Queen Anne residents are needed to help paint the new mural on the Dexter Way underpass (below Aurora on the east side of Queen Anne). The community paint event is set for Saturday 8/21 and Sunday 8/22 from 11am to 5pm. The new mural will replace the 15-year-old painting that has long been covered with graffiti.

Old mural (top), new mural (bottom)

Directions:  Heading south on Aurora after the bridge, take the second exit on the right (Dexter Way N).  This exit is adjacent to the Hillside Motel. Call 206-285-4883 for information.

The view from Kerry Park here on Queen Anne is always spectacular, but add the Blue Angels in the sky, and it’s something special.

Compared to last year, the Blue Angels gave Queen Anne more of a show, occasionally angling over the city during the show over Lake Washington.

The thunderous roar could be heard (and nearly felt) across the neighborhood.

The clouds began to clear, offering a better view than Saturday.

About 100 people came out to the park to watch.

At one point, a lone jet streaked low across the sky directly over Kerry Park, drawing a surprise from spectators.

One of the treats of watching the Blue Angels from up on the hill is the planes often appeared to zoom between downtown buildings as they flew through South Seattle. Have a photo to share? Send it to tips@queenanneview.com.

Many Queen Anne residents have dreamed of a pedestrian/bike overpass that would link them to Myrtle Edwards Park and the waterfront.  We’ve learned that bridge is one step closer to becoming reality several years after it was first proposed.

Proposed location of overpass

SDOT wants to build a bridge from the east side of Elliott/Western Avenues at Thomas Street all the way across the railroad tracks to Myrtle Edwards Park.  Just this week, a recommendation was made at the Puget Sound Regional Council to provide a $3.96 million grant for the overpass.  If the PSRC Executive Board approves it, that grant would represent the final funding for the $10 million project.  SDOT tells us they could start construction in the first quarter of 2011 and finish it one year later.

The city’s Department of Planning and Development also recently issued a ruling that found no serious environmental problems with the project, but there will be some conditions.  Several trees would be removed along W. Thomas Street and some streets in the immediate area would be reconfigured.  More than 70 people submitted comments about the proposed bridge and only three of them expressed concerns.

One of our readers wrote in reporting a car prowl on the north side of Queen Anne hill last night, just a few block from Nickerson St. Todd writes,

Last night between 12am and 6 am the rear window of our car was smashed inside of our apartment parking garage on Florentia and Queen Anne Ave. Nothing valuable was stolen, but the car was rummaged through.

Car prowls are a fairly common occurrence in the neighborhood, and the frequency serves as a reminder not to leave anything of value in your car, and to keep an eye out for your neighbors.

If you haven’t driven down Nickerson Street in the past few days, you’re in for a shock. The road is now almost entirely one lane in each direction as crews quickly push ahead with the road diet project.

The new center turn lane is now in place stretching almost the entire length of Nickerson. The new bike sharrow markers are also being painted. Crews are still replacing the asphalt on the part of Nickerson near the Fremont Bridge. The entire project should wrap up by the end of this month.

All lanes of the Ballard Bridge will be open the rest of the week. According to a release from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), crews don’t need to close one northbound lane as they’d been doing the last three days to install light pole brackets. “Plans have changed and no lane closure is needed for this work today or tomorrow, August 5 and 6. Work will resume at a later date,” the release from SDOT states.

During the closure, traffic into Ballard was pretty slow-going.

The Blue Angels are back in town for their annual airshow at Seafair.

The Navy F/A-18 performers will be practicing today and tomorrow before their official shows this weekend.

Here is the I-90 closure information for those heading to/from the Eastside or if you’d like to head down to see the Blue Angels up close.

Where is your favorite place to watch the Blue Angels?

Thousands of people in Seattle celebrated Tuesday’s “Night Out Against Crime,” not realizing it could be the last one.

Earlier this summer we wrote about the Seattle Police Crime Prevention Coordinators possibly losing their jobs next spring due to budget cuts. But the coordinators wouldn’t be the only victims to the cuts. “I think it is important for neighbors to know that the services we provide including block watch, community meetings, security consultations, personal safety and Night Out will be gone,” Diane Horswill, one of the north precinct Crime Prevention Coordinators tells our sister site MapleLeafLife.com.

You can read more about this on Maple Leaf Life.

During the summer we spend a lot of time at playgrounds. With all the camps, daycares and neighborhood kids who put the playgrounds through their paces every day, equipment is bound to break. We see broken and sometimes dangerous structures and equipment fairly often.

If you’re at a playground and see something that should be fixed, call the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department’s 24-Hour Maintenance Request Line at 206-684-7250 to request a repair.

Just like every week, there’s a stacked schedule at the Queen Anne Farmers Market today. And in honor of National Farmers Market Week, the Queen Anne Market says it is proud to announce it has been able to host 100 percent of the farmers who applied for stalls throughout the entire season. Check out the lineup here:

Thursday, August 5—National Farmers Market Week

• 3 to 5 p.m.—Music by Squirrel Butter
• 4 p.m.—Knife skills demo with Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry
• 5 p.m.—Followed by a book signing with Kathleen Flinn
• 5 to 7 p.m.—Music by Vince Mtz. & The Great Blue Yonder
• 5 p.m.—Kids Cooking Class with Laura Heinlein and Gabby Moorhead of Grand Central Baking Company
• 6 p.m.—Cooking demo with Eric Rivera, from Eric Rivera Cooks

The featured nonprofit this week is Queen Anne Emergency Preparedness. As always, the market is held from 3 to 7 p.m. on W Crockett St. at Queen Anne Ave N.

Kittens that are currently in foster care will be available for adoption during a special event sponsored by the Seattle Animal Shelter. You can adopt two kittens for the price of one. The shelter has already provided spay/neuter, vaccinations and microchip. The adoption event takes place this Sunday, August 8 at the Whole Foods in Interbay from 11am to 1pm.

You can find more information here.

Note to Queen Anne residents: You may want to try to avoid commuting to Ballard during rush hours for the next few days. With one northbound lane of the Ballard Bridge closed all week, drivers are getting stuck the backup.

Our network editor, Doug, took this photo around 1 p.m. on Tuesday from the Dravus Street overpass. With a combination of SDOT crews closing the right lane to install light pole brackets and boat traffic, crossing the bridge can take much longer than normal. As a reminder, the lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through this coming Friday.

The Uptown Alliance‘s Planning and Transportation Committee is hosting a discussion on the Mercer West Project redevelopment, along with representatives from SDOT, from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, August 4, at the Queen Anne Neighborhood Service Center, located at 160 Roy St.

The Mercer West Project is the final leg of the larger Mercer Corridor Improvements Project, and deals with the street reconfiguration that would make Mercer a two-way street connecting I-5, SR99′s deep bore tunnel north portal, Elliott Ave/15th Ave W corridor, and the neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Uptown and downtown.

Because so much of this corridor lies in Lower Queen Anne—extending from Dexter Ave to Elliott Ave—the neighborhood will be directly affected by the work. The project includes a new, wider Aurora Ave overpass above Mercer, and two-way configurations for Mercer St., W. Mercer St., and Roy St. From the Uptown Alliance’s event description:

SDOT plans to complete the Mercer West Project prior to the opening of the deep bore tunnel segment of SR99. For a period following 2016, the Central Waterfront segment of SR99 will not be fully accessible, as the Viaduct and the connector bridge from Elliott Ave. and Western Ave. are demolished and replaced. In that period there will be freight and general traffic increases in the Mercer Corridor.

Tonight’s meeting will give members of the community an opportunity to hear a presentation on the Mercer West Project, and speak with SDOT Deputy Project Manager Eric O’Brien and KPFF Project Manager for Mercer West Monica Moravec.

For more information contact John Coney at 206-283-2049, or via email at djohnconey@aol.com.

On Monday the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that will allow Seattle police officers to give out $100 citations for fighting, threatening others, or making excessive or “unreasonable noise” in public areas between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. The legislation, which was sponsored by Councilmember Nick Licata and included in Mayor McGinn’s Seattle Nightlife Initiative, aims to promote “the co-existence of residents and nightlife establishments” in Seattle’s nightlife districts.

“This bill passed because groups on all sides of this issue were willing to make compromises. The new law should address most of the behavioral problems police encounter when crowds leave the bars. It provides them with a preventive alternative to address unruly bar patrons on the sidewalks,” Licata said in the public statement.

The new ordinance will affect business districts throughout Seattle, especially those with large concentrations of bars, such as downtown, Belltown and Lower Queen Anne. It will go into effect after a legally required State Department of Ecology Review is completed, a process that may take up to 90 days. As part of the ordinance, the Chief of Police and the City Attorney will also be required to report on the action’s success in reducing nighttime disturbances in 2011.

“Undesirable behavior by patrons after they leave nightlife establishments is an ongoing concern. We now have legislation that will hold disrespectful club goers accountable, which is another proactive approach of the City’s comprehensive nightlife initiative,” Mayor McGinn said in a statement.

Given that noisy crowds can often be heard roaming around Uptown and parts of Queen Anne after closing time, it’s safe to say this ordinance will likely directly impact bar goers—and nearby residents—in the neighborhood. What do you think, Queen Anne? Do you agree with the new ordinance, or disagree, and why?

Two projects on Queen Anne will receive a big financial boost from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund. The City Council has approved $1.24 million in awards to support neighborhood projects across Seattle. The funding matches privately raised money, donated materials, and volunteer labor. Here’s a look at the Queen Anne winners:

Queen Anne Farmers Market: $33,706 to expand the market with weekly events promoting local food, healthy living, and community.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park: $100,000 to hire consultants to produce construction plans for enhancements to the park. The community envisions improving entrances to the park, enhancing the park trails, and connecting pedestrian pathways between neighborhoods and the waterfront.

You can see a full list of this year’s winners here.

More than 1200 blocks across Seattle will be closed to traffic tonight so neighbors can participate in Seattle Night Out, part of the National Night Out Against Crime.

We’ll be celebrating and snapping some pics around the neighborhood (though our block’s party isn’t until this weekend). Please send us photos of your block party so we can publish a roundup later tonight or the next morning.

And our news partners, The Seattle Times, will be compiling stories and pictures from Night Out parties around the region. You can tweet a report and photo (via Twitpic), and use the #nwnightout hashtag so they can see what people are up to.

Do you know a great place for a P-Patch garden on Queen Anne?  If so, the city’s Department of Neighborhoods wants to hear from you.  Queen Anne is one of the neighborhoods that will receive money from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy for the development of new P-Patches. 

A good site is easily leasable at low or no cost, flat and sunny, and at least 5000 square feet.  If you know a perfect location, submit your idea here through the end of August.

Get ready for some slow going and a lot of noise on Nickerson Street.  Starting tonight at 7pm until Wednesday at 6am, crews will grind off the existing asphalt on Nickerson between 4th Avenue N and Etruria Street.  Nickerson will be reduced to one lane during the grinding with alternating traffic.  Police will be on hand to guide drivers through the mess.  There will also be short-term traffic restrictions on cross streets.

This is all part of the controversial Nickerson Street road diet that you can continue to track here.

Residents in the 600 block of W. Mercer Place returned home to find some property stolen.  The burglary was reported around 9:45am last Wednesday (7/28).  A bicycle and power tools were stolen from the parking garage.  The thief or thieves got in by walking across a large glass roof and coming in through a window.