Now I know better. But there was a time not too long ago when I nearly rammed into the back of a car after the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes in morning rush traffic — for a parking spot. I didn’t know the game before. Now I do. And for those of us who don’t play it, but instead get played, it’s annoying.

The problem spot is along Cherry heading into downtown (westbound) between 17th and 15th, near the hospital. For awhile, that small stretch of Cherry has been one of the few places where parking spots are FREE, with NO hourly limit. BUT there’s supposed to be no parking between 7-9 am. It’s officially a tow-away zone. What happens? In the mad scramble to secure one of those prized spots before anyone else, frantic drivers will abruptly pull into one as early as 8:45, jamming up one of the two lanes heading into the city. All it takes is one driver doing it, and within a minute or two, dozens of others drivers (who have been circling the blocks in wait) dive right in. They’ll then wait inside their cars until they’re in the clear. Commuting drivers have to slam on the breaks. Buses have to quickly lumber into the left lane. Horns are honked. Close calls are made. It’s a mess, and it’s illegal.

Police have told me they have a hard time nabbing offending parkers, namely because officers would have to be RIGHT THERE at the time of the offense since there’s only about a 10-15 minute window when it happens. At 9 am, the parking is completely legal. And it’s beloved. I’ve watched doctors and nurses and staff migrate out of the hospital just to move their cars into one of the spots. A daily, minor inconvenience for a primo, all-day, free parking place.

It seems like it’s a matter of time before the city makes that remaining area of Cherry a paid, 2-hour limit section; blocks on either end already are. Until then, the parking sharks keep at it. (BTW: There’s no parking on that same area of Cherry near the hospital heading EASTBOUND from 4-6 pm, but the same thing happens — though not as badly — as drivers will shut down the right lane by parking as early as 5:45. Good times.)

So.. have you nearly slammed into another car in the morning because of this? Or.. are you one of the parkers who does it? Please share.

I had a chance to talk with Ron Rubin this afternoon over at the old Dilettante Chocolate space at 23rd and Cherry. He’s going to be the new owner of the property (the deal officially closes in a few weeks). He already owns that stretch of apartments and work/storage lofts next door along Cherry called Central Space. A real estate agent during most of his daytime hours, he’s got big plans for the overall area, which he wants branded with the Central Space name. (www.centralspace.com).

Ron says the Dilettante building is roughly 4,300 square feet, and that after plenty of work, he envisions four to five retail businesses going in. He’s nearly certain the former chocolate site will become — wait for it, wait for it — a new “higher end” coffee shop, though no tenant names are being mentioned yet. He wants at least an eatery or two to move into the other spots. He might even make one of the spaces his new office for Central Space. Plans are far from being finalized, but Ron says he likes the idea of even having a walk-up espresso counter on Cherry as part of the coffee shop, in addition to walking into the store. That could be cool. He also mentioned putting in an ATM machine outside the building (we’re reserving judgment on that).

He says it could be four to five months before we actually see any new businesses setting up shop. There’s still lots of renovation that needs to be done inside. Ron went out of his way to thank Jim Barger for selling him the property. I’ve talked with Jim before for a previous update on the Dilettante building. Ron says Jim, the owner of Greenleaf Construction, wanted to make sure that the changes would be for the benefit of the neighborhood. Definitely good to hear.

The Dilettante part of things is considered PHASE ONE. Ron says the second phase could truly transform the area. He likes the idea of revamping each of the garage-looking spaces that are currently rented out on a month-by-month basis to people with small businesses or hobbies and making them 300-square foot stores. A new marketplace, he says, that could become a regular destination point. Inside and outside would get big overhauls. (Ron says a recent trip to Thailand and the love of small storefronts there has inspired him.) He says PHASE TWO is another 5,000-square feet of retail space, making the total close to 10,0000-square feet for up to 16 businesses at 23rd and Cherry. Also, he says he’d like to begin lobbying the city to add a median to Cherry out front, and see angled parking in front of the stores instead of curbside.

I’ll stay in touch with Ron for new details about what’s going on in the coming weeks.

Today we bring you another reminder that if you fight for change along enough, victory can be yours. For 10 years along a stretch of 20th Avenue, neighbors have cringed at the out-of-control speeding and careless driving. Cars hitting 50 miles an hour is not unusual, especially since the street is basically a straightaway with NO traffic calming measures in place from Cherry to Union. (Crafty drivers will use 20th as a faster route to get around traffic on 23rd or 19th.) Every now and then, nearby homeowners tell us they walk outside to find that their vehicle has been sideswiped. Not good. But change is coming to 20th and Marion.

Brenda Neuweiler (owner of the popular JustFoodToGo.com catering service) along with a small group of dedicated neighbors, including Dena and Misty, are hoping that a new traffic circle and a pair of “chicanes” will get people to hit the brakes. (You’ve seen chicanes before. They’re those bits of land or pavement that jut out into the street. You have to drive around them.) After nearly a decade of lobbying the city, the neighbors tracked down grant money to put the traffic slowing measures in place. Pink lines on the street now mark where the work will be done. Brenda tells me it was all a “slow process” and that many nearly “gave up.” But a neighborhood meeting not too long ago re-energized them to keep up the good fight. Here’s part of an email she sent:

June 07 we applied for a Street Calming Grant $15,000. through the Neighborhood Street Fund and were notified in the fall of 07 that we received it. In January 08 we met with our city Rep Jane Rebelowski who is handling the process with us till completion. I had to canvas the neighbors between union and marion and get 65 percent of overall signatures for approval. After that was completed I got the radar gun for 3 days and now we have an auto speed sign registering all traffic driving north and south. Construction and completion is scheduled for sometime this summer. Thomas Whittemore is with the Dept. of Neighborhoods and is another great source for information.

An “auto speed sign” is one of those big digital boards that tell you how fast you’re allegedly going, usually seen in construction zones, though it’s no longer there at the intersection. The neighbors, along with the city, had to document traffic and speeds in the area. Two years ago, neighbors actually had the pavement at the intersection of 20th and Marion painted with a colorful design with a few hundreds dollars in grant money and the city’s help. It was a temporary solution to get drivers’ attention and get them to slow down — that’s no longer doing the trick. Now they wait and wonder if these new “permanent” additions will make the street a little bit safer.

Brenda says if you’re interested in trying to add traffic circles or chicanes to your neighborhood, get ready to be persistent and to “keep at it.” She recommends checking with the city’s Department of Transportation to find out who your representative for traffic calming might be. To borrow that radar gun to measure speeds, there’s a lengthy waitlist. Start investigating the possibilities of grant money (because the city itself won’t be dishing out the cash.) And, as always, get ready to get involved, and talk with neighbors.

So my walk to the gym today from the CD to downtown took me by the Barnes & Nobles at Pacific Place. There in the window: A cool looking neighborhood map of Seattle. I’m a self-professed sucker for maps. Love ’em. I lingered. It had areas marked off of our fair city I had never heard of before. Plenty of history behind that I’m sure. (I would have bought it right then, but it was an overpriced $25.)

But something about where I live caught my attention as I studied it, and I snapped a (grainy) shot of what I saw with my cell phone. The map shows the smallest boundaries of the Central Area I’ve ever seen, and in an odd area. It has the southern edge at Union, with Madison on the westernish flank, up to Denny and over to MLK on the east. It marks off Squire Park as being nearly twice the size, and a neighborhood simply called “Garfield.”

We all know people tend to have varying viewpoints about what something’s called and where it ends and begins. It’s a robust, ongoing, intriguing debate. But from what you can make of this, what do you think? Is the CD being squeezed?

I just went for a walk and got some more information about the former Dilettante store at 23rd and Cherry, right near Garfield High School and the Community Center. Work there has been going on for the past couple of weeks, and it’s had plenty of people in the area wondering what might be moving in.

I talked with Jim Barger today, who’s heading up the project. He’s with Greenleaf Construction, a local company that prides itself on “green” construction (www.greenleafconst.net), especially in Seattle’s urban neighborhoods. Jim says they’re excited about the potential of the 4,000-square foot building, which can be parcelled off for up to three businesses. They would like a retail shop or possibly two to set up there. So far there are no tenants signed on.

Jim says part of the problem has been that the space was so dark and dingy that prospective clients couldn’t visualize the potential. Workers are now opening the place up and adding light and renovations to dramatically improve the appearance. A restaurant nearly agreed to move in, but when the deadly shooting happened a few months ago at the Philly Cheesesteak restaurant down at 23rd and Union, he says the eatery got cold feet and backed off. A non-profit has also showed some interest.

Jim says he’s hopeful that this “prime real estate” will find the tenants it deserves, especially with all the improvements at the high school and area in general. Also: Keep close watch on the exterior. They say want to keep the architecture of the building in tact, and find ways to minimize all the “tagging” that goes on.

I’ll keep tabs on what’s next. And cross our fingers for a cool espresso joint!