We aren't going to kid anyone...as the
years main Holidays hit, regular foot
patrols slacked. The more dedicated
members went out in pairs in private
vehicles, but there were weeks in this
period when nary an Orange Cap was to be
seen. An espeacilly mean flu swept
through town, and we stoped counting the
consecutive days of rain some where
around 90. But the Patrol remained
intact.
A significant thing was observed during
this period. Not one "regular" street
person remains (with one technical
exception). One woman known to the Patrol is said to be in jail for prostitution, purportidly practiced in neighboring apartment houses.. A gentleman who used to sleep on the parking strip outside Tower Books is reported to have been contacted by DSHS and SPD. Wither he simply moved on, or was placed in some other situation is unknown. A whole new and more
numerious crew has arrived during the
winter. The streets and alleys are much
filthier (as much, we suspect, a product of inclement weather lessening regular
care, as particularly untidy house-keeping by street folk. Uptown looks much more like Pioneer Square, though, than it used to). In a patrol in early March such
oddities as a brand new wheeled grease
pit and a very large clear plastic bag
filled with used and partially burnt
toilet paper and human waste were
observed in the alley behind the Uptown
Theatre, which remains remarkably clear
of graffitti.
In December when an emergency weather
shelter was opened then closed at the
Seattle Center, it was surmised by some
street and housed inhabitants, that the
street population was being shifted out
of down town for the Christmas shoping
season. Conjecture as far as anyone
related to the patrol knows, but
reportable as an attitude towards very
noticable changes in the UpTown area.
Major construction is on everywhere in the Uptown area, as well as notable in all other sectors of the old Queen Anne boundaries. The proposed land use signs are sprouting like mushrooms in a dank cellar. The mayor has spoken of lifting the height restrictions in the area of the failed Lake Union mega "park"...in effect creating what was voted down, just as the height restrictions were voted in. Lake Union abutts both Queen Anne/Uptown and Denny neighborhoods.
There were other, not so noticable,
changes in Uptown during this period.
The David, or Downtown sector boundary
of the West Precinct was moved to Mercer Street. This means downtown resources
like the "drunk van" are available to
Uptown/Lower Queen Anne. Downtown
assigned Patrol Officers are now part of the Uptown/Lower Queen Anne
neighborhood. The new Metro Bus Link
direct to Capital Hill has seen more
population intergration, some graffitti
in LQA is well known on Cap Hill, for
example.
Regular foot patrols returned in early March.
