In light of concerns about Mayor McGinn’s political and public safety priorities, faithful RVP reader “Anon” suggested that his honor be invited to live in Rainier Beach for six weeks.
Naturally, your RVP is all over the idea and has already started drafting the basics of the challenge:
- Ride the #7
- Shop the UnSafeway
- Live at Lake Washington Apartments
- Try to get a latte at Graham Street SBUX without a car
- Bike Rainier Avenue South from Rainier Beach to Mt. Baker
- Ride light rail between Columbia City and Rainier Beach at night
- Entertain drivers waiting to turn left across Martin Luther King Jr. Way
- Hang out at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson after 10 pm on a Saturday night (bonus points earned for wearing “19yr old BLK M SouthEND RESIDENT” t-shirt)
What do you think the Mayor should experience during the Rainier Valley Live Local Challenge? Submit your ideas via the comment section below by this Fri., Aug. 20, at 11:59 pm, and you could win an RVP t-shirt and four free tickets to Columbia City Cinema!
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
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1 – Get Mr. Mayor to apply for jobs in 98118 – see how many are available with his skill set, qualifications
2 – Attend a block watch meeting
3 – Walk or bike the city “designated safe routes” to our elementary schools and then tell us how safe they are for students K-5
4 – Drive a honda or toyota and park your car for shopping in 98118 and see how long it takes to get stolen
with all due respect, I think the mayor is a busy man. I think he could do all this stuff in a week.
and I’ll add:
1. call the police and see how long it takes for them to come.
2. find a sidewalk in most of our neighborhoods.
As all bikers know, Rainier Avenue is not a place for bikes. Too many parked cars, too many cross streets. It is very easy to bike from Rainier Beach to Mount Baker … go down Seward Park Avenue to Lake Washington Blvd, to Mt. Baker Beach, up the slight hill to Mount Baker. One of the prettiest and safest rides around!
Good point, Lou.
He should ride the #7 in the morning, mid-day, and at night. He should also try transferring from Rainier, somewhere north of Henderson to the light rail at the same time intervals.
He can use the fine and fast Seattle wi-fi network to work remotely and if he finds himself with any spare time he can peruse the extensive literature collection at the columbia city library (if it’s open).
This would be awesome to see. Any of it. For more than a day. I’d pay money to see him bike over Graham Hill to get to Lou’s bicycle route.
He should check out the local attractions….. the Rainier Valley abandoned house tour, the Genesee Car Ranch…..
He should hang at Rainier and Henderson for a couple of days.
Forget the mayor. I doubt anyone reading this sentence isn’t driving by RAS / Henderson at ten pm Saturday night let alone hanging out.
If he rides the # 7 he should be required to listen to an ipod while on the bus. He should also be required to walk home with an arm load of groceries after dark from Rainier and Henderson.
Why is it only the mayor? Why not add city council to the mix?
“Why is it only the mayor? Why not add city council to the mix?”
Goood question, we can make an F’ing tent city for all of them.
Agreed, Rob — why only the mayor? Why only the city council? Why look to the gods above to do things that residents can and should be doing themselves (if they want things to change, that is). I challenge RVP readers to do number 8 below on a regular basis:
Hang out at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson after 10 pm on a Saturday night (bonus points earned for wearing “19yr old BLK M SouthEND RESIDENT” t-shirt)
Residents got together and worked on location-specific problems like this very often in the Eighties and early-Nineties. The mayor can’t live our lives for us.
note to Lou and editor:
Sometimes people on bicycles have business on Rainier Avenue. riding to Seward Park isn’t going to get them to Full Tilt Icecream or Safeway. Bicycles are traffic.
“I challenge RVP readers to do number 8 below on a regular basis:
Hang out at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson after 10 pm on a Saturday night (bonus points earned for wearing “19yr old BLK M SouthEND RESIDENT” t-shirt) ”
Not on a Saturday night, all our officers will be in Belltown.
I vote for the mayor to spend the night in the abandoned Angie’s space…then walk the “hoe stroll” on Rainier between Othello and Rose then on down to Henderson all while wearing a “stop snitching” tshirt, $175 air jordan sneakers, and an ipod.
I’ll wait.
Fantastic idea!!!
If hanging out at RAS & S. Henderson after 10 pm is too difficult for him, then hanging out at theRainier Beach Safeway at 9 or 10 on a Fri or Sat evening will do. I’m sure anyone with kids has had to run down there at that time of night for diapers, tylenol, formula, etc. The parking lot is usually hopping.
So, if he feels too out of place at the corner, then he can stand at the entrance of Safeway with the security guard.
I “Invited” Mayor McCheese years back to walk from Othello to Henderson at night after he basically axed the gang unit. I’m still waiting.
The t-shirt should actually say ‘Souf End’
Kind of off topic but I saw a bumper sticker a week or two ago that said
“My child was inmate of the month in County jail” Didn’t say what county but it made me laugh.
Mich said
“He should ride the #7 in the morning, mid-day, and at night.”
Actually, the #7 is so slow that it’s pretty much an all day trip anyhow!
I did an experiment tonight getting off light rail at Othello. Instead of wearing my goofy looking radio headset (with an antenna), I listened to my iPod. What a surprise when a youth immediately approached me and tried to engage me as I strode quickly away. I had nothing to say to him, and I am confident that he was not inviting a middle-aged female stranger to his next book club meeting.
I hope it’s okay. I just alerted the Mayor’s Office of the invitation. Gave them the link to the article via the “contact us” form on the Office of the Mayor’s website.
As long as you didn’t tell him the secret handshake.
This is so brilliant. I hope he rises to the challenge.
I have lived in the south end for over 20 years. I like it here. Sure, I would like a bike lane on Rainier, but come on – it is not that bad here. It is walkable. It is bikable. It is busable. We have friendly neighbors in a diverse community. It is livable.
Hopefully the mayor does not need an invitation to tour our neighborhoods. If he does need one, I would like him to bike around, have a cup of coffee, go to the libraries, the farmer’s market, eat at our amazing restaurants, shop our open markets (gotta love McPherson’s!), visit our schools and our pea patches. It is nice here. Everywhere and everyone has room for improvement, but lets not forget, in fact let’s celebrate our strengths.
O.K. I would like better bus service… o yeah – he’s not in charge of the bus service (that’s a county thang).
Picnic in Othello park should be on the list. Also, buy something at Jim’s mart (old Exxon station at MLK & Renton Ave S.) with cash.
How about going to Jack in the Box and avoid scoring some dope.
He should attend the CURB Community Report-Back & Criminal Justice Teach-in on October 16 at Rainier Vista B&G Club (http://www.facebook.com/sheri.day?v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=133356986707173&index=1) and support continued funding of the arrest diversion program that are grassroots and promote expansion rather than replacement by something new, untested and top down!
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