Potatoes, onions, bananas and delivery FEEDBACK for Amazon

RantWoman now has potatoes. RantWoman now has onions, in particular a bag with the kind of small onions RantWoman really prefers. RantWoman is about to run out of fresh bananas but the point of a recent Amazon order was bananas.

(RantWoman acquired the potatoes and onions at a street level grocery right next to a bus stop near an in-person meeting. So Amazon is out of the picture about that, at least this time.)

Here a confession: RantWoman quit shopping at in person at her neighborhood Amazon Fresh in connection with the last #No KingsDay protests. There are both food preference and political reasons: Before No Kings Day 2.0 RantWoman found herself looking on Amazon for faraday bags to protect her electronic lifelines while out protesting billionaires for doing billionairish things. At that point, RantWoman reality checked, decided that she prefers shopping in other places anyway, and also decided she did not have time to evaluate other delivery options. So RantWoman made a small in-person shopping gesture but still relies a lot on Amazon delivery. 

Stay tuned for a bananas reflection in connection with #NoKingsDay 3.0

RantWoman realizes that the vexations of an Amazon order are definitely "first world problems" when the news media is melting down full of lots of scary scenarios involving oil, fertilizer, ground troops and all like that. RantWoman also has TWO pleas from Amazon to interact with the Amazon data collection about satisfaction with the delivery. The pleas had links that took RantWoman to more ads, not straight to the comment options, unsatisfactory as they are. So here goes world.

When RantWoman is out of fresh bananas, RantWoman has this odd tendency to forget about all the other food in the house, including multiple packages of dried bananas. A few nights ago, RantWoman was out of fresh bananas. RantWoman fully intended to go replenish the supply of bananas and also potatoes and onions. RantWoman figured there is a short bus option, prices are affordable, and RantWoman could buy in a quantity she can carry home.

Nice thought. RantWoman got sucked into one of her YouTube rabbit holes and realized it was really too dark out even for the easy bus option she had in mind. RantWoman REALLY needed bananas. There the yellow Amazon icon was on her phone. RantWoman was even in a space to do the free delivery with a $100 order deal that comes with Prime. RantWoman simply REFUSES to pay $9.99 / month for free perishable grocery deliveries on orders over $25. RantWoman, though is quite happy making orders over $25 for non-perishables. But RantWoman needed bananas.

RantWoman has NO idea what she did, but she wound up in Amazon NOW, unable to get out and with no acknowledgement of one order. RantWoman did in fact include potatoes and onions in her selections but those selections apparently went into a different shopping cart. RantWoman also forgot the all-important bananas. RantWoman would REALLY have liked just to add bananas to the first order but wound up making a second order, partly because there was some kind of hiccup about the usual  order confirmation. 

Here is a summary of those two orders from a few days ago:

RantWoman has bananas. That is the important thing.

RantWoman does not have the russet and yellow potatoes and avocado she would also have liked to have.

RantWoman also has

4 packets of cheese slices when 1 or 2 would have been fine

5 c6 ox containers of raspberries or blackberries

2 packages of hummus

one package of two small frozen pizzas

1 box of donuts

1 6-pack of good tapioca pudding.

2 pints of Cherry Garcia ice cream at a price lower than usual.

RantWoman also has two emails asking wihether RantWoman was pleased with her deliveries

No.

The two delivery drivers were wonderful, courteous, helpful. The problem is definitely not the driver(s).

RantWoman's intent had been to start her grocery list, on Amazon. RantWoman got taken straight to Amazon NOW.

RantWoman previously rebooted her phone to get out of Amazon now. This time RantWoman went ahead.

RantWoman placed her order then realized she had forgotten the bananas, the whole point of her offer.

RantWoman also lost patience before getting acknowledgment of the order in the app.

So RantWoman did a duplicate order with several of the items. RantWoman added the bananas but could not see the potatoes.  They showed up in RantWoman;s shopping cart after the second order was placed and RantWoman was finally able to get out of AmAzon Now.

WTF

The bananas arrived in great shape but too ripe to last very long.

RantWoman definitely was not distressed to get several of the items she ordered at discounts over prices she has seen and / or paid in the past.

RantWoman's shopping cart leaned a little more toward treats than sometimes. RantWoman can definitely COPE.

Dissatisfaction with the Satisfaction survey

In other words, RantWoman is mostly fine except for the part about whatever UI issues are going on about getting out of AmazonNow.

Well and frustration about options for sharing feedback about where Amazon is doing great and / or falling short in contributing to RantWoman's happiness and nutritional needs.

The Opening Day /#NoKingsDay 3.0 angle

Digression: RantWoman spent her Saturday immersed in the hordes of transit riders celebrating the opening of the #2Line #CrossLakeConnection. By now RantWoman should know better about opening day hordes. RantWoman also had to adjust her initial travel thoughts based on howls of pain from her own body. That meant doing other errands and only then trying out the full opening day experience. The trains were packed. At one point RantWoman flashed back to the only other time she has felt that smushed on public transit, a long time ago on a subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan for another GIANT protest. Protest and Survive, indeed.

The opening day moment: RantWoman again needed bananas. By the time RantWoman did her day's train travel she was exhausted, and there were hiccups about bus connections. But RantWoman finally figured out minimal walking bus connections that yielded her preferred banana purchase: one banana ripe enough to eat the next day and a bunch green enough to feed RantWoman for a whole week.

By the way, a plea to Amazon Logistics

While RantWoman has people's attention, and if her rambling narrative has not driven Amazon readers crazy, a BIG request:

RantWoman lives in a building with over 100 apartments. Everyone has the same street address. Many people order from Amazon. Some of them have tougher mobility and budget considerations than RantWoman. Quite a while ago, RantWoman got a phone call from Amazon Logistics in connection with a delivery. 

There are two entrances to RantWoman's building. People making deliveries to the better entrance can phone residents to be buzzed in. However, driving directions to the exact street address in some GPS point people to the back door. Deliveries to the back entrance are difficult for everyone because someone has to know to come meet the driver. This means deliveries get dropped outside the door, stolen... RantWoman gave the Amazon Logistics person precise reliable driving directions. 

RantWoman's account repeats the driving directions and also makes clear her preference to have deliveries brought all the way to her apartment. At this point, RantWoman simply reports that the delivery was great when these directions are followed. We will not discuss the poor unfortunate drivers who deserve scorn from multiple customers when several packages all get dumped in a heap in the mail room.

Recently a number of neighbors have complained that they are having issues with drivers coming to the back door rather than to the front where there is a keypad and options to let the drivers in. Is there some way that Amazon can standardize the driving directions for all drivers? Or is the expectation that drivers will do whatever the GPS says and individual customers will just have to complain every time a new driver goofs up?  RantWoman would SO appreciate being able to help her neighbors out.

Line 2 Opening Day Adventures!

 First, please enjoy this lively commentary with some fun, yes, fun engineering details about how actually a light rail on a floating bridge actually stays afloat. 

RantWoman also enjoyed some hints of festivity at stations she did not make it to. For more on the RantWoman experience, please read on the other side.

First in the world: How Sound Transit built light rail on a floating bridge

First the wardrobe, with thoughts of POSSIBLY stopping by a #NoKingsDay event: Nothing organization specific. A #WhiteCaneDay T-shirt under a hoodie that said "ICE OUT" in a long-winded, pedantic and harder to read way: "the GPS coordinates of your mother's cervix at the time of your birth have no bearing on your value as a human being." The hoodie turned out to be a great weight, warm enough in the morning, not too warm when the sun came out.

RantWoman is thrilled that the #CrosslakeConnection is open. RantWoman appreciated mostly cheerful sunny weather. RantWoman definitely applauds all the parents getting kids started early, even the tiny ones who fell asleep on the bus or while waiting for the bus.

RantWoman probably has some "Dear Accessibility community...here is an opportunity to preview..." email she has not read. RantWoman and Ambassador Thwack the #WhiteCane caught a bus unencumbered by much knowledge of the day's schedule. Plus RantWoman wanted to check out the Rainier Avenue entrance to the Judkins Park station.

Meh. Whose bright idea is it to put the bus stop nearly a block away from the light rail entrance. RantWoman will be interested to see what actually happens about scooter and biker share users stowing their vehicles in the designated areas.

Also, issue a bullhorn for the nice woman whose job it was to stand behind the pull down barrier and tell people over and over that the opening of that entrance was going to be delayed.

Never mind the delay. Hanging out where RantWoman was turned out to be an easy way for friends to find her.  Excitement was contagious, even with the heavy crowds and long waits

RantWoman had an invite to an opening day meet and greet but realized that sleep was going to have to take priority. RantWoman also had to decide not even to try to get into a line to walk up the hill to the 23rd Avenue entrance where people were allowed to board sooner than from Rainier.

After about the third delay in the promised opening, with the line getting longer and longer, RantWoman decided to skip the thought of any inaugural ride. Instead, RantWoman did an errand involving the 7, the E line, a detour for lunch at IHOP and an ibuprofen, Despite some nasty pain issues, it felt good to walk to catch the 40 to Northgate. 

The southbound 2 line was already packed, but RantWoman basically zoned out. At every station, lots of people got off, but an equal or larger number got on. RantWoman was lucky to have a seat. RantWoman would have preferred to face forward, but managed with a side seat.

RantWoman would like to say the view over the lake was glorious. RantWoman would like to say that, but the train was too crowded to catch more than a glimpse of sky and open water, with views of trees as the train rolled through to Bellevue City Center. RantWoman decided that was as far as she needed to go before heading back to the Judkins Park station.

Score a couple bright spots:

--After seeing construction for quite awhile, it was nice to see the train actually serving downtown Bellevue.

--RantWoman likes that the platforms seem wider than  some other stations and that there is more space for people both to stand and to navigate along the tactile warning designs in the floor.

--It was fairly easy to find the elevator(s?) to go up and over to the return side of the tracks. One small grumble: RantWoman's glasses had turned dark but the hallway to the elevators could maybe use a little more lighting.

On the way back, RantWoman wanted to get off on the 23rd avenue side of the station so she purposefully headed for one of the rear cars. Again, the train was packed. A very observant guy indicated a seat next to him and then, when it was time to get off, stood and loudly asked people to move so RantWoman could get off the train. 

Next, walk the direction everyone was headed toward the exit. Locate the elevator(s), again in a hallway where RantWoman might want a tad more lighting. Out the door, across the plaza, hoepfully to catch the #8 bus southbound. That was not to be. After various wanderings and directions, RantWoman decided to just take the 48 NB from the stop she could actually find and pick up the 8 at Jackson as part of her quest for bananas.

From there, life was easy. The only minor hiccup: somehow the pavement in the crosswalk at MLK and Union is, um, worn unevenly. 

The Loo Review and a mumble test announcement

 which sound transit stations have public restrooms - Google Search

RantWoman is feeling lazy about boring more deeply into the question of which SoundTransit stations have public restrooms. RantWoman does think that if hundreds of thousands of visitors are going to pour into town for the world cup or even for the upcoming opening of cross-lake service THIS SATURDAY, maybe a concise list somewhere with tips would be desirable.

RantWoman is also perplexed because the search results claim there is a restroom at Tukwila International Boulevard station and RantWoman has never found it. A fast skim also yielded no info about restrooms on the 2 line. Assuming people will come to opening day for cross lake service, and / or will ride transit to No Kings Day events RantWoman would be THRILLED to get info systemwide in one easy query, not just relying on Gemini, especially when Gemini might not have complete information to work with.

RantWoman digresses. RantWoman's THRILL of the day was to find not just one public restroom at the North end of the mezzanine as previously but TWO. RantWoman managed to locate the directions for how to gain entry. 

The directions lacked one piece of info: both restrooms were occupied. RantWoman would not have minded some kind of more explicit audio cue about this. However, just as RantWoman was about to press a button to have security try again about unlocking, someone emerged and RantWoman was able just to walk in. One judge of the need and public appreciation for this amenity: someone was waiting when RantWoman emerged.

What does one walk into? An almost palatial space with room for a whole family and whatever mobility device or baggage one is traveling with.

Truly, RantWoman was so excited to be able to enjoy this amenity, she ALMOST forgot to find anything to complain about. Two small grumbles.

The toilet is COLD. The design is the same one used in many Seattle Parks, so one can live with it, but it is noticeable.

--There are no hooks or places to put one's bags anywhere but on the floor. This is less than ideal. Transit riders nearly always carry some kind of bag. And floor storage is not preferable on rainy days. RantWoman is determined just to COPE.

But while RantWoman is going on about "Rider experience," at one point recently, RantWoman was listening to announcements about the 2 line. There was the usual English voice. There was a female voice that was pure mumble test, and there was a male voice definitely in a language RantWoman does not understand.  By mumble test, RantWoman means the kind of real-life situations where travelers or aspiring interpreters need to make sense of something like train announcements in a foreign language through bad audio in a noisy space. RantWoman could not tell whether the female voice was speaking English or something else. RantWoman will simply leave that here as a concern.

The Mom Report: transportation to a new destination.

Just when RantWoman was starting to groove on some new to her transit options in N Seattle (Yeah 365),  RantMom will move soon, hopefully to a lovely Adult family Home on Boyer Ave E.

Location. Location. Location.

Location is so important that the RantSisters opted to skip visits to other Lake City locations suggested by the consultant assisting the RantFamily. If the goal is "comfort and quality of life," the Rant Sisters spending more time with RantMom and less time on transit is exactly on point.

The closest frequent bus route, the Metro 48 happens to serve Little Sister on one end and RantWoman on the other end. First day preview from bus stop to location was in a car. Irrepressible Nephew is good at spotting curb ramps but not so good at noticing sidewalk issues from the car. 

Stops at Boyer on both sides of the street seem a little steep to RantWoman but Little Sister has a power chair. 

RantWoman walked the sidewalk between the location and the bus stop the other day. The sidewalk is not brand new so it's bumpy in places. Little Sister at first dismissed RantWoman's observations but after a visit today thanked RantWoman for the heads-up.

Next comes visitors from Lynnwood on Light Rail. RantWoman has not put the route into a trip planner but did realize that in terms of easy connection to the 48 the best option would be to get off the Light Rail at the U District station and walk over to 15th Ave NE to get the 48. RantWoman remembers some nuance about the 48 ending at the U District station at least some of the time so probably a visit to the trip planner with some different date time combinations would be fruitful.

RantWoman generally does not try to plan / replan trips on the fly but does like to have general contours of the schedule in mind from planning ahead.

Anyway, the other option of course is to ride all the way to the University of WA station. RantWoman realized that option is less preferable just because the walk between the station and the 48 stop in front of the UW Medical Center is a pain and worse a pain to explain to another low vision person. RantWoman also notes that she may sometimes opt just to Uber part of the trip especially because of a vexing issue RantWoman REALLY needs to schedule her own medical appointment about.

Lynnwood City Center on the Light Rail.

 RantWoman would in principle like to pen a sunny "I love you all and I am sure life is going to get better" holiday greeting. That, alas, is not going to happen, or at least not before RantWoman just gets some opinions off her chest. With that in mind, RantWoman is going to offer a Christmas tree of posts assembled in such form as to give readers options to pick and choose which RantWoman eye views of the year sound most enticing, entertaining, elevating, ... Get the idea.

Lucky Lynnwood City Center Sound Transit station, the first window into RantWoman's year, and luckily for someone the topic RantWoman can most concisely summon rants about.

Start with Thanksgiving. 

There was an invitation to family for feasting in Lynnwood. There was also an offer of a ride all the way that was going to involve too many people, a dog, and a vehicle specially lifted for off-roading. RantWoman owes the world a whole post about getting in and out of cars. In this case, RantWoman was still flirting too easily with some post-surgery crabbiness and wanted simply to take transit and, if needed be fetched from a transit end point.

RantWoman should have somehow been able to ask her info sources "which light rail station is closest to the address?" The answer: Lynnwood City Center is about a mile away. Instead RantWoman got various unhelpful suggested routings wound up having to ask Irrepressible Nephew to fetch her from an intersection before the one suggested by the trip planner.

Nephew was EXTREMELY good natured about this.

Family feasted well, petted a cat and two dogs, and did fine about many things.Then came time to go home. Nephew dropped RantWoman off at a station entrance inside the parking garage. Another woman in the same boat joined RantWoman in fogging around until we found the hallway with elevators to the platform. Some signage in the parking garage would definitely not be a terrible idea.

Next comes Christmas Day. The RantFamily did Christmas Eve church gathered around a laptop at the rehab where RantMom is currently in residence. The laptop does not do justice to a church organ but that was the celebration needed for this year. It also left RantWoman free on Christmas Day to invite herself over for takeout Thai food with her buddies The Weed Whackin Wenches who also live in Lynnwood. RantWoman would have been happy to take Zip to their house, but WingNut was itching to drive a few days after several days of heavy pain meds due to a dental abscess.

This is now the second try for connecting with the Wenches and their car. The first time was opening day. There were crowds and crowds. RantWoman got to a point where the only thing that made sense was to stand still somewhere amenable to car traffic and act tall. 

Christmas day is SUCH a mellow time to travel on Light Rail. BIG shout-outs to everyone working on holidays. The train was not crowded. RantWoman found an elevator to "surface." The only problem: RantWoman does not consider it "surface" if there are 10 steps between the pedestrian path and what did turn out to be an acceptable driveway. RantWoman is not sure what signage would have provided more helpful guidance about how to connect with cars.

In any case, the day was a blast. The Wenches have been working on re-doing their kitchen. One appliance quit and then something else had to be moved and then another thing needed upgrading. Christmas saw the work paused in mid transformation. Hence the interest in take-out, along with a grand tour: new stove with an induction cooktop, big round tactile controls as well as the possibility to do all kinds of things from a smartphone app. Some electrical work is still needed to ensure the wiring is appropriate and now there is talk of a new exhaust hood to go with the new sink, new dishwasher, and new compact overhead ceiling fan. Never mind that the refrigerator is currently around a corner into the dining room. The Wenches just had so much fun talking about their kitchen. Everyone agrees that moving around the appliances opens up LOTS of ideas.

The Wenches also have two new cats, intriguing but not as snuggly as previous household felines.  The cats emerged for dinner. RantWoman appears to have passed muster. After supper, the more standoffish kitty sat at the other end of a long hallway and just observed for quite awhile. The other more adventurous one visited RantWoman's dangling fingers several times. RantWoman got two nose touches, a leg brush, and a tail brush. Apparently this is high praise for this kitty around strangers.

Now an awkward confession: the Light Rail plus one bus is easy peasy for RantWoman. The Wenches like to drive RantWoman all the way home. RantWoman is always glad for car ride conversations. RantWoman is A LOT less glad about rides in the dark involving a lot of headlights from oncoming traffic. RantWoman is going to have to find some way to...

With that, may there still be feasts ahead as we kick 2025 out the door.

Gratitudes--and Irritability

image from Free Press Journal

#HAPPY THANKSGIVING 

Happy posthumous 91st birthday to RantDad. And special appreciation to all transit, deivery, and taxi etc. drivers, with a particular asterisk for resonance about a couple anniversaries of horrible tragedies. The tragedies never go away, even when there is much else to occupy people's souls.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone involved in food production and food distribution! 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone however you do or don't celebrate.

 

The pink Christmas Cactus

RantWoman considers Thanksgiving at least as important as Christmas. Enough said.

This year, the prep got off to more of a rocky start than usual. Dial-a-Tirade available about software updates and AI that seems to fry RantWoman's phone and other forms of technological disdain for RantWoman's current realities. On top of that, RantWoman spent half an hour of her usual Wednesday morning hourlong webinar trying to figure out a new portal.

Another novelty: an invitation to dinner with nephew and woman friend in exotic LYNNWOOD, but not the part of Lynnwood in range of the Alderwood Zip service. (Earth to RantWoman: did you check Find-a-Ride to see whether the service area might have expanded? NOooo.)

Nephew is both chef and chauffeur, with an offer to fetch both his parents, RantMom, and RantWoman, all in one trip. RantWoman had to reality check this offer. RantWoman is recovering well, but is still feeling a little irritable after some surgery last week. The thought of being crammed in a car even with one's nearest and dearest just does not sound fun.  RantWoman really did not want to request two roundtrips to assemble the whole clan. Somehow a request just to fetch RantWoman from a nearby transit location is too much. RantWoman is quite happy with some exercise and public transit before a holiday feast. More on that in a moment.

RantWoman also learned that Little Sister just assumed RantWoman would be bringing cranberry something. It is a VERY good thing RantWoman discovered a big bag of cranberries stashed in the bottom of her freezer and has been able to assemble TWO kinds of sauce. Uncooked relish will have to wait for another holiday and fresh instead of frozen berries.

Off RantWoman went to Google Maps with the freshly supplied street address. The options with a couple nuances: either Link + the Swift Blue line plus a walk with suggestions to have realistics expectations about walkability or E line plus a Community transit line that runs once an hour on Sundays and holidays. Also, expect rain. 

The actual walking distance from a close bus stop to final destination does not look very long. It just involves interacting with Highway 99 and no indication of crosswalk options. So fabulous: just take Uber the last leg of the trip and expect that family harmony will last a little longer with the right transportation options.

Do you HAVE OPINIONS about SoundTransit? Join a Sounding Board.

RantWoman posts this SoundTransit Sounding Board notice FYI 

Tramsportation Sounding Boards are a great way both to make one's views known and to learn A LOT about our transportation system

Sounding Board | Sound Transit

Dear Amazon, Amazon Day means Amazon Day

The world is on fire, several ways, several places and RantWoman needs to take a break from all that world politics stuff!

Why? RantWoman's lips are about to fall off and she is running out of her much preferred lip balm. RantWoman's most convenient way to get her favorite lip balm is to bundle an order with other items and then to pick her Amazon Day, a day when she is usually home to receiver her shipments.

 RantWoman is just fine with Amazon Day delivery. RantWoman is just fine with collecting a bunch of orders and having them all come at once.

Some of the time that is great.

This post is not about the working great.

Well, one gripe is more of a question! What is the window before a delivery date gets kicked out a week to the next Amazon day? 

RantWoman would be JUST FINE if Amazon clearly said something like "get your orders in two days before your Amazon day. RantWoman could MAYBE endure mumbling about "we just don't have what you want in stock and we need a whole week. RantWoman would handle that GRUDGINGLY. RantWoman's expectation and preference though is that if she chooses Amazon Day delivery, that means her NEXT Amazon Day

However, when RantWoman says she wants her orders DELIVERED, she means to her building and preferably to her doorway. Ignore the naysayers. RantWoman is capable of deciding for herself what theft risks she is willing to run. More to the point, RantWoman orders a lot of things that people don't necessarily want to steal.

The main point: RantWoman does NOT want either some hard to read postal slip OR some long tracking code that she is going to have to type in to usps.gov herself OR an invitation to take two modes of transit followed buy a not terribly ped friendly walk to the nearest holding station. Besides, the last time RantWoman had a problem about a package, RantWoman typed the tracking number in several times on different days and never found her items.

So this time, RantWoman WILL try again about the tracking number, but RantWoman is also griping LOUDLY.

And while we're at it, RantWoman wants a more satisfying way to communicate the nuances of her opinion than picking a box or texting with what is either a bot or an earnest young person halfway around the world at their first job taking gripes from irate customers.

RantWoman also wants some respect because at some point Amazon logistics called up RantWoman for driving directions to her building and in particular to the only door where drivers should be coming to deliver packages. So you're welcome

and PLEASE believe RantWoman: get my things here ON MY AMAZON DAY and NOT THROUGH the post office UNLESS you are sure the package will fit INSIDE RantWoman's mailbox.

Thank you!

UPDATE

7-31-2025. SQUEAKY WHEEL Celebration

The very box RantWoman was ranting about!!!

Who needs riots? Thank you transportation planners? And Happy Ride Transit Month

Way to go transportation planners. Invite thousands of guests to town for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Then schedule at least two major transportation disruptions for the very same weekend. 

Such a brilliant way to make a good impression on visitors.

To wit:

SoundTransit. 

Regarding the FIFA World Cup Club

Ride Sound Transit during FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Matches from June 15 - 25

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will bring six matches to Lumen Field between June 15 and June 25, marking the first time the U.S. hosts the tournament. With up to 150,000 visitors expected over ten days, Sound Transit anticipates a surge in ridership, particularly on the 1 Line, where regular commuters should prepare for crowded trains. To accommodate demand, weekday Sounder schedules will see adjustments, along with additional trips on select Sound Transit Express routes to enhance service.

Due to this international tournament, riders will need to plan for extra time as we manage services to support ridership.

To view event service, please visit the link below and click on the individual event dates under Club World Cup Event Service section.

Please note that the Sounder schedule is being readjusted, this includes canceling some trips to reallocate train resources to provide event service.

For full schedule and detailed timings, visit: https://www.soundtransit.org/worldcup

Last updated: Jun 09, 2025 11:48 AM

Click here for more information: https://www.soundtransit.org/worldcup

Plan your trip or find alternate service options.

From the ST downtown track repair announcement email.

Definitely close all downtown Light rail stations and then encourage people to ride the train to capitol hill and take the streetcar downtown.

On Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, Sound Transit will close the 1 Line between Capitol Hill and SODO stations. This closure concerns repairs to the track near Westlake Station. 

 

On these days, shuttle buses will serve each 1 Line station between Capitol Hill and SODO. The bus stop locations are listed later in this message. Passengers should consider taking a local bus line to travel faster through the area. A visual chart on the Navigating service disruptions web page displays alternative service options. Please call Passenger Care at 1-888-889-6368 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.) for trip planning assistance. 

 

The 1 Line will operate approximately every 15 minutes between Lynnwood and Capitol Hill and between SODO and Angle Lake. At Capitol Hill and SODO stations, trains will operate in both directions on the same platform, to be determined based on operational needs. Passengers who need assistance navigating the station can request help from Sound Transit personnel on the platform or by calling or texting Security at (206) 398-5268.

 

Planned 1 Line Shuttle bus stops served during this 1 Line disruption:

 

• Southbound (toward SODO):

• Capitol Hill: Broadway & E Denny Ave (SW corner, stop #11060)
• Westlake: Pine St & 5th Ave (NE corner, stop #1110)
• Symphony: 3rd Ave & Union St (SW corner, stop #450)
• Pioneer Square: 3rd Ave & James St (SW corner, stop #500) (please note that this stop location may change if the shuttle route is affected by ongoing construction south of James St)
• International District/Chinatown: 5th Ave S & S Weller St (NW corner, stop #844)
• Stadium: 6th Ave S & S Royal Brougham Way (SW corner, stop #21833)
• SODO: S Lander St & SODO Busway (NE corner; not a regular bus stop)

 

• Northbound (toward Capitol Hill):

• SODO: SODO Busway & S Lander St (NE corner, stop #99254)
• Stadium: SODO Busway & S Royal Brougham Way (NE corner, stop #99267)
• International District/Chinatown: 4th Ave & S Jackson St (SE corner, stop #620)
• Pioneer Square: 3rd Ave & James St (SE corner, stop #531)
• Symphony: 3rd Ave & Union St (SE corner, stop #570)
• Westlake: 3rd Ave & Pine St (NE corner, stop #590)
• Capitol Hill: Broadway & E Denny Ave (SW corner, stop #11060)

 

Visit soundtransit.org/disruption for online information about currently planned 1 Line disruptions. Please note the work schedule is subject to change. Visit the Service alerts web page for current information on service disruptions and to sign up to receive alerts by text or email.

 

We apologize for the inconvenience of this disruption. Thank you for your patience.

I5

Seattle braces for traffic chaos as lane closures begin on Ship Canal Br...

RantWoman would love to be wrong. RantWoman would love to hear that everything worked magically, that all forms of wayfinding performed brilliantly, that visitors who won't ride the bus under normal circumstances will all pile onto the bus or summon Uber / Lyft 

Metro along Denny and repairs at UW Montlake Medical Center

In the meantime, RantWoman has a separate rants about multiple stop closures for the Metro 8 along Denny way.and about pedestrian conniptions while the from entrance to UW Medical Center Montlake is under construction.

Take the Leftovers on the Road.

 

The Christmas Cactus that blooms
most exuberantly at Thanksgiving

Wherein RantWoman grumbles about transportation realities and the RantWomen had an awesome time anyway.

The first invitation: The Weedwhacking Wenches inquired: would RantWoman and RantMom like to join them for roast Turkey. The RantFamily already had plans, a feast in the dining room at RantMom's new retirement community.

The Wenches wanted to roast turkey at home in Lynnwood, so the next invite iteration: what about leftovers Friday or Saturday?

For the record, RantWoman LOVES Thanksgiving leftovers: turkey sandwiches, soup, casseroles, turkey enchiladas, yams, various cranberry relish and sauce.

RantMom feels the same way and there was the shadow of an invitation to RantMom who also really enjoys the Wenches.

RantWoman also owed RantMom some of the off the cranberry bag cranberry relish and t

But....

Transportation!

RantWoman was not excited about helping RantMom figure out paratransit between King and Snohomish counties.

RantWoman THINKS she has figured out how to use MetroFlex from the Renton Transit Center to RantMom's but has not tried it since updating some info in the MetroFlex app. More importantly, RantWoman has not figured out whether the Renton Metroflex zone goes all the way to a light rail station. Sigh.

Never Mind. Although RantWoman loves the Community Transit Zip, RantMom is NOT enthusiastic about trying the Light Rail with her walker anyway.

But WingNut DRIVES.

After a bit of texting back and forth, RantMom let RantWoman and the Wenches invite ourselves to her house with turkey, sandwich makings, yams, cranberries, and...conversation!

One theme of the conversation: after YEARS of living in Seattle, RantMom has finally unpacked some treasured family pictures. One picture, a print RantMom recently had framed of the farmhouse where she grew up.

Another picture: a somewhat stylized painting of the house where the RantFamily lived long ago in the last century in Gunnison CO. And hah! Thanks to Nephew's travels a couple summers ago, an actual photo of the very same house.

Gunnison House

 

Tune in after another holiday for more tales of leftovers on the road!

Ride Transit Month is almost OVER? RantMom has moved and MAYBE RantWoman transportation problems sorted out

 This post is a fast account of several phases of transit adventure disguised partly as elderliving quest..

5+ years ago, RantMom came into money enough to afford to move to a retirement community. This is reflects both DEEP affection of a longtime family friend and a HUGE relief for RantWoman.

RantMom chose well, in terms of excellent garden and landscaping, in terms of helpful staff and in terms of transportation. In particular, at the time, the location was one bus away from Little Sister's house and two frequent buses or various other permutations away from RantWoman. Unlike RantMom's previous abode, it was too far for RantWoman to walk but transit access was great and there was staff to deal with some times when RantWoman would previously have had to spend the night after some medical experience!

Then North Link opened. Sigh. 

Bus service hours, probably appropriately, got reallocated. The one bus option went to Little Sister's apartment went away and RantMom spent a lot of time dealing with paratransit scheduling hassles. Eventually, quite a while later, Rant Family collaboration figured out an easy two-bus routing between RantMom and Little Sister. This worked fine though RantMom also sometimes assessed energy levels and opted for ACCESS instead.

Along came the #pandemic, assorted old building concerns, and a company decision to tear down RantMom's community and rebuild. This news has lingered for quite awhile with considerations about options to move to other communities operated by the same company. The GO Please move phase finally landed this spring. Residents scattered among the choices. Staff moved on. There were lots of good-byes and recognitions and time to reminisce. 

The choices:

Across Lake Washington? Hands down, too far for the transit-dependent RantFamily.

Location in Wallingford: no question the best transit connections but not a fit for multiple reasons.

Location in Greenwood. Still two frequent bus legs but a longer ride. Also not feasible.

Option where RantMom landed: beautiful. on the edge of Lake Washington, right where Seattle and Renton street numbers intermingle. At first glance, oh good. A bus route that goes about 3 blocks away...

We WILL make the transportation work.

Visit 1: 

a bright sunny day routing by Google maps. Several options presented. One option selected without looking at route maps or thinking through pieces. This routing had one transfer. RantWoman and Thwack spent a couple moments at the transfer intersection while RantWoman fumbled with her phone. It was a bright sunny day. The intersection has a stoplight. A lovely woman came along and offered "ask a human assistance. RantWoman found the transfer stop, rode to the recommended stop and discovered no sidewalks and no curbs. 

RantWoman guessed at the direction down the street and chose the side closest to the bus stop. There was a pitiful asphalt path with SEVERAL discontinuities. The grade was WAY too steep for any wheelchair user without one of those super-duper climbing chairs to consider. 

Visit accomplished. Little Sister had come on ACCESS and went home that way. A staffperson who commutes from Capital Hill and uses rideshare from the Renton Transit Center walked RantWoman back up the very steep hill on the other side of the street. The asphalt path was in a little better condition, but RantWoman did not really enjoy the hike.

At the top of the hill RantWoman naively assumed that she should catch the bus on the opposite side of the street, but RantWoman did not really pay attention to the stops once she got on the bus. Turned out, thanks to the magic of Metro through routing, the 107 bus turned into the 148, a point RantWoman learned when last stop was called. Driver was apologetic about needing a break. It was a lovely day. RantWoman opted not even to fuss, but just to hang out at the bus stop until the driver was ready to make his run back.This time RantWoman paid enough attention to transfer to the 101 at the S Renton Park and Ride, a stop RantWoman knows well from a long ago work commute. Route 101 goes straight to downtown and RantWoman did fine from there.

MetroFlex?

Muddle around with MetroFlex and the evolving Find a Ride routing. RantWoman thinks she has email that might help about a couple nuances. The Metro Flex app told RantWoman to use the same bus stop as before. RantWoman has other grumbles about the MetroFlex app and will write separately.

Visit # 2. 

Review the routing options, take to heart the Renton Transit Center option, and again get off at the same stop as before. It was a gray day and cool enough to justify RantWoman's hi-vis yellow raincoat. It also dawned on RantWoman that she can easily catch the 106 right near home and have a much easier transfer to the 107.

Off at the same stop as before. The same steep walk down the hill. RantWoman checked out the better side of the street but finally decided just to walk in the street. Thank you bright yellow hi-vis raincoat. Thank you cars who appropriately just went around RantWoman. Thank you minimal traffic going up the hill, but still not an approach RantWoman is going to want to do in bad weather.

RantMom insisted RantWoman just take a ride-share ride back to the transit center. RantWoman opted for the 107 back home, partly because there is a grocery store next to the last stop. 

Trip #3. 

106 to the Renton Transit Center. MetroFlex by phone. Meh.  More separately. Try one Rideshare option: glad to serve in an hour for a price RantWoman did not want to deal with. Other rideshare option wanted booking only half an hour in advance. Fine. Transfer to the 107. Get one stop before the recommended stop and see what the walking route looks like.  of course no curbs and nothing but some intermittent asphalt paths here either, but Eureka! It too two tries to fine a street that led to workable cross streets and a short less than ideal walk along Rainier Ave S. By this time RantMom was starting to fuss. She was thrilled that RantWoman arrived safely, and we had a lovely spell of opening and unpacking enough boxes to find a few things that had gotten misplaced in the move.

Then it was time to book a ride before RantMom went off to dinner. This time the rideshare ride had LEGROOM! RantWoman opted for the 106 for a one-bus ride home or at least to things she might do on the way.

Coming next? 

Tonight RantWoman spent some time looking at Google maps. The distance from the transit center is less than 2 miles, a good walk if the weather is nice and the pedestrian options are reasonable. STAY TUNED.

Criminal Defendant seeking supporters to greet him before and after daily trial appearances

RantWoman's excuse for missing the joyful opening of the @SoundTransit #2Line is NOT "I have to stay home and fill out evaluations after two days at the #OpenThePaths conference.

RantWoman's excuse for missing the joyful opening of the @SoundTransit #2Line thankfully is NOT "Too many vertical conveyance issues for RantWoman's accessibility needs."

RantWoman's excuse for missing the joyful opening of the @SoundTransit #2Line is NOT "I am running off to an annual event near Ellensburg."  This time, RantWoman is skipping in-person and soaking up the Zoom, but RantWoman has flagged "check current electric car logistics" because she is on the planning committee for the next event in the fall and one proud electric car user who did not go this time mentioned concerns about availability of charging stations.

RantWoman's excuse for missing the joyful opening of the @SoundTransit #2Line is NOT "I have to stay home and do some major household chores," but only because procrastination still prevails.

Truth to tell, RantWoman decided she will try out the new rail line sometime soon and not on a day when everything is packed with celebration.

That leaves RantWoman plenty of time to post snark and occasionally go near SERIOUS POINTS about the week's news.

Consider the many legal venues where our illustrious FORMER President has scheduled appearances either in person or by proxy.

RantWoman's comment.

#OrangeFoolius wants crowds. There is I THINK a parody account wanting to send him tubas, trombones, kazoos? to serenade his comings and goings outside Trump Tower. I think a kazoo flashmob playing Hail to the Chief morning or evening would be just fabulous. I WISH there were some musicians in NY actually pulling this off.

RantWoman notes MANY reports of the defendant in the NY Election Interference trial suffering gaseous digestive eruptions and falling asleep in court. RantWoman would suggest a steady diet of legumes to build up intestinal flora helpful for the former problem. As for the latter, RantWoman wonders whether the very best way for #DonSnoreleone to assist in his own defense would be to nap as much as possible if only to avoid antagonizing the judge.

Oh but wait: now the Supreme Court and #DonTheCon claims of presidential immunity.

RantWoman has not listened to the government's side of the hearing, only the petitioner. RantWoman can't help but think that things might start off better if the lead attorney had a last name other than Sauer and also if he did not sound like a goblin.

The Supremes' key question "whether and to what extent the President enjoys immunity from prosecution," lately interpreted as when is something a private act, for instance in service to a campaign, and when is it an official act.

Kudos to Justice Coney Barrett though for getting the attorney to acknowledge that many of the specific acts listed in the Washington DC indictment are most likely private acts in service to his campaign. Based on what RantWoman made of questions from the Supremes to the petitioner's attorney, RantWoman thinks a perfectly reasonable approach would be just to send the case back to Judge Chutkan to try the facts and THEN let the defendant come back to the appeals chain to assert immunity related to specific facts. It's not like Mr. Sauer's presentation has any better foundation than the 60 some lawsuits that #TheNodFather and his campaign lost after the 2020 election.

On the other hand, if the Supremes are going to find in favor of across the board Presidential immunity, RantWoman would encourage President Biden to immediately dispatch EX President Gropesaurus to some kind of secure but comfortable facility for an extended mental health evaluation of at least a year. OF COURSE this would interfere with someone's ability to campaign. Too bad. MAYBE if President Biden were a good sport, this evaluation could start before the #GOP convention so that there would be some opportunity to settle on a different Republican candidate.

Is RantWoman's imagination running away from her...? Uh.....

Celebrate New Lighting around the Judkins Park Light Rail station: Walk Thurs Feb. 15 4:30 pm

 

Thurs Feb 15 4:30-6 pm at Judkins Park basketball court - @seattledot is celebrating Judkins Park Station Access Project which added lighting on I-90 Trail to José Rizal Bridge & stairway at Hiawatha Pl. Live music & free swag - come join! @SNGreenways @BHSafeStreets @CSGreenways pic.twitter.com/h66uS5wiMM

— Rainier Valley Greenways Safe Streets (@RVGreenways) February 13, 2024

RantWoman Apologizes: she will strive to do alt text for the date, time and meeting location of this walk. RantWoman is likely to leave further comments to the live event or an after action report.

Snowmageddon incoming?

According to all the weather forecasts, it's due to get COLD for the next few days. Probably not Snowmageddon, but definitely DEEP FREEZE.

 RantWoman is amplifying all the disaster preparedness info that shows up in her various info streams.

RantWoman is not sure the world is clamoring for her personal approach, but the world gets it anyway, if only to make space for other people to acknowledge their own funky realities.

First, Check with RantMom. RantMom is trying to book paratransit trips and wondering whether she should make them at all. 

RantWoman's advice: make the reservations. If things get too icy, they will get cancelled for you.

 RantMom's church is on the end of a bus run that tends to get cancelled in severe weather, so she will probably have to cope with the livestream and miss out on all the personal info that gets shared before the livestream starts. 

One of RantMom's volunteer gigs says "If school is cancelled, don't come in." RantMom's other main trip now happens on ACCESS because a bus route that used to be a one-seat ride went away when the latest light rail station opened. RantWoman is not guessing about that one but will make a mental note to check status at Little Sister's household.

Reminder to transit users: CHECK THE SNOW NETWORK before you go out.

Metro Snow Network links

RantMom also has a sufficient supply of battery-operated light sources, a land line, and a retirement community that was very conscientious during the pandemic. So RantWoman Peace of Mind!

As for RantWoman, the Snowmageddon checklist includes:

--Cook rice in case the power goes out. RantWoman has plenty of food that is more or less ready to eat. Rice will be good insurance. RantWoman will not be hurrying off an Amazon order for ready to eat soups that have enough salt to brine a large animal. RantWoman will not be looking for anything to add to the fridge. RantWoman may get bored, but she can COPE.

--Oops wait: shelf stable unsulfited fruit juice, anyone?

--Find the crank radio complete with flashlight and USB A and b ports. OOPS. The cellphone has a USB C plug.  OKAY, maybe an Amazon order for a USB A to USB C cable???

--RantWoman was thinking it would be fun to have some kind of imersion heater for hot beverages. What RantWoman really needs is a solar-powered imersion heater. Would that arrive in time for The Deep Freeze Will RantWoman even look for it?

--Make sure furniture is far enough away from the heaters that RantWoman NEVER even turns on unles, as predicted, the temperature falls to the 20's. RantWoman is very lucky to live in the middle of a building with apartments above, below, and on both sides of hers. RantWoman also lives across from a building with white walls that reflects sunlight splendidly into RantWoman's apartment. RantWoman also feels more energy when she is a little bit cold.

Then there are windows. RantWoman will TRY to get both windows in the living room closed all the way. RantWoman has no idea why this is difficult; RantWoman is just a fresh air freak and usually does not worry about the problem. But 20-degree weather DURING THE DAY is too extreme for RantWoman, even with plenty of layers and hats to keep the glare out and heat and brain cells in.

Note to everyone when it's cold: WEAR A HAT even indoors. Heat rises and people lose some large percentage of their body heat through the head.

There. Now GO PREPARE!

HOME Connectivity...?

Kicking this story out the door while contemplating what to hope for on the connectivity front in 2024.

"RantWoman, you should probably apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program."

There are various reasons, some documented elsewhere that RantWoman has not yet applied. One is that volunteering through the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing gets RantWoman "plenty of bandwidth," except for the part about impending construction expected to disrupt that access for up to SIX MONTHS!?!?!

Anyway, RantWoman is going to summarize options available at her home address, which just to confuse data mavens is different from her mailing address. RantWoman is not going to identify providers but anyone who recognizes their company and wants to argue is invited to submit a comment which RantWoman will not post but will follow up on.

Also note to internet providers: competition matters. AND RantWoman learned awhile ago at a transportation related neighborhood walk that there are 9000 units of new housing permitted within less than a mile of a soon to be opened light rail station. SO opportunity???

The currently operating providers

The Old Telecomm Co.

--Has been serving RantWoman's building for years.

--Satisfactory for one neighbor's needs.

--Sends a different neighbor to the computer lab to watch Amazon videos without a lag.

--Repairs require staff assistance to allow access to a communications closet.

--RantWoman said goodbye when she got rid of her land line, partly because premium plans were not available at RantWoman's address.

Another widely advertised service has an address lookup that says "Not available yet in your area."

Brand known not to live up to its name not only for people in RantWoman's building.

--Some iteration of a provider that formerly charged what seem to RantWoman to be outrageous prices for cable. 

--Has a zip code lookup that SAYS its higher speed plans do not serve RantWoman's zip code BUT is the wire behind "plenty of bandwidth" at the computer lab. RantWoman thus wonders, because the computer lab is in a different building without 120+ individual apartments, whether "plenty of bandwidth" would hold up if there were a last mile to the other building and to individual apartments.

--"plenty of bandwidth" still sometimes has a lag late at night. RantWoman has not chased down reasons for this.  YouTube lag just is not the most pressing problem of RantWoman's life.

A hot spot with "unlimited" service from RantWoman's cell phone provider.

--"Unlimited" means on months when RantWoman needs personal, private, and otherwork connectivity, RantWoman sometimes hits 16GB of "unlimited" and is informed that performance may slow.

--RantWoman is unclear about why if she has two supposedly unlimited lines and the cellphone seems often just to use Wifi if it is available the total in "unlimited" cannot cover both lines but it doesn't.

A few weeks ago, RantWoman's smartphone went belly up in spectacular and pathetic fashion. For a few days RantWoman was quite bereft until she was able to go to a store and get a new phone, 5G even. 

Digression: While phoneless RantWoman added to a periodic bus journey to another neighborhood and wanted to stop at a store where she got really great helpful service during her most recent previous phone transition. SIGH. That location had closed. Phoneless, RantWoman had to go home and look up the location she has now visited more times than would be preferable.

Getting a new phone has so much info reload overhead that RantWoman did not deal further with the 4G hot spot for a while, until...Black Friday promotion, briefly summarized as try 5G home internet for free. Off Rantwoman went on the bus only to need to wait for help and while waiting for help watch other customer interactions that RantWoman will document separately. RantWoman is a little unclear why the clerk did not think to note that RantWoman has a mailing address in a different zip code than her home address. Based on talking to another customer who lives in that zip code, RantWoman is willing to bet that 5G home access is not uniform through that zip code. 

As RantWoman learned later, the zip code lookup for 5G availability says RantWoman's mailing address zip code is covered and RantWoman's home address is not. In any case RantWoman got advice about how to call for help AND a suggestion to ask about both the Affordable Connectivity Program and a $200 Amazon gift card that was part of the Black Friday promotion., RantWoman toted a home internet gateway home to try it out. It doesn't work. RantWoman had a mutually frustrating tech support call with a very brave staff person about what was or was not in the corporate smartphone app and what does or does not happen about RantWoman's phone. 

At a certain point, RantWoman realized what was wrong and that the tech support person really probably could not fix the problem. RantWoman had provided one clue that might have been helpful: RantWoman's phone switches in and out of 5G within her apartment and chances are that would happen for the home internet unless RantWoman was able to find a spot that MIGHT have stable 5G and a surface to put the gateway on.. 

AT LAST, RantWoman fired up her hotspot and looked at the regular corporate website. That is where RantWoman discovered the all-important zip code lookup and decided that at least for now, the 5G unlimited home internet is not going to work.

Along comes a Cyber Monday come back to our store promo. RantWoman decided that would be a good day to go return the Home gateway. RantWoman was WRONG. The store would not accept the device. RantWoman had a call, in store, to someone who finally said that for $2 more per month than what RantWoman was paying counting two lines and taxes RantWoman could keep her hotspot and get the next increment of "unlimited." 

As for returning the device, in an age of connectivity and printable bar codes, there would be need to SNAIL MAIL RantWoman a return label which would arrive in 5-7 days. RantWoman gets mail at a UPS store and knew she already had packages to pick up so she figured pick up packages and box and label and pack and ship the device out in a few days on the same trip.

RantWoman was optimistic. One rainy day RantWoman packed up the gateway in its original box with all the original packaging along with something waterproof to carry things. Off RantWoman headed out to her mailbox.

RantWoman picked up her other packages.

The anticipated return materials had not arrived. RantWoman pondered a bit and then decide to TRY something: RantWoman has email on her Smartphone. The UPS Store has email and printing capacity. Could RantWoman PERHAPS get the needed return label emailed to her while she waited at the UPS store...?

Ring, Ring

Automated voice "this is your assistant. ... Your wait to talk to a representative is 45 minutes or some such thing but try 'text me.' RantWoman has previous experience with texting. RantWoman assumes that the texting line is working several calls ata time, just based on the response time between messages. The text line got RantWoman an email that SUPPOSEDLY had a return label. Supposedly. Instead what was there was more links, more acres of print RantWoman was not going to read with either bad eyes or screen reader, the need to log back into the app, and then AGAIN nothing in the app to do the last step to print the label.

ANOTHER call. This time RantWoman demanded a human and got one fairly quickly. RantWoman got passed to one person in the Home Internet program. RantWoman explained the problem AGAIN. THANKFULLY the customer service person was still listening. While Home Internet person was telling RantWoman that what she requested Could Not Be Done, Wonderful Customer service was able to do a workaround that got everyone close enough to get the box shipped with instructions if the workaround unravels on the other end.

But back to the Affordable Connectivity Program:

--RantWoman currently qualifies based on income, BUT aspires to have more income next year so...

--Renewal of the Affordable Connectivity program is up to Congress in a few months anyway so...

PS. RantWoman would DEFINITELY not turn down the $200 Amazon gift card promised as part of the Try Home Internet promotion. Now, if only RantWoman can figure out who to ask....

PPS. Thank you to the UPS Store staffperson worried about RantWoman getting safely home in the rain and dark. RantWoman was, as usual, wearing her hi vis I'm Allergic to getting run over fashion outerwear. RantWoman had too streets to cross at a COMPARATIVELY safe location with understandable if quiet APS (accessible pedestrian signals). After that RantWoman had one bus transfer but NO MORE STREET CROSSINGS. 

Brussels Sprouts, a baked potato--and dessert.

 A restaurant where one can order crispy brussels sprouts with choice of vinegarette  or spicy aioli mayo, baked potato or cheese bread and then go straight to dessert is RantWoman's kind of place. RantWoman actually opted for brussels sprouts and a fish sandwich and then was too full for dessert--THIS TIME.  Lots of things on the menu look tasty. Some of the mixed drink options look intriguing though RantWoman tends not to drink if mass transit is the way home. In any case thanks partly to food, partly to really friendly staff, RantWoman definitely plans to try to find a reason to go back to Sanford's at Northgate. 

Honestly, a fabulous pedestrian experience will not be something RantWoman can look forward to. Meaning no disrespect specifically to the restaurant, it is typical of many restaurants located in the middle of big shopping mall parking lots not designed for any form of walking except travel back and forth from a car, and even that only if one is okay with trying to move around among cars that might or might not be moving.

RantWoman did fine on Link to the Northgate station. Google maps turned out to be reasonable about location of the restaurant; it just was not reasonable about the walking route. There is a stoplight at the street crossing just north of the Light Rail, but it is very wide and registers with RantWoman as weird. The street crossing has a stoplight and painted markings but no tactile cues. RantWoman did not test whether the signal is audible. RantWoman just looked at the apparent traffic patterns and lack of tactile cues and opted to grab one of the buses around to the east side of the mall complex figuring that she always needs a walk anyway and that walking through acres of parking lot, most of it with little traffic seemed more pleasant than the one scary street crossing.

RantWoman was mostly safe in the parking lot experience but she did find herself griping near the Kraken complex about whether or not professional athletes who make a living at vigorous exercise might also like the opportunity to walk safely around, maybe even with more vegetation instead of a parking lot that seems to have several forms of construction going on. 

RantWoman does not use fancy wayfinding apps but was glad for one "ask a human" moment. 

Once RantWoman arrived at the restaurant, the holiday party was great. The staff was great. The food was great. And RantWoman was well fortified for the walk out to a bus stop to go home. Finding a way out of the parking lot to Northgate way was non-trivial, but once RantWoman caught a bus back to the Light Rail all was fine, well except for conversations that get a separate blog post about paratransit, why RantWoman does not use ride hailing, and why RantWoman is still crazy enough to try stuff that people with less residual vision don't even consider.

Broad Coalition hosts City Council Candidates' Forums about Mobility Issues

 

 

Broad Coalition of Advocates Ask Candidates to Think About Mobility

Seattle Council Primary Candidate Forums to be Moderated by Crystal Fincher, Marcus Harrison Green and Colleen Echohawk

 

June 5-14, 2023 – A wide range of citywide and local organizations will be hosting a series of mobility focused candidate forums in the four open races for Seattle City Council. Hosts include: 350 Seattle, Ampersand Bike Club, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, Cascade Bicycle Club, City of Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee, Disability Mobility Initiative - Disability Rights Washington, National Federation of the Blind, Seattle Chapter, Puget Sound Sage, Seattle Subway, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Seattle Transit Riders Union, Transportation Choices Coalition, Transportation for WashingtonTeamsters 117, Washington Bikes, Washington Council of the Blind Advocacy Committee, West Seattle Bike Connections, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Central Seattle Greenways, NE Seattle Greenways and Neighbors from District 5.

 

From transit reliability to safe places to walk, ride and roll, from smooth sidewalks to neighborhoods that can sustain and support us, mobility access and equity are part of all of our lives on a daily basis. And while our needs – as caregivers and transportation workers, as young people and disabled people, as BIPOC leaders and climate champions  – may be different, we all need to be able to get around our community safely, reliably and in ways that will lead us to a sustainable climate future. At this series of four forums, we will learn about how candidates for Seattle City Council will support our needs and build towards a more accessible city with mobility justice for all. Come learn with us!

 

All four forums will be hybrid events: in person and streamed on Zoom. CART and ASL will be provided through Zoom. All venues are wheelchair accessible. All primary candidates in each district have been invited to participate.

 

District 1 Forum Location: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Dewitty Theater 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106 Date: Wednesday, June 14th Time: 5:00-6:30 pm Moderator: Crystal Fincher Zoom registration link	District 4 Forum Location: University of Washington, Savery Hall Rm. 260 Chelan Ln, Seattle, WA 98195) Date: Monday, June 12th Time: 6:00-7:30 pm Moderator: Crystal Fincher Zoom registration link
District 3 Forum Location: Seattle Labor Temple, 1st Floor Conference Room 5030 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134 Date: Saturday, June 10th Time: 2:00-3:30pm Moderator: Marcus Green Zoom registration link	District 5 Forum Location: Haller Lake United Methodist 13055 1st Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125 Date: Monday, June 5th Time: 7:00-8:30 pm Moderator: Colleen Echohawk Zoom registration link