Seattle leaders hope Alki street redesign will curb racing dangers

City leaders hope Alki redesign will curb street racing

A family is mourning their son, shot and killed along Alki Beach this past weekend, in what city leaders say is a tragic consequence of a street racing event.

SEATTLE - A family is mourning their son, shot and killed along Alki Beach this past weekend, in what city leaders say is a tragic consequence of a street racing event.

The 22-year-old's death has sparked calls for increased safety measures and community action. On Wednesday night, community leaders and city leaders rallied at a church to hatch a plan and share ideas.

The representative for the West Seattle community, City Council member Rob Saka, organized the gathering.

"We’re here because this is the second homicide in my district, but the very first homicide happened to one of our neighbors," Saka shared with the crowd. "Public safety is my highest priority."

Fellow Council Member Tanya Woo and Seattle Police Interim Chief Sue Rahr were also in attendance. Responding to the tragedy on Saturday, Rahr promised she's pushing for increased traffic patrols along the beach this coming weekend.

Leaders from the Seattle Department of Transportation shared they are working on reimagining the Duwamish Head area of Alki, a known rallying point for street racers. They want to reduce lane size and add additional speed bumps. This would be an addition to safety measures like speed bumps and bollards already installed back in 2022. The city has promised to add speed cameras to the area, but those won’t be installed for some time.

"For crystal clarity, funding is not an issue, to implement and deploy those speed racing enforcement cameras," said Saka. "There’s some short-term solutions that we can and must and are getting ready to implement, including immediately by some of the lane narrowing features."

One other suggestion Saka is energized about is removing the back-in angle parking spots along Love Locks Park.

"People out here congregated all up and down this Duwamish Head parking, playing loud music, drinking, doing drugs and it's 20-, 30-, 40-plus people," said Saka. "You convert that to parallel parking and it reduces the amount of people that can congregate here."

Seattle Police data shows that between 2020 and 2023, violent crime rates in the area doubled, and motor vehicle thefts quadrupled.

"The residents will tell you the past few years have been particularly problematic," said Saka. He emphasized the community's desire for a welcoming and safe beach destination.

Saka also suggested that the city consider measures similar to those in Kent, where spectating at street racing events is criminalized.