SDOT released its 2010 Traffic Report last week, and it shows that there were two fatal traffic incidents in the Central District last year. The report also reveals where the most people got hit while walking and biking.

The first fatal traffic collision was a 51-year-old woman crossing Jefferson St at 16th Ave May 3 when she was struck by the driver of a Toyota Prius who was turning from southbound 16th Ave to eastbound Jefferson St.

The second fatality was a 36-year-old man on a bicycle who died at 12th and Alder July 28. He was the only person to die while biking in Seattle in 2010.

2010 incidents involving someone walking

The spots in the neighborhood where people walking got struck by cars is not entirely surprising. 23rd Ave remains the most dangerous street in the neighborhood. At least two people have died on 23rd in the past six years, and many times that have been injured.

Jefferson near Swedish Medical Center and Union near MLK also had multiple incidents in 2010.

As the days get shorter, we are headed into the most dangerous months to walk in Seattle. Collisions go up during the winter months. Also, the most dangerous time of day is, unsurprisingly, during the evening rush between 5 and 6.

2010 incidents involving someone biking

Collisions involving someone biking appear scattered around the neighborhood, though two happened on 23rd Ave.

Here’s a map of daily average traffic volumes (cars and bikes combined) on many of the neighborhood’s busiest streets (note that 23rd is not included in the count, but in 2006 it saw about 15,000 vehicles per day). I have argued in the past for a redesign of 23rd to make it safer. Scott made a similar argument last year. It consistently has far more pedestrian collisions than both MLK and Madison St (east of 24th), which carry comparable traffic volumes but have safer road designs.

The city held the first of several forums as part of its first Road Safety Summit last week at City Hall. The next meetings will be in the second half of November (far north and in West Seattle). You can also submit your thoughts on road safety online.

Here’s the full 2010 Traffic Report:

2010 Traffic Report Final

Reader Heather T sent us the following note yesterday:

I only know the details 2nd hand but a customer at Tougo Coffee was mentioning that she had to pull over her car and call the police when she saw a gentleman being mugged at the bus stop at 26th and Union. Apparently it was about 10 / 10:30 this morning in broad daylight. The assailants fled in a car but a witness got the license plate number and reported it to the police.

According to police, concerned citizens took action to chase off a violent robber at 26th and Union October 26, some even going as far as following the suspect vehicle to get a better description to give police.

A 30 year-old, well-dressed man was waiting at the westbound bus stop around 10 a.m. playing with his iPhone when the suspect approached and asked him for the time.

The suspect is described as a black male in his 20s, about 5’8″ and 160 lbs. He had short black hair, wearing a white t-shirt, black hooded sweatshirt and brown jacket.

The suspect grabbed the victim’s phone. He then tried to grab the victim’s shoulder bag, but the victim had a good grip on it and a struggle ensued.

The suspect punched the victim in the face multiple times, knocking him to the ground. When the victim tried to get up, the suspect punched him in the face again.

By this time, the struggle has attracted the attention of several passersby, who came to the victim’s aid. Some people driving by the scene turned around and saw an apparent getaway vehicle flee the scene without the suspect, who fled on foot with the victim’s phone.

The witnesses followed the vehicle to a nearby alleyway. The driver was described as a black woman with short braided hair who was barely tall enough to see over the steering wheel. The car is a four-door mid-90s black or dark blue Honda Accord. There was also a three-year-old child in the backseat of the car.

The suspect on foot cut between houses in an apparent attempt to rendezvous with the vehicle. Police searched the area, but were unable to locate either suspect or the suspect vehicle.

The victim was bleeding from his mouth when police arrived. Medics treated him at the scene, but he was not transported to the hospital.

Police ask anyone to call 911 if they see the suspects.

Here’s a roundup of some of the things going on around the Central District for Halloween. If you have anything to add or want to spill the beans on the best trick-or-treat blocks, please do so in the comments.

HiawathOween, hosted by Cafe Weekend:

COSTUME DRIVE

Drop off clean, gently-used or new costumes at Cafe Weekend from Saturday 10/8 until 10/29/11 from 7:30am -1pm on M-F and 8am-2pm on Saturdays for the costume drive.

COMMUNITY | COSTUME SWAP | FOOD DRIVE | FALL GATHERING

On Saturday October 29 (10am – 2pm)

Cafe Weekend will host our annual community fall gathering in the Jackson Place neighborhood at the Hiawatha Artist Lofts. This year’s HiawathOween is a festive family friendly costume swap & food drive in support of our neighbors at St. Mary’s Food Bank.

SWAP / DONATE
donate clean, gently-used or new costumes & accessories= voucher for costume swap or *1 spookie cookie to decorate. Unclaimed costumes will be donated to local goodwill or to a FBSM child or participant that does not have one. Please bring a non-perishable food item to support the hungry this Fall season!

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NO COSTUME?
$5 donation to FBSM or 5 canned FOOD items = 1 spookie cookie to decorate, or 1 raffle ticket for neighborhood prizes.

already have a COSTUME!
come on down and show it off, bring your old one and trade/ donate it, bring your can food donation to decorate a cookie & just have some fun.

NEED to finish up my COSTUME……
Need to set aside some time to decorate your costumes. Its CRAFT TIME @ cafe weekend during HiawathOween. BYOM – bring your own materials. We will be hosting the event in our community room with a few art & craft tables to continue your own costume making.

Adults & children welcome.
*RSVP on facebook or @ cafe weekend today for your spookie cookie trade! limited amount available.

Madrona Halloween:

The Annual Madrona Halloween celebration will be this Sunday from 4-6, beginning at the Shelter House in the Madrona Playfield.  We’ll have treats for the kids, a costume contest (email me [Stacey Kyrman] a photo of your child in costume by 5pm, winners announced by 6 with lots of great prizes, and a Business Owners of Madrona (BOOM) scavenger hunt.

Halloween Carnival at the Yesler Community Center:

Halloween Carnival

Yesler Community Center, 917 E Yesler Way

Friday, Oct. 28, 6 to 8 p.m.

Ages 12 and younger

$1 per child

Yesler Community Center’s annual Halloween Carnival is full of fun! Enjoy an evening with your friends, family and neighbors for carnival games, tricks, treats and more. Feel free to come in costume. We’ll have refreshments available for sale.

Creepy Crawl at the Garfield Community Center:

Creepy Crawl!

Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry St.

Friday, Oct. 28, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Ages 12 and younger

Suggested donation: $3 per family

Halloween is one of our favorite events at Garfield Community Center! You don’t want to miss this spooky event. We’ll have a haunted tunnel, carnival games and candy. Don’t forget to check out the Creepy Swamp Swim next door at Medgar Evers Pool! We need teen volunteers for this event (good for fun service learning hours), so please call 206-684-4788 if you’re interested.

Central Cinema gets scary and slutty. Here are their upcoming shows:

FRANKENHOOKER

With LIVE Burlesque!!

Thurs Oct  27 at 8:00 (all ages)

 

The LOST BOYS

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.

MICHAEL!!!!

Oct 28-30 at 7:00 (all ages)

Nov 1-2 at 7:00 (all ages)

 

TREMORS

They say there is nothing new under the sun….but Kevin Bacon thinks different!

Oct 28th thru Nov 2nd at 9:30* (21+)

 

Collide-o-Scope: HALLOWEEN

Do the Monster Mash! Win Prizes! NOT for Kids!

Oct 31st at 7:00 (all ages)

Pumpkin Carving party at Twilight Exit:

I just heard about a fire going on at the old Facts building – anybody know what happened?

EDITOR’S UPDATE: A fire broke out in the partially-demolished former Facts building shortly before 4:25 p.m. October 26. According to early reports from officers on the scene, it does not appear that anyone was injured in the vacant MLK and Cherry building.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. One witness said he saw someone running from the area shortly before the fire began. The scanner described the suspect as a black male wearing a gray jogging suit.

It is not yet clear if the suspect has anything to do with the fire.

UPDATE: The building was partially demolished earlier this year, and there is still a for sale sign at the corner.

Neighborhood photographer Truman Buffett happened on the scene and took a couple photos of the iconic, disappearing building.

Photo by Truman Buffett

Photo by Truman Buffett

With a focus on “wine you can drink every day,” Madrona Wine Merchants opens its doors today (October 26) on 34th Ave just south of Union. “It may not be grand,” they said in a post on their website, but they are stocked and open.

As a partner in European Vine Selections on 15th Ave for about seven years, Madrona Wine Merchants co-founder Jim Maloney, who lives just down the hill from the new shop, saw the neighborhood as the perfect place to start a new venture.

“I watched the neighborhood grow, and it looked like a good spot,” he said. He and partner Mark Souder looked at several spots around the city, but sticking close to home seemed to make sense. “Why do that when you can do it right in your own backyard?” said Maloney.

The shop aims simply to sell “wines from all over the world that we like,” he said. They will have bottles starting around $8 or so, but their focus will be on the $10-20 range.

“Everyone likes the special occasion bottle, but you can’t drink it every day.”

Once the shop gets settled, they will host afternoon tastings on Saturdays.

Shop hours are Wednesday-Friday from noon to 7, Saturday from 11-7 and Sunday 11-5.

Remember kids, scary ghoul, dracula and the guy in that mask from the movie Scream remind you to STAY IN SCHOOL!

SPD officers will paint pumpkins with Yesler Terrace kids today (October 25) from 4-6 p.m. at the Yesler Community Center. Many of the painted pumpkins will be on display at the East Precinct headquarters at 12th and Pine through Halloween.

From SPD:

Children who live in Yesler Terrace will be painting pumpkins with police officers at the Yesler Community Center on Tuesday, October 25th from 4-6 p.m.  The majority of the painted gourds will be on display at the Seattle Police East Precinct beginning Wednesday, October 27th – Tuesday, November 1st.  A few pumpkins will also be on display at Yesler Community Center and Yesler Management Office.

Seattle University is donating the pumpkins for this event, as well as providing student volunteers from both the Seattle University Youth Initiative and the Lynn Nursing School. Yesler Community Center and Nature Consortium are donating the painting supplies.

The Mitchells will be able to stay in their home.

Last week, neighbors and activists held a small protest at the home of Dixie and Luster Mitchell protesting the pending auction of their home for 44 years, located on 21st Ave just north of Marion. Dixie said she fell victim to a predatory lending scam and was simply asking her creditors to restructure her loan so that she can pay back what she owes.

“I made that debt, and I’m not trying to get away from it,” she told the people gathered in her front yard October 18. She had gone through all the proper channels to get her loan modified, but responses from her ever-changing creditors had yielded no results.

Now, Washington CAN, one of the organizations fighting for Dixie and the scores of people in similar situations around the state and nation, says the Mitchells and Ocwen Financial have come to a deal that will put her on a sustainable repayment plan. The announcement comes just days before the house’s scheduled August 28 auction date.

From Washington CAN:

On Friday evening, Dixie Mitchell, long-term Seattle resident, cancer survivor and foster mother, received word that Ocwen Financial will modify her loan, following a national campaign launched by Washington Community Action Network. After years of fighting for a loan modification and numerous attempts at working with Ocwen, the Mitchell’s will finally be able to rest easy. Although no paperwork has been signed, Mitchell got word that for the duration of the loan she’ll pay a fixed interest rate of 2% and the monthly payments will be within the range she’s able to afford.

Due to an outpouring of national support, as well as help from local organizations and national partners, Mitchell’s story is one of success. Mitchell has been fighting to save her home for years, but the movement started gaining traction when Washington CAN!, in partnership with New Bottom Line, launched a national petition highlighting Mitchell’s story. Since then, Mitchell has gathered 7,558 signatures from people across the country, appeared on MSNBC’s Up With Chris Hayes and most recently held a press event at her home while activists in the other corner of the country simultaneously delivered thousands petition signatures and her loan modification paperwork to Ocwen Financial’s headquarters in Florida.

While celebrating with friends and family, Mitchell said her story is connected to the larger fight to demand that big banks be held responsible to stop foreclosures and pay their fair share to fix the economy. “It’s not just about me,” said Mitchell. “Millions of families across the country are going through this as well. We won’t stop fighting until we’re able to make the big banks pay their fair share.” Mitchell joined activists outside of the King County Administration Building on Friday to protest a foreclosure auction and continue putting pressure on the big banks.

“Millions of people struggle as their homes are taken away through fraudulent foreclosures. The big banks have cost us, but its everyday people who are picking up the tab,” said Tracy Van Slyke Co-Director of The New Bottom Line. “The New Bottom Line was happy to work with Washington CAN! to launch an online petition to shine a spotlight on Ms. Mitchell’s story and to gather more than 7,500 signatures of support. This is only one story, but millions of people are demanding that it’s time that the big banks to pay us back.”

Mitchell and other activists won’t stop fighting until real change has been made that will help families stay in their homes. It’s time for big banks to pay their share to help fix our economy.

Clean Greens Farm and Market is holding a Harvest Dinner to wrap up the summer CSA season (which I have had a wonderful time biking around the neighborhood these past couple months).

Based out of New Hope Baptist Church at 21st and Fir with a farm in Duvall, Clean Greens is dedicated to providing healthy food to the community. The Harvest Dinner is a fundraiser and chance to meet people and get involved.

From Clean Greens:

Time: November 5, 2011 from 6pm to 9pm

Location: New Hope Baptist Church, 124 21st Ave

Event Description:

Clean Greens Farm & Market is hosting it’s annual Harvest Dinner on November 5, 2011. This dinner is held each year to recognize the people that helped make Clean Greens a success, a fundraiser and to generate more volunteers. We will serve produce from the Clean Greens Farm and healthy food donated by our partners from Central Coop. Come and enjoy meeting our CSAs supporters and the great dinner. We will give the history of Clean Greens and what we are planning for next year and ways you can help. This event is for all communities. Hope to see you there.

A couple living near 24th and Dearborn says their house was vandalized by someone throwing light bulbs filled with paint. According to Jonah at Publicola, the couple told police they believe the vandalism was done by anarchists, stemming from disagreements between the recently-closed radical community space Autonomia and some of its neighbors.

From Publicola:

A Central District couple awoke Wednesday morning to find shards of glass in their yard and red paint splattered on the side of their home. The couple told police they believe they’re being targeted by anarchists.  The city recently cracked down on an anarchist hangout house in the neighborhood, forcing the ad hoc venue, known as Autonomia, to close down.

A police report says someone threw paint-filled lightbulbs at the Central District couple’s home on 24th Ave S. and S. Dearborn St, leaving twenty-foot high spatters of red paint. One of the residents told officers her family had ”ongoing problems” with anarchists associated with Autonomia, an anarchist hangout—which, until recently, was located just down the block from the couple’s home—and told police she “believes the anarchist group…caused the damage to her house.”

Billy Chambers has been sentenced to 22 months in prison after pleading guilty to attempted assault and hit-and-run stemming from an attack at 23rd and Jackson in June.

As a juvenile, Chambers was one of three people found guilty of the 2008 killing of Ed “Tuba Man” McMichael. On June 23, he ran his car into a female victim’s car after the woman filed a police report against him in reference to an earlier car prowl.

Though prosecutors recommended 18 months as part of his plea agreement, the judge decided to give him the maximum.

From the Seattle Times:

King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque imposed the top of the sentencing range, going beyond the 18-month recommendation of the prosecution and defense.

“But for the grace of God, this could’ve ended up very tragically, and I think we need to protect the community from his behavior,” DuBuque said.

Chambers, 18, will get credit for about four months he has already been in custody.