In response to lots of community feedback, there are a number of changes to the BAT lanes on 15th Ave West.  City crews were out today putting new signs and stripes in place to mark the changes.  

Seattle Traffic Operations Engineer Mike Morris-Lent tells us that the biggest change is for drivers coming off the Magnolia bridge southbound.  Instead of needing to merge right away at West Galer, drivers will now have an additional two and a half blocks to travel to West Lee before they have to merge.  Engineers hope this will make the merge safer and reduce congestion. 

In the northbound direction, there will no longer be parking between W Lee Street and the Magnolia Bridge entrance and parking will now be restricted on weekdays from 7 AM to 6 PM between W Prospect Street and W Lee Street. 

Crews expect to wrap up the work today.  Seattle police department will give drivers a week to get used to the changes before they begin enforcing BAT lane restrictions.

There is still time to sign up for Magnolia Little League.  This year you can register online. 

This picture is from the opening celebration last year and kids who want to be part of the fun this year need to sign up right away.  Softball skill evaluations are this Saturday, practice starts soon and the opening parade is set for March 21.  Registration is available for tee ball, baseball and fastpitch softball for players living in Magnolia.   

Fees for fastpitch and baseball range from $120 to $160 for the season depending on player age.  Tee ball fees are $100 for the season.

Now is the time to prune your roses for summer blooms and the Magnolia Garden Center is holding a free class on Saturday (2/28) at 10 a.m. to show you how.  

Bring your pruners for a hands on demonstration.  You’ll also learn how best to feed and care for roses now and throughout the growing season.   This is the second in a series of Saturday morning classes at the Garden Center.  Click here for more information. 

Around 5 a.m. this morning, snow began to fall in Seattle and here in Magnolia, leaving up to an inch on the ground.  As of 8:30am, most of the snow is off the streets and just lingering on cars and lawns.  The sun is actually starting to come out right now.

All Seattle Public Schools started two hours late today with buses on snow routes and there are just a few changes for Metro buses. SDOT had its plows on the the main arterial routes. 

The forecast is for decreasing showers and warmer temperatures so the snow should melt away quickly.

Get ready for a new garbage collection day and a rate increase. 

Next week homeowners will get a guide in the mail that outlines new pick-up days and an increase in service costs.  For example, that means a house with a 32-gallon can will now pay $22.30 per month for garbage service compared to $17.65 last year. 

The other big change is that food and yard waste will now be collected every week instead of every other week.  Plus, leftover food including meat, fish and dairy scraps can now go in the food/yard waste cart.  More items can be recycled including plastic and metal items such as cups, deli trays, aluminum foil and plastic plant pots.  There are also more food/yard waste cart sizes to choose from, including 13, 32 and 96-gallon options.

This is part of Seattle’s new recycling program that begins March 30th. The program goal is to convert 60 percent of Seattle’s generated waste to recycling or composting by 2012.  Currently the city diverts 48.4 percent of its waste.   

Recycling guidelines and collection calendars will be mailed next month and customers with new collection days will have that information taped to their garbage containers. Click here for new garbage rates  and more information.   

Magnolia Voice reader KKennell wants everyone to know about a service she found at Bartells.

It has long been a quandry as to how to properly dispose of unused medications…..Last night I came upon a wonderful environmental/community service at Bartell’s. They have a locked down green box by the blood pressure machine that is for proper disposal of old prescription drugs.  This brought to you by the store that also accepts old compact florescent bulbs to proper disposal. They are setting a great standards for other stores to aspire to. Bravo Bartells!

The program at Bartells allows you to get rid of prescription medication, over the counter medication, inhalers and even pet medications.  You can’t dispose of needles, thermometers or narcotics.

Bartells says that disposing of medications safely at the store keeps your home safe, protects children and seniors and prevents theft.  The medicine return bin is located in the pharmacy at Bartells.

These are tough times and restaurants are pulling out all the stops to bring in customers.  Magnolia’s Palisade is trying to lure wedding business with a first ever bridal open house at the restaurant on Sunday, March 1 from 1 to 4 p.m.

The event is a way to introduce Palisade’s facilities and cuisine.  A group of local wedding vendors will also be on hand. The event is free, but requires an RSVP.  Palisade catering director Erin Mitchell hopes this will show brides that even on a tight budget, it is possible to have a nice event.  Palisade will provide appetizers and wedding cake samples. 

To reserve your space call the Palisade catering department at 206-285-1000.  You need to make your reservations right away, they want you to call by end of day Thursday (2/26).

Blaine is looking for a talented and committed individual (must be at least 18) to coach or co-coach the middle school boys soccer team this spring.  The season runs from March to early May.  There are seven regular season games and one or more playoff games.  Practices are twice a week after school and games on Saturday mornings.  It is a paid position.  

If you or someone you know might be interested, contact Blaine teacher Randy Self at 252-1956 or rsself@seattleschools.org, or athletic director John Miller at 252-1935 or jrmiller@seattleschools.org for more details.

More townhomes are coming to Magnolia’s east slope.  The triplex and duplexes above at 2301 and 2315 Newton will be demolished and 12 townhomes will be built on the site between West Newton Street and West Plymouth Street.   The project was approved by the city last week.

There are a number of locations in that neighborhood that are already being developed into townhomes.    This site is interesting because at once housed the Officer’s quarters for the Naval installation at Smith Cove.

The design is described as contemporary with extensive use of cast concrete. Parking for 20 vehicles will be included within the structure. 

This is the view from the new townhomes.  No word yet on when construction will begin.

We want to let you know that Seattle Public Schools Open Enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year begins Monday March 2 and runs through Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Due to the capacity management/building closure process, the enrollment calendar for this year was adjusted from its usual January – February timeframe.  The district wanted to give families time to consider options and to prepare registration and application materials. 

Open Enrollment is when families register and apply for school for children entering kindergarten, for students going from elementary to middle school or middle to high school next year, for students who wish to change schools, and for students who will be new to the district in September 2009

Seattle Public Schools will be at the Magnolia Library on March 24 from 5:30p.m. to 7p.m. so parents may submit their school application for the 2009 – 2010 school year. Make sure to bring all necessary
documents to register your child.

We told you recently about Magnolia’s Cool Moms Letters to Michelle effort with the group assembling a book of letters expressing concerns and hopes for the future of our planet. The book will be sent to First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Our friends at West Seattle Blog were there when the group gathered with the West Seattle CoolMoms to show off the finished product with 50 letters.  The group is assembling the book and will be sending it to the White House soon.

We know that Magnolia residents frequently travel on Nickerson so we wanted to let you know there are big changes proposed for that street. Seattle Department of Transportation plans to remove one lane of traffic each way in an attempt to make it safer and improve pedestrian access and bicycle usage.

The changes will be on the Nickerson Street corridor between the Ballard Bridge and W. Etruria Street.

The proposed changes will include:
• One lane of motor vehicle traffic in each direction (currently there are two)
• New two-way center turn lane
• New westbound bicycle lane and sharrow markings in a wide eastbound lane
• New pedestrian median islands at several intersections

Here is what it looks like now:

And here is what it will look like when the work is complete:

During construction you can expect lane closures, pedestrian detours and parking restrictions.  We don’t have a start date or timeline for construction. If you want to learn more, there is a project open house on  March 4th from 5pm – 7pm at Demaray Hall – Room 150 at Seattle Pacific University at 509 West Bertona Street.  That is the building with the clock tower.  You can also send comments to WalkandBike@Seattle.gov. 

Here is another chance to share your opinion about the bored tunnel hybrid replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct.  There is an open house in Ballard on Monday, Feb. 23 where WSDOT, King County, and the City of Seattle will share information and take comments.

Last month, the city, county and state announced their recommendation to replace the Viaduct with a 1.7 mile, deep-bored tunnel under downtown. A recent meeting for Magnolia residents regarding the tunnel plan brought out a large crowd and officials were grilled with questions about access to the tunnel from our area. 

This meeting will be at Ballard’s Adams Elementary School from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.   The school is located at 6110 28th Ave. NW, Seattle.  For those who cannot attend the open house comments can be sent via e-mail at viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.    

After a few delays, LA Fitness in the Ballard Blocks building opened its doors to the public this morning. And we now have official confirmation on the opening date for Trader Joe’s in that same building. 

The sign on the door at Trader Joe’s this morning confirms our earlier reports that the store will open on March 6.

LA Fitness has opened a massive facility — the first “Signature Club” in the country — 58,000 square feet across two floors.  Most of the club is situated in a huge open-air room on the fifth floor. There are 92 pieces of cardio equipment, many with video screens.  The 25 meter pool and spa overlook the Ship Canal.

The club was expected to open sooner but was delayed when LA Fitness made a last-minute change to upgrade to the “Signature Club” setting back the opening date. 

Thanks to our sister site My Ballard for the photos.