The Seattle Public Library closed way back in March with the first stay-at-home order, putting the kibosh on all manner of activities at our libraries including at our own neighborhood branch on 45th St. The banner above the SPL website says the closure will last at least until May 31, the current end of King County’s Phase I, but this could, of course, be changed. (A second banner announces a closure on Monday, May 25 — Memorial Day — making it double-closed that day, I suppose.)

While libraries these days offer many activities and services, book borrowing has always been …

[Editor’s note: We received the following from Darrell Bulmer, Communications Lead, Seattle Department of Transportation]

This week, work has begun on N Midvale PL and N 45th St. The new configuration is reflected in the graphic at bottom.

Work this week included clearing of vegetation, fence placement, drainage improvements, and removal of concrete in the project work zone. Crews will work this weekend installing the conduit crossing for the new rapid flashing beacon on N. Midvale Pl.  East and West bound traffic will be detoured on Saturday, May 16 while we work in the roadway. 

As …

Some much-needed improvements to the street crossings near Midvale Ave and Midvale Place will get underway on Monday, May 11 (today). You might know the crossing points as the places you pass by on your way from Stone Way to Aurora Ave., or perhaps the nearby Meowtropolitan is more familiar to you. Crossing the streets in this area can be a challenge, in part because of the irregular, triangle shape of the intersection.

While the triangle shape won’t go away, there will be some important additions that should improve safety for pedestrians and improve transit for bus riders. (See graphic …

Happening now, on Meridian Ave. Hopefully, coming soon to a street near you!

…

Amid the numerous events canceled and postponed due to the coronavirus, it will surprise no one to learn that the 2020 Fremont Solstice Parade has also been, in their words, “postponed.” Some may prefer to call it a cancellation as the new date will be June of next year.

We received this from the Fremont Arts Council:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the postponement of the Fremont Solstice Parade and Celebration at Gas Works until June 2021. 

After assessing the current and projected data related to COVID-19 and hearing from King County Public Health and the Seattle …

[Note: After this story was written, but before it could be published, Mayor Durkin announced a 2-day suspension of construction beginning Thursday, April 9, so that city employees and contractors could more rigorously implement social distancing policies at their work sites. Presumably, then, there will be no work on 40th St. during that time.]

Yes, I’ve cribbed my title from the Postal Service Creed, but today I’m going to apply it to the workers of SDOT and their contractors. For the past several weeks, virus or no virus, they have been out ripping up 40th St. and the adjacent sidewalks …

No one needs to be told that Covid 19 has not just caused a whole lot of damage to global health; it has also caused widespread, serious economic damage as well. Literally millions of people have been rendered jobless nationwide in just the past couple of weeks. Front and center has been the food industry. It’s impossible to walk down Stone Way or 45th and not notice all the closed restaurants and cafes which have left unemployed cooks, wait staff, baristas and bartenders in their wake. But many other folks have been affected, among them people in the performing arts.…