SAKA: Detailed description of legislative measures and action points for public safety

County Councilman Rob Saka speaks at the public safety conference he called after the recent gun violence. Now new legislation and more are in the pipeline.

Photo by Kimberly Robinson

Seattle City Councilman Rob Saka of District 1 provided a detailed list of measures he and his office are working on following the public safety meeting he convened on June 26.

WestsideSeattle’s coverage of the meeting can be found here. Here is his announcement in his newsletter to voters.

“The Council has prioritised legislative measures to safeguard public safety, as reported in my newsletters (see 21 June newsletter) and as I highlighted at the meeting:

• The new contract for the Seattle Police Officers Guild was approved, which increased salaries to be competitive with other local agencies. We were recently informed that since the contract was signed, the number of new police officers hired has increased from five to about 17 per week!

• The goal of the adopted legislation was to streamline recruitment at the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and strengthen officer retention.

• Passed a law that would allow the Seattle Fire Department to take care of vacant buildings that pose a serious fire hazard to the community.

• Pass a law to expand the use of automatic license plate recognition to the entire SPD fleet with the goal of aggressively combating car theft and other crimes.

I am Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee and the committee is currently considering legislation to regulate speeding penalties that would mirror recently passed state laws. I intend to propose amendments to further strengthen this important legislation.

(Information on all Council legislative measures can be found on this website, which is updated weekly.)

Below are some specific additional actions our City is taking that have been discussed. I support the immediate implementation of these actions by our partners in executive departments and am committed to working together to ensure they have the resources they need to effectively complete these next steps:

• Automatic radar cameras: This is the most requested safety improvement that I have repeatedly heard about from the public. I have had several productive conversations directly with Mayor Harrell on this topic. We agree that the City needs to quickly install new speed enforcement cameras in the area. Based on my own due diligence and direct conversations with the Mayor, the Alki speed cameras are currently fully funded and will continue to be so in the future!

Even if lack of funding were a significant obstacle (which it is NOT), there is a formal process in place for SDOT to request funding from the Council specifically for this narrowly focused project as part of the broader adopted 2024 annual budget of $711 million. (Also note: Speed ​​cameras in Alki were not included in the mayor’s original proposed 2024 budget.)

I would like to see in the proposed budget a proposal from the Mayor for cameras (speed cameras and possibly CCTV) in Alki and other known problem areas where there is strong community support for the use of such camera technology. I believe there are enough of my fellow council members who are equally fed up with the problem speeding in our city and would be inclined to support such a request from SDOT and join me in approving it.

However, I understand that the Executive is currently navigating some significant implementation challenges, including implementing some complex new administrative, planning and study/research requirements imposed by recent changes to state law. I stand with the Mayor to ensure that this implementation is carried out effectively, efficiently and compliantly.

Likewise, I support the Executive Branch’s efforts to urgently resolve these challenges by meeting these requirements and working in good faith to ensure our City is able to promptly install these cameras on Alki, even if it means they will not be fully installed in time for the busy summer season (which unfortunately appears to be the case at this point). I will continue to URGENTLY advocate for SDOT to install these cameras.

• Duwamish Head Parking Lot Redesign: I support SDOT redesigning or eliminating diagonal parking (converting existing parking spaces to parallel parking or possibly eliminating it entirely); we need to find ways to stop the abuses that occur here.

• Immediate improvements in road safety: Our partners at SDOT have announced that construction of additional speed bumps and new lane narrowing systems will begin this summer at certain locations along Alki Street. Many of these projects are expected to be completed before the end of the busy summer season.

• SPD parking space monitoring and priority patrols: Police Chief Rahr stated that Alki has been given a higher priority for parking enforcement officers for both the Don Armeni boat ramp (and I note there may be other areas with overnight parking violations); she noted that this is a “target” due to officer shortages and availability for overtime. Additionally, I STRONGLY support additional SPD focus patrols in this area.

• I am grateful that our park administration has also willingly taken some impactful measures. The park administration has agreed to close the gates to Don Armeni at night; to work to close Hamilton View Park after 9pm and other potential hotspots; to investigate whether access to Alki can be restricted; and to increase the number of park rangers over time.
• Early park closure and expansion of park rangers: I am grateful that our park administration has also willingly taken some impactful measures. The park administration has agreed to close the gates to Don Armeni at night; to work to close Hamilton View Park after 9pm and other potential hotspots; to investigate whether access to Alki can be restricted; and to increase the number of park rangers over time.

I have also been asked to provide the contact information for the three representatives from the 34th State Legislature District, which includes West Seattle. Their websites can be found in the links below, where you will find information about their committees and how to contact them.