on road safety with the Laurelhurst Community Club, has lived near Suicide Hill for many years witnessing accidents and near misses,  and now he is working to improve the safety in that area.

Here is the email Robin sent us:

This morning at about 11:00am I heard what sounded like one of the Blue Angels flying over head. I went outside I saw a real mess.

A large pick-up had lost it's load of pipes coming down NE 41st Street way too fast. They were all 8 inch and 12 inch PVC (plastic) pipes with at least fifteen of them strewn all over the road and both sides of the parking strips as well. 

Because the pipes were PVC many of them broke on impact so I helped the driver clear up some of the parts as it was holding up traffic. 

When I asked the driver how fast he was going he claimed he had no idea but didn't know what the speed limit was anyway. 

The area covered was from 45th Avenue NE down to 43rd Avenue NE.  

Why The Radar Speed Signs Were Placed Recently On NE 45th Street And Next Steps

Two radar speed signs on NE 45th Street

Two radar speed signs were placed by SDOT last week on NE 45th Street on the south side of Laurelhurst Elementary School and were removed earlier today, one day earlier than the one week SDOT scheduled timeframe.  
 
The signs placed almost directly across from each other in between 46th and 47th Avenues NE, were in response to an application submitted by Steve Clark and Paul Hanson, in conjunction with the City's School Traffic Management Program.  

The two Laurelhurst Elementary school fathers also submitted an application for the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund for either radar signs and/or flashing yellow  lights.

The large radar signs were originally placed almost directly across from each other in between 46th and 47th Avenues NE and were later moved  abit further away from each other after residents cited safety concerns when two cars were passing at the same time around the machines.

Steve and Paul cited in their application that there was "excessive speed and lack of awareness of pedestrians around Laurelhurst Elementary during school hours."
 

He added that the program would address safety needs "by reducing vehicle speeds and awareness of the presence of children during school hours." 

SDOT told our staff that "the speed trailers display to drivers the speed at which they are traveling and the school zone speed limit, in order to remind them to follow traffic laws. The school zone speed limit – 20 MPH – is in effect when children are present."

 

When children are not present, the speed limit on residential streets is 25mph and on arterials 35mph. 

An SDOT speed study conducted in January showed that during the high traffic school hours between 8-9am there was on average about 25% of cars going between 21-30mph,  27.9% going 21-24mph, 25% going 24-27mph and 22.7% going 27-30mph.

From 3-4pm when children would be leaving school there was on average about 25% of cars going between 21-30mph, 23% going 18-21mph, 21% going 21-24mph, 16% going 24-27mp and 10% going 27-30mph.

The average speed over 24 hours shows 23.9mph and maximum speed shows 0.1% of 7,686 cars going 65.2mph.

Several parents told us, and are staff verified, that the majority of the school pedestrian and vehicle traffic are during very small timeframes - between 9-9:15am and 3:10-3:25pm and that there are between 2-4 student flaggers helping pedestrians cross the well-marked crosswalks on all four corners of the school.

 

Mike, a parent told us, that before and after those drop-off and pick-up school times, the traffic immediately around the school is very quiet.  

He added that he has not seen cars speeding on the one block stretch of NE 45th Street where the radar signs were placed as cars are just coming up hills in both directions and can't get a lot of speed right after that.

 

Mike said he is much more concerned with traffic speed on 46th Avenue NE at all times of the day and secondarily on 47th Avenue NE.

 

"I would rather see speeds addressed on these two streets, then the random placement of the radar signs on NE 45th Street that are there temporarily and don't address permanent traffic patterns and safety at all times of the day, not only during the few minutes of the high traffic area at the school.

 

We heard from other residents that this area has perhaps enough safety aids, with the student flaggers, permanent Speed Zone signs, and well-marked crosswalks at all the 4 corners of the school, 46th and 47th Avenues NE and NE 47th Street, as well as the NE 45th Street pedestrian overpass.

 

Another driver commented that cars going eastbound and westbound, are not generally able to pick up a lot speed on this flat stretch where the radar signs are, because in both directions cars have just come up a hill and thus are not going at a high rate of speed causing a safety concern exactly where the signs are.

Many other comments received from morning commuters and those going to and from the school, was that the radar caused more of a safety hazard and "chaos" rather than a visual aid.

Other drivers reported, as mentioned before, that with the trailers placed almost directly across from each other in either direction, that drivers were forced to cross into the oncoming lane to get around the trailers. And when two cars or large vehicles passed at the same time the drivers reported feeling unsafe.

Another driver told us that when driving at night and the machines were off it was very hard to see that the machine was even there and the driver had to stop suddenly and another driver had to quickly swerve to miss it.

 

And another driver told us that his "wife came home upset saying that she came within inches of an accident with the positioning of those portable speed monitors. 

 
Another nearby resident asked why the radar speed sign was there, adding "when I drove through the Laurelhurst Elementary School area there were so many kids with flags, orange cones and calming devices you couldn't drive fast if you tried."  

A resident near NE 41st Street, also known as Suicide Hill said "this radar sign is what we have been crying out for with the many near collisions, documented accidents, excessive speeding and poor visibility."

Another neighbor said "it’s much more dangerous on Suicide Hill and the speeds are clocked at much, much higher levels that that one block area on NE 45th Street and perhaps the parents involved submitted the report are overdoing it."

An email Steve Clark sent to the School Office stated:

Since October of 2013 the SDOT has been consulting with members of the PTA suggesting improvement to areas within school boundaries. Speed studies, changes to landscape, repainting of traffic lines and cross walks around the school have been done or on the schedule for 2014.  Members of the PTA will continue to work with the SDOT to evaluate traffic patterns on 47th Ave NE and 46th Ave NE in the future.

The Northeast District Council will formerly decide in April, between this and three other requested traffic safety and park projects, based on stack ranking and available City budgets against cost for each project.

 

 

Easy Way To Report Damaged City Signs In The Neighborhood





stop sign, at the intersection of NE 41st and 42nd Ave. NE,  

 

Blog readers are always sending in reports of City street signs down, damaged or aging. Figuring out how to report these to the City is often difficult navigating through the City's websites.

Laurelhurst Community Club is now offering to take reports for residents and will them send them on to the City themselves, saving residents the time of finding and filling out the forms.

To report a street sign that is down, faded, damaged, not legible or needs replacing or that has graffiti, send email to Robin, who works on road safety with the Laurelhurst Community Club at rdchalmers@comcast.net,. Include the type of sign, problem and exact location.

 

You can also report issues to SDOT directly by calling 684-ROAD, using the mobile app or submitting a request via the online system, which includes forms for requests for signs that need maintenance, replacement, are damaged or need removal of graffiti, among many issues.

 

Jim Curtin , SDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator, said that SDOT and SPU (Seattle Public Utilities) take care of graffiti depending on the location. Jim said "Our crews are pros at cleaning up signs and they will replace the signs entirely if the sign is worn."

Recent reports of damaged signs include:

• Stop sign at NE 47th Street and 47th Avenue NE from being hit by a semi full of cars
• A downed speed bump sign on 49th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street
• Stop Sign that has lost it reflective capability on NE 41st Street and 42nd Avenue NE
• Stop sign that needs replacing on the east side of 42^nd Ave NE just south of NE 41^st Street
• damaged curb stones at the top of "Suicide Hill"- south/west corner of NE 41st Street and 43rd Avenue NE)

A neighbor who lives near the Boulevard wrote about the Stop sign on NE 41st Street and 42nd Avenue NE that "drivers at night can barely see the stop as the sign is no longer reflective at night. And it is especially bad for those who aren't aware that there is a stop there at the bottom of "Suicide Hill". Add rain to the equation and it could spell disaster!"

Another resident in that area wrote "drive north along 43rd Avenue NE from NE 41st Street to NE 45th Street and you can hardly read any of those street signs they are so faded."

 

Jim told us that SDOT maintains and "extensive asset management systems and track the condition of just about everything on our streets from the pavement to signs to sidewalks. Records are updated consistently."

Robin told us that "here are an awful lot of street signs out there that need replacing so please let me know as soon as you see one so that I can notify SDOT to have it taken care of."

 

Suicide Hill Gets A 4 Way Stop At 41st and 43rd

 Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) posted this information in a recent newsletter about the busy intersection of Suicide Hill, with a huge blind drop and hidden driveways and alleys, getting a 4-way stop to slow down traffic:

4-Way STOP forSafety, School Zones Installed at NE 41st Street and 43rd Avenue NE

The busy intersection at NE 41st Street and 43rd Avenue NE was finally made safer with the addition of an official 4-way stop. For years, LCC has contacted the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) for help to make with the dangerous intersection. 

Neighbors and LCC worked with Councilmember Pedersen’s office to request a safety review of the intersection, completed in May 2021 An SDOT civil engineer from the Transportation Operation’s Center reviewed the traffic volume and noted the high rates of speed that occur daily down on the steep NE 41st Street. 

The new stop signs will slow down speeders and make the intersection safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, vehicles, and neighbors.  Several attempts have been made to remove the new signs.

In addition, new flashing school signs were installed to alert drivers of the School Zone on NE 45th Street. 

The Laurelhurst Community Club, (LCC), has been working on this major safety hazard for many years. SDOT installed a reduced speed sign and a yellow blinking light in the past to calm speeds in 2013, shortly after a car travelling at a high rate of speed unfortunately hit a dog.

A neighbor who lives two blocks from the dangerous intersection said that he has heard numerous accidents from his house.

Neighbors have requested over the years for the City to install speed bumps or traffic calming always with the same response of no. The reason is because this street is a main arterial and emergency vehicles need access. Neighbors also contacted the City about conducting a traffic study.

Median In Front Of Talaris To Be Finally Cleaned Up Today Or Tomorrow LCC Reports



NE 41st Street overgrown medians near Talaris

The Laurelhurst Blog staff has heard from many neighbors that live near Talaris and that drive in that area that the medians on NE 41st Street have become quite overgrown.

Neighbors wrote:

Can you please let us  know if there is a plan to beautify the center planting beds on NE 41st Street near Talaris and west toward Mary Gates?  There are three offending beds that need attention starting at NE 41st Street and 40th Avenue NE and run parallel to the unkempt Talaris property where Laurelhurst kids once were able to play but is now fenced.  All last spring and summer they looked a mess and it is an embarrassment to our lovely neighborhood.  We had read of a plan but then nothing happened.  Perhaps neighbors can contribute to a fund to have ongoing maintenance done on these once lovely medians.   

The planting beds at the Talaris property are such an eyesore.  This stretch of roadway serves as an entrance to our lovely neighborhood and is a poor first impression.

I have  lived on 41st Avenue NE for 45 years.  We desperately need help on the median strip in front of Talaris Grounds.  In all the years, I have never seen it so bad.  Please let me know when the work party will be so I can join in. 

Whose in charge of these beds?  I've been told some of them are the responsibility of CUH, but surely not that one. We all know the UW is strapped for money and this would not be a priority. Some of us have donated extra money in the past for the upkeep of these medians, but they rarely look terrific. Have other solutions been forthcoming?  How about using a neighborhood volunteer clean-up crew?  Perhaps we need to be responsible for more of our neighborhood.

Laurelhurst Community Club  (LCC) said that LCC has agreements with the UW and Talaris regarding maintenance of the planted median and the pedestrian refuge island on Surber. 

The agreement says that the UW would take care of the first third, from Mary Gates/NE 41st to about the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH.). Then LCC would take care of the middle third and Talaris the portions adjacent to their property, including the pedestrian refuge island on Surber and the median at the bottom of Suicide Hill. 

LCC added:

The first problem that surfaced several years ago was that the UW told us they were broke and couldn’t take care of their portion for now.  Following that, LCC started paying our regular landscaping company to maintain that portion. 

Talaris changed property managers and their groundskeeper as well several years ago, so that whole stretch was a mess for a long time although neighbors pitched in on occasion.   

LCC then followed up, at the time, and met with the property manager explaining their responsibilities—specifically mentioning the two neglected parcels.  Talaris  started taking care of the medians adjacent to their property, but not the one at the bottom of Suicide Hill or the pedestrian refuge island. 

LCC also said that the a neighborhood volunteer clean-up crew works each year to clean up the area.

This year the clean-up is scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. 

LCC has hired a gardener who cleaned up the medians in past years at the personal expense of a neighbor, so he is familiar with the job. This time, LCC will pick up the tab.

"So, it should be looking a lot better soon," LCC told the Laurelhurst Blog staff.

For neighborhood participation to maintain the area, contact laurelhurstblogger@gmail.com who will coordinate with the LCC contact.

Neighbor Blogs About Recent Public Transportation Experience From Laurelhurst

Long-time Laurelhurst resident, Goldie Gendler Silverman, who has lived in the neighborhood for over 40 years, and  maintains her own Blog posting about her various adventures, let the Laurelhurst Blog Staff know that she recently posted about her Public Transportation experience from the neighborhood to various parts in the City.

Here are her posts: 
                

TAKING LIGHT RAIL FROM LAURELHURST, almost

Posted on April 12, 2016 by admin

 

GREAT NEWS! On Saturday, March 19, the light rail stations at the UW Stadium and at Capitol Hill finally opened. Don and I were among the thousands who gathered to celebrate and ride free.

We did it all: left our house at the top of the hill and walked down to the Center for Urban Horticulture, walked across the landfill that is now a nature reserve, and made it to the celebration, 2.2 miles.  

We walked around, talked to different groups about other ways to get to the station, ate fried chicken sandwiches and rode, free and standing up, from UW Stadium to Westlake and then back. (Several people offered us seats in the section for elderly and disabled, but we declined.)  

Back at UW, we re-traced our steps, across the nature reserve, up the hill that is called “suicide hill” by the athletes who train by running up and down, and home, another 2.2 miles. Altogether 4.4 miles. 

Next day, Sunday March 20, we had tickets to a play at the Seattle Center at 2, and there was a Bernie Sanders rally scheduled for that same afternoon, doors opening at 2. We knew parking would be difficult. Time for public transportation! 

Don researched the available buses available on Sundays, and found three, the #65, #45, and #32, all stopping at 40th NE and Sand Point Way. We parked our car at noon near Children’s Hospital, and just as we were leaving it we saw a #65 pulling away. OK, two hours until curtain, that should be enough.  

We waited and waited. Finally a #32 arrived and took us on to the UW campus, $1 each on our senior ORCA cards. It left us at a stop near the HUB, and we walked about two blocks to the next stop at Rainier Vista, which wasn’t marked for a 32 stop. Too bad, because there is a lovely walk from that stop directly to an overpass and into the light rail station.  

We swiped our ORCA cards, again it was free, and took the elevator down many feet to P, which we decided stands for “Platform.” (There were no explanations for the other abbreviations.) 

Once on board the train, we zoomed to Westlake Station once again, walked up three or four flights of stairs to the Monorail ($1 apiece for seniors) and rode sitting down to Seattle Center. We walked through the Armory, cut through several lines of well-behaved citizens waiting to enter the Key Arena, and arrived at our theatre at 1:25. One and a half hours from leaving home to entering the theatre. 

When the play was over, we could have re-traced our steps. Instead we decided to take a bus all the way back. We walked to First Ave W, and waited across the street from the post office. There was an unmarked bus parked in front of the arena, no driver in sight. We decided the driver was on a break.  

While other buses passed, none worked for us. Finally the parked bus started up–it was the #32! Hooray! We hopped on board, swiped our senior ORCA cards ($1) and rode by a very circuitous route north on 15th W to Nickerson, over the Fremont Bridge, up Fremont about one block, and then circling through the residential neighborhoods, the UW campus and finally Sand Point Way, we found our car at Children’s Hospital.  

Total time for the trip: one hour. Total cost: $1 twice for two bus rides, $1 each for monorail,  $3 apiece for transportation, $6 for two. If we had paid for the light rail, it would have cost $2 more for the two of  us. Could we have found parking at Seattle Center for $8? Possibly for even less.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM LAURELHURST, Part Two

Posted on April 12, 2016 by admin

 

One week after the trips described in the post just before this one, on a Sunday when we had an event at Seattle Center again, we tried again. Left our car near Children’s Hospital again, and waited on the corner of NE 40th and Sand Point Way NE for the #32 bus. It arrived exactly on time.

We swiped our ORCA cards, rode past University Village, through the U of W campus, out on 15th NE, down toward Boat Street, wandered through streets paralleling the ship canal, and finally to Fremont.  

Across the Fremont Bridge, turned west on Nickerson, south on 15th W, up a hill to Mercer, and hopped off at Queen Anne Ave and Mercer Street. Because it had taken us only one hour, we had time to pick up a sandwich at a shop along the way to our event. 

Coming home, we took the #32 bus again, all the way to Children’s Hospital, one hour, $1 apiece. So the whole trip for the two of us was $4. Could we park at Seattle Center for $4? I doubt it.  

Maybe public transportation from Laurelhurst works. If you have the time. If it isn’t raining. If you have a car to leave at the bus stop.

Third Try, Public Transportation from Laurelhurst

Posted on April 16, 2016 by admin

Our children moved from Queen Anne to Redmond. Nice for them, but they took our grandchildren with them. On this lovely Friday, April 15, our granddaughter Nina was scheduled to play Baloo in a student production of the Jungle Book at 4 p.m. in a theatre in Kirkland. Our daughter-in-law suggested that we should come early, to the Redmond Transit Center (RTC)  in the heart of Redmond and she would pick us up there.

So once again we set out to park near Children’s Hospital, but this time, on a weekday, the lots were full. We found a place to leave the car on a residential street north of the hospital, and walked three blocks to the intersection of Sand Point Way and 40th Ave NE.  

It seemed to take a long time for a bus to arrive, but soon we were on our way to the U of W campus. The bus left us at Rainier Vista, and we started down the path toward the stadium, Montlake Blvd, and Bay # 1. 

This was a conundrum. Don had learned that we must take Sound Transit bus #542 to get to the RTC. Sound Transit is not the same as our Seattle Metro. Transfers won’t work, and the information people don’t know much about it. We were told the bus would stop at Bay #1, at the intersection of Montlake and NE Pacific Street, but there are several bus stops at that intersection and no one could tell us where to find Bay #1.  

Now we know to start from Rainier Vista toward the stadium, but just before reaching the bridge over Montlake Blvd, veer to the right and follow a path down to street level, aiming for a huge black W. Cross NE Pacific Street there, and the three or four bus shelters in a row are all Bay #1. 

Where we went wrong: we had seen Bay #4 at the long bus stop on Montlake Blvd across the street from the stadium, and we assumed that the stops marked for buses there would be #s 1, 2, 3, and 4. That was wrong. A passerby told us to walk toward the hospital, and just as we reached Pacific Street, we saw bus #542 pulling away. The light was red for us and the street full of cars. Jumping up and down and waving didn’t impress the driver.  

By the time we could cross the street, the bus was gone. Buses to Redmond come half an hour apart. We settled in to the first shelter to wait. All together it took one and three quarters hours to get from our house to the RTC, and a few minutes longer to access our daughter-in-law. 

For your information, Bay #1 is on the south side of NE Pacific Street; directly across the street is Bay #2, where the 542 Redmond bus returns. Bay #4 is on the west side of Montlake across from the stadium, and Bay #3 is on the east side.  

Coming home, we could have been taken back to the RTC, taken the 542 bus to Bay #2, walked up past the black W and caught a Metro bus to our car near Children’s–we could have done that, but we didn’t. Our son drove us back to our car, crossing on the new 520 bridge. Next time we visit Redmond, I think we’ll take our own car. 

Special to Laurelhurst: these buses (31, 32, 65, 67, and 75) go from Sand Point Way and 40th NE to Rainier Vista on the U of W campus, the drop-off spot for reaching Light Rail and Metro and Sound Transit buses that leave from Bays #1,2,3,and 4.  

The Laurelhurst bus 78 does not stop at Sand Point Way and 40th NE, but it does stop at Rainier Vista. Metro refers to the area around the Light Rail Station and the University Hospital as “University Station.”  

Of all the printed bus schedules for buses that go to Rainier Vista, none shows a map of University Station. Only the printed schedule for bus 78 has a map of University Station, with all its bays.

    

Goldie has also published several books, one about a year ago, called "Show Me Your Face," about a woman who moves to Seattle to take a job in a shelter for abused women.

Goldie has written other books -  ones called Backpacking With Babies and Small Children, and Camping With Kids. 

Those books, Goldie said, came about when she had joined a group of women in a support group for displaced homemakers who wanted to get back into the world of work.

Goldie has also written four low-fat, low-salt cookbooks.  She said the most successful one, called No Salt, No Sugar, No Fat, published by Nitty Gritty, "is still around, mostly seen in gift and kitchen shops."She got the idea for that book from a friend, Jacqueline Williams, who wanted to write a cookbook to share what she had learned in cooking for her husband, Walt, after his first heart surgery.
"She had no experience writing books so she asked me to help," Goldie said. And they wrote four cookbooks together. 

Goldie has also written several books in a series called the Phoenix Reading Series (remedial readers) based on research done from reading newspapers on microfilm or microfiche and published by Prentice-Hall.

Goldie said all the writing " took place over many years, beginning 1975. Now I write the occasional blog and I'm working on my memoirs.

For more information about Goldie's books and her blog go here.