The Seattle Police Department recently announced they secured grant funding for four neighborhood crime prevention coordinators until the end of 2011. Formerly there were six coordinators. Neil Hansen who helped many of us set up block watches, gave great tips on securing our property, and was a familiar sight at the Ballard District Council, retired a few months ago. The new coordinator for our area is Terrie Johnston.
It looks as though the Crown Hill (and Ballard) area has suffered a spate of residential burglaries in the last month (March 18th to April 18th, 2011). Just this afternoon (Monday), a neighbor on 12th (97xx block) surprised a burglar in his home. The neighbor pursued and caught the burglar on foot and was able to retrieve the burglar’s backpack in the ensuing struggle before the individual ran off.
Here are the burglary incidents detailed on the map below:
03/18/2011:Â 23xx Block of NW 85th
03/20/2011:Â 10xx Block of 11th Ave NW
03/24/2011:Â 10xx Block of 11th Ave NW
04/03/2011:Â 9xx Block of NW 96th St
04/04/2011: 14xx Block of NW 105th St
04/06/2011: 17xx Block of NW 89TH St
04/07/2011:Â 14xx Block of NW 95th
The map for Crown Hill over the last month looks like this screen shot snagged from the SPD Police Reports website. The burglaries are in green with a star-burst which resembles broken glass:
Crime Map of Crown Hill 3/18 - 4/17/2011
Normally Crown Hill is a fairly quiet enclave in the city of Seattle. Likely these crimes are the work of a small number of individuals who are moving through the neighborhood. Steps you can take to cut this crime spree short:
The first ‘hood hunt in Crown Hill was held Saturday, April 9th, 2011. We had 39 folk assemble themselves into eleven ‘teams’ whose job was to visit 25 checkpoints in Crown Hill, and answer a ‘simple’ question about something at that checkpoint. Easy enough you say, but the maps did not have street names on them. Once each team dusted off their orienteering skills, they were then confronted with the formidable 5-1/2 mile route to visit each point and return within 75 minutes. Adding to the challenge were the grueling hills of Crown Hill which induced shortness of breath, and sore legs. Upon return, the scores were totaled for each team, and prizes awarded based on the number of correct answers and finishing order.
Try it yourself!
If you want to try your skills at the challenge, you can download the map and question sheet. It should be a pleasant hour plus spent walking around the neighborhood!
The Amort Family, second place winners of the 2011 'hood hunt
Seattle Dept of Transportation will be doing some repaving work on Holman Road in the north-bound curb lane to address the issues of potholing along that edge of the street. Work is preliminarily scheduled for April 13th and 14th, weather permitting. Be prepared for some disruptions.
SDOT Traffic Advisory For immediate release: April 8, 2011 Contact:Â Marybeth Turner, (206) 684-8548
Holman Road Pavement Repair Next Week
Seattle Department of Transportation paving crews will work on Holman Road NW between Mary Avenue NW and 9th Avenue NW on Wednesday and Thursday, April 13 and 14, if weather is favorable. The crews plan to work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day to grind off old pavement and lay new asphalt on a portion of the street. One north lane and two south lanes will remain open.
Preliminary work has begun on the future Crown Hill Park! Seattle Public Utilities has begun to install the water service for our new park. Workers were spotted this morning (April 11th) on 14th Ave NW, near the South end of the Crown Hill Center making a street cut and excavation. Pipes, gaskets, flanges were then handed down into the hole by SPU workers as onlookers (and their dogs) exchanged greetings, and arranged for a dog adoption (of a really cute 15 week old puppy). Thanks to Catherine Weatbrook for the photographs.
