Our coverage last week of the Seattle Department of Transportation project to repair the sidewalk along one side of 19th Ave East turned out to be more controversial than we thought. Here is a sampling of comments on the post:

What’s not said is that two mature trees were killed and removed — one in the pictured area, one a couple houses north. That doesn’t jive with the city’s (appropriate) push to increase it’s canopy cover. I’d have accepted the chance of more bumps in 30 years.

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Also lost in the other direction were two blooming magnolias planted about a year and a half ago, as well as their two planting beds full of flowers, now paved. About 50 square feet of surface went impermeable (thanks for another move in the wrong direction, Seattle), and that corner is now completely bare and dead. Even if (unknown) the owner was compensated, it’s another bite out of the neighborhood.

I thought that property owners were responsible for maintaining the sidewalks in front of their properties and that the City could force them into making repairs?

After

Before

There were enough questions about the project that we wanted to give Liz Ellis, manager of SDOT’s sidewalk repair program, a chance to respond:

Dear readers: 

I coordinate the Sidewalk Safety Repair program at SDOT spending your Bridging the Gap tax dollars to get as many sidewalks repaired as possible within the program’s nine-year funding life. 

19th Ave E has a couple of blocks with an unusually wide street right of way on the west side of the street. SDOT worked with both neighboring property owners to relocate landscaping that that was in place before work started. Yes, three magnolia trees came out from in front of 501 that were planted just back of sidewalk without a permit.  These trees need more room and were relocated to private property.  Two other trees were removed. One was a volunteer Cherry also within the right of way that the resident remembers mowing over many years ago and then it took off.  A huge root from this tree was lifting the sidewalk just south of the bus stop and was right across the sidewalk from a young hornbeam street tree. Given how narrow the sidewalk space is there, it will likely be necessary to remove the hornbeam when it outgrows that spot.

If you have other questions or concerns about sidewalk safety, please contact me at either 206-233-2768 or by email, [email protected]

Liz Ellis, SDOT

We also asked Ellis why the landowners aren’t on the hook for the trees that damaged the 19th Ave sidewalk in the first place. Ellis said they weren’t their trees:

Property owners are on the hook for sidewalk repair when sidewalk damage is caused by a privately maintained tree either in the planting strip or on private property. The hornbeam street trees causing the sidewalk damage at this site are maintained by SDOT Urban Forestry.

There you go. Responsive government in action, answering your questions and taking responsibility for their hornbeam street trees.

A man called police just before 9 PM Friday night to report that he had been beaten and robbed by a man on 11th Ave near Cal Anderson Park. No word on what was taken from the man or the extent of his injuries but police did call fire to the scene to treat the man’s wounds. Another man at the scene also required treatment but it’s not clear at this time what his relation to the incident is.

The man described his attacker as a black male carrying a cane. A man matching that description was contacted by police near Cal Anderson a short time after the reported beating and robbery. No confirmation at this point if the man was taken into custody.

The call came in to police around 8:51 PM as a crowd gathered nearby to enjoy an outdoor movie in the park. Thanks to everybody for your tips and notes about the incident.

Capitol Hill is getting a new sushi place immediately — but you’re going to have to wait a bit for dessert. Seattle Met’s foodie blog noticed a note on Facebook from Broadway’s new Pinto Thai Bistro and Sushi Bar  that they are celebrating their first hours of business on a Friday night:

Tokyo Sweets is coming (Photo: MarkMizuno)

 We are done removing the dust and stocking our kitchen and are opening our doors tonight at 5pm. A new team, new chefs and a mix of Japanese and Thai food for the first time do bring a challenge, but we think we are ready and would love to have you over and try our food. We offer popular Thai and Japanese dishes and a …sushi bar stocked with a great selection of fresh wild fish.

You can enjoy Pinto Thai super chef Dave Nakamura’s sushi tonight. But if you want a sweet crepe for dessert, you’ll have to give the team behind Boom Noodle a month or two to put things together. CHS has learned that the company will be opening its second Tokyo Sweets walk-up shop inside the East Pike Boom a little over a month after the first shop debuted in University Village earlier this summer. Here’s how the Boom folks described the U Village Tokyo Sweets to Seattle Weekly:

Inside of Boom, with a walk-up window to the outside, we will be opening our first ever Japanese crepe stand. Super fun. Like the shops in Tokyo, people can walk up and order sweet or savory crepes. In addition, we will sell them in Boom, and they will also be on the breakfast menu (only not served in a cone).

No official time table yet for Tokyo Sweets but a Japanese crepe place slated for First Hill on Madison is planned to open in September.

I’m walking with a group from Capitol Hill Community Council and Chamber of Commerce meeting with King County Council member Larry Phillips. First stop: Joule and a discussion about development and public spaces.

When the Seattle Times isn’t bumbling on bike lanes, it’s taking some other old timey perspective on new city issues. Friday’s front pager on Seattle parking fines  is no different — but at least there are some useful datapoints in the piece:

Parking enforcement is the scourge of all dense urban areas. Last year, Seattle’s parking-enforcement officers wrote up 508,675 tickets. That’s about one a minute.

And it’s about to get worse.

The city is pushing pay-to-park stations into neighborhoods, replacing spots that had been free. The number of paid spaces has increased from about 9,000 to about 13,500 in the last six years — a 50 percent jump.

About to get worse? Ha ha. That’s progress, Fanny. Welcome to Capitol Hill.

Still, we know that even the most enlightened urbanist doesn’t like a $39 fine. CHS has learned that nearly every ticket issued on the Hill has come at the intersection of Enforcement Ave and Bad Judgement Place. But if you’re curious to see the recent trend, here are the locations for traffic violations in the Capitol Hill area for the last 30 days via the crime map at SeattleCrime.com. We’ve also provided a look at the busiest street parking zone on the Hill around Cal Anderson and Pike/Pine. As you can see, the enforcement distribution appears to be pretty uniform. In other words, nowhere to run to, baby. Nowhere to hide. Seattle Times, you may want to walk up here next time.

A dog drools over his owner’s pulled pork sandwich from Maximus/Minimus.

The first ever Mobile City brought Capitol Hill residents out to the parking lot behind the Bank of America on Broadway for live music, food fun and local art. No estimates on attendance yet and a few rain drops were dodged but it was nothing that taking refuge inside the back of the Disco Truck couldn’t take care of. Here are some photos from the festivities. The associated summer* sale continues through weekend. We’ve listed the published discounts at the bottom of this post. Pick up a copy of the Mobile City map at participating merchants.

* yes it’s still summer

Kids prepare to make bike-powered spin-art.

Via Tribunali’s mobile pizza oven.

Writers from Pilot Books wrote spontaneous poems for party goers.

Rancho Bravo taco, a Capitol Hill favorite

Two pulled pork sandwiches from Maximus/Minimus are left unattended.

A drag queen from the Le Faux show at Julia’s jumps in for double dutch.

Summer Sale Roster

Babeland *
20% off featured waterproof toys

Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream *
$1 off all ice cream sundaes with map

Oddfellows Café *
$1 off coffee drinks with map or zipcard

Laughing Buddha
20% off jewelry with map

Pilot Books
10% off with map

Pagliacci Pizza
FREE fountain soda when 2 slices are purchased from 2pm – 5pm

Gyro World
Buy any Gyros sandwich and get a FREE medium fountain drink.

Speckprint *
25-50% off all shirts, posters and hoodies!

Ada’s Technical Books
10% off everything in the store with map. Receive a $10 gift certificate towards a future purchase with a $100 purchase.

Gold’s Gym *
$0 enrollment $29.99 a month special during the Summer Sale

Julia’s *

Panache

EDGAR The Store
20% off regularly priced merchandise on purchases of $20 or over with map. ALSO 50% off selected furniture and other items.

Marigold and Mint
Spend $50 and get a free bouquet of flowers

Feedbag
40% off any dog or cat toy. Limit two

Utrecht
20% off with map

8 limbs Yoga Centers *
20% – 40% off selected yoga items

Café Vita
10% off with map

Kaladi Brothers Coffee
10% off with map

City Home Store

Emerson Salon *
Show your map to get 25% off any service

Retrofit Home *
10%-40% off with our ever popular pull your discount from the hat!

Bluebird Ice Cream and Tea Room
$1 off beer float, OR free second scoop when you buy a scoop, with map

Old School Frozen Custard *
10% off with map

Veridis *
10% off with map

Throwbacks NW *
25% off all merchandise PLUS a $10 and $5 bin! Extra 10% off w/can of food.

Via Tribunali

Atlas Clothing *
10% off any clothing purchase. Accessory Sale- belts, shoes, scarves and slips starting at $3.

Gamma Ray Games *
Closet of Wonder sale featuring a massive range of used, rare and out of print board, card & roleplaying games all at ridiculously reasonable prices.

Cake Spy *
10% off all purchases $50 or over with map

NuBe Green *
20% off back to school items and 40% summer clearance

Bootyland Kids *
Summer Clothing Sale

Century Ballroom
Free cha cha, tango, waltz, mambo & lindy lessons on the broadway steps during the weekend sale

Copper Vine
20% off all containers. Discount applies to special orders as well.

MOE BAR
50% off drinks from 3pm- 7pm with map or zipcard

BIG MARIO’S
50% off all pizza’s and 50% off drinks from 2pm-5pm

Homegrown
$5 off a Homegrown t-shirt with map

Simply Frames
25% Readymade frames

Whimsy Home Decor
10% – 20% off summer accessories

Brocklind’s Formal Wear

Urban Outfitters *
10% off with map

Salon Armand
Cut-a-thon on Friday and Saturday August 27th and 28th. 10% of all service proceeds will go to Lifelong Aids Alliance.

Flora and Henri
Take an additional 10% off summer sale items with map

Edie’s Shoes
25% off all shoe summer stock with map (excludes already marked down items)

Zaw Pizza
Free salad with a purchase of a large pizza and bottle of wine, 6 pack of beer, or 6 pack of soda.

Sal’s Barber Shop
50% off a haircut for new clients with map
The sale participants are also doing a food drive for Northwest Harvest so bring your non perishable food items and drop off at locations with an * asterisk

The family that started the Taco Time chain and operated one of the restaurants on Madison for 40 years won’t be the ones taking the property into its probable next phase of mixed use development. CHS has learned that the lot at 15th and Madison where Taco Time once stood is for sale. We wrote about Taco Time’s plan for the lot when they were preparing to tear down the Madison restaurant in winter 2009. The price tag for the 12,600 square-feet of prime south Capitol Hill real estate? $2.5 million.

The listing for the $198 per square foot lot reveals the likely future for the real estate:

Zoning allows a six-story residential structure, either apartments or condominiums and ground floor retail. The is the former Taco Time property with the building recently removed. The site is currently a surface parking lot and is the Northwest corner of Madison at 15th, near Seattle U. Visit the nearest Taco Time which is 1 mile to the South of Rainioer (sic) Avenue, South of Dearborn.

We appreciate that Taco Time manages to slip a little advertising into even its real estate listings. Good show.

What the listing doesn’t reveal probably wouldn’t surprise any developer familiar with the Capitol Hill area’s auto row history. Taco Time vice president Robby Tonkin confirmed the property is for sale to us and told us that the environmental testing we reported on earlier this summer is still underway. Indeed, a crew was drilling holes and grabbing samples when we visited for a picture recently. Tonkin tells CHS testing so far reveals “very low levels of environmental contamination.”

As for the decision to sell the property that four generations of Tonkin’s have been part of owning, the company vice president said Taco Time has decided to “sell the project to a developer rather develop it ourselves.” In comments on CHS last December, Tonkin foreshadowed the move:

Justin – thanks for sharing our story. The only thing I’d add is that we thought about developing the property ourselves several years ago, but it will likely be a developer (not us), that ultimately red-develops the property when the time comes. We’d like to focus on serving top quality food and providing great service to our guests rather than moonlighting as developers. We’d welcome the opportunity to have a Taco Time in the redeveloped property, or somewhere else in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. My great grandfather started our company in the early 60’s, and this particular Taco Time was built in 1965 – one of the first in the area. Needless to say, we’ve been a part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood for a long time. We’re sorry that we won’t be there for our guests, but I invite our guests to give our Taco Time on Rainier Avenue a try. It may be a little further than some would like, but hopefully it’s worth the trek!

Hey, another ad for the Rainier TT! Nice work!

The Taco Time lot going up for sale might be seen as yet another indication of better conditions in the construction and development industries. Thursday, we reported that the semi-dormant 1111 East Union project was suddenly showing signs of life and we also now know a ballpark timetable for the 230 Broadway project.

When teeny tiny roll-up bánh mì shop Baguette was vandalized a few weeks back, CHS suggested they wear the graffiti as a badge of honor and co-opt the message as their own. OK. Not really. We said they should turn the tag into a t-shirt. But we meant the rest. As of this week, Baguette’s Vanny Him has her crew sporting this new, um, crowd-sourced slogan. She also set aside one t-shirt for CHS (shown in use here!) and one for you. Leave a comment below with your vote for Capitol Hill’s best sandwich — the specific sandwich, not the place that serves it! — and we’ll randomly select a lucky winner at Friday noon.

Temperatures are back to Seattle nighttime normal but that only means you’ll need to bring a blankie to more fully enjoy the final two nights of movies in Cal Anderson Park this summer. CHS is a proud co-sponsor of Friday night’s Three Dollar Bill Cinema finale — details here — and we’re busy little co-presenters of Saturday night’s 5th Annual Bike-In at Cal Anderson Park. What does being a co-presenter entail? Lots of stuff but most importantly for you, we’ll be playing a little game with some fabulous prizes from Healeo, Tidbit Bistro, Broadway Video, Fuel Coffee & High 5 Pie, Cupcake Royale, Po Dog, Poco Wine Room and Vino Verite before the movie starts. All we’ll say about the game is that the movie is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and we’re planning to have a very special secret word of our own. See you Saturday. And Friday too? Bring your blankie.

 ANNUAL SEATTLE BIKE-IN Aug 28

Co-Presented by CapitolHillSeattle.com
Sponsored by The Stranger, The VERA Project, 2020 Cycle, The Bikery, KBCS 91.3FM and EcoMetro’s Chinook Book

Free!

Saturday, Aug 28 at 07:00PM

The Bike-In is a celebration of green transportation, our urban community and summer nights! Grab your bike, grab your friends—we’ll see you for our annual event in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill!

Meet at 5pm to hang out and enjoy tunes by DJ NLJB 

Music by Concours d’Elegance and Sap’N at 7pm

Short films followed by Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure at dusk (around 9pm)

Short film program includes The Ducks & Us Songbook movie and a program of claymation from our teen animation camp

Almost last chance — but not quite. Because this kinda crazy thing is coming. More about it soon.

SEAT (Seattle Experimental Animation Team) in conjunction with Sound Transit, and with support from the NW Film Forum and Art Work Fine Art Services presents: Wallrus – The slow moving, ungainly giant movie, an eight part collaborative mural/animation created over four years on the surface of a construction barrier in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park. Seven animators and one school group collaborating over time will take over part of the huge plywood wall around the Capitol Hill Light Rail construction – specifically a section by ‘the Philosopher’s Tree’ near the 10th Ave and Denny park entrance. Beginning Thursday September 9th this wall will become an animated mural, with a new animator arriving every six months to transform the wall entirely, culminating in evening screenings of ‘wall’ animation and selected films curated by the artist of the season.

Last Friday, August 21st, I had the pleasure of joining 12th Avenue residents, business owners, and local developers on a community walking tour, led by Chris Persons and Kate de la Garza of Capitol Hill Housing. As your representative on the King County Council, neighborhood walking tours are a great way for me to get a first-hand understanding of the needs and concerns of community members. Tomorrow I will be taking a walking tour of Broadway organized by representatives of the Capitol Hill Champion.

The 12th Avenue neighborhood walking tour was an eye-opening experience. We started our walking tour at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School (12th Ave and E Yesler Way). Stops along 12th Avenue included:

• E Yesler Way, to discuss Seattle’s plans for a potential streetcar barn;
• E Remington Court to discuss redevelopment of the King County Youth Services Center site including plans for open space, parking, and retail;
• Zobel Ethiopian Restaurant, to talk with Ethiopian business owners about the 12th Avenue Festival and public safety  around the area;
• E Jefferson Street to get a status update on Capitol Hill Housing’s plan already in motion for redeveloping the site;
• E James Court to look at the area planned to become James Court Park;
• E Marian Street to learn about Seattle University’s role in the surrounding community; and
• La Spiga Restaurant to talk to local business owners about the 12th Avenue Festival and the business climate on 12th Avenue in the Pike/Pine area.

The tour was an opportunity to see 12th Avenue’s continuing progress toward a healthier business district and more vibrant community. I appreciated hearing how community members like Enana Kassa, owner of Zobel Restaurant, and Tsedalu Ambassel, owner of Ethio Café, have worked together with Seattle Police to improve community safety. I heard about the success of the first 12th Avenue Festival, spearheaded by La Spiga Restaurant co-owners Pietro Borghesi and Sabrina Tinsley, in bringing the neighborhood closer together. I was excited to hear about the vision that local developers like Maria Barrientos have for renovating the south end of the 12th Avenue corridor. 

It was also great to hear about Seattle University’s interaction with the community, working with community partners to bring events like “Groovin’ on the Green” (Aug. 28), sending student volunteers into the community, and ensuring that as their expanding campus—including the mixed-use building currently under construction at the corner of 12th Avenue and E Cherry Street—is walkable and open to everyone.

I also heard how King County can play a role in facilitating growth and increasing vibrancy on 12th Avenue. I know the community desires to work with King County to ensure quality redevelopment of the county’s Youth Services Center at Alder and to bring transit service to 12th Avenue. In these tough economic times, simply maintaining existing service is a tall order, but I will keep these priorities in mind as opportunities arise.

Overall, the tour brought into perspective the community’s priorities and goals for creating lasting vitality in this growing urban corridor. More work remains to improve safety, enhance the pedestrian experience, increase transit, and facilitate development. By remaining engaged and working together, this community has accomplished so much already and is on the right path moving forward.