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Mayor Katie Wilson said Wednesday that Seattle is “acting now” on shootings and traffic-related crimes after a local journalist pressed her on why residents had to deal with the crisis on their own before the City Council moved toward a permanent solution.
Kim asked Wilson why residents were still waiting for a permanent solution after saying their neighborhood had been hit by repeated violence related to Aurora Avenue.
“We heard residents say that there is constant shooting there, bullets going through houses and that human traffic has increased,” Kim said. “Prostitution has increased. Desperate residents put up steel planters to block out some of the crime. They say it was working, but then the city took it away and said they needed a permanent solution, so they want to study it. But when do you act?”
“So we're acting now,” Wilson told FOX 13 Seattle co-anchor Hana Kim about the crime along Aurora Avenue North, where residents have installed steel planters across the street to prevent criminals from accessing the community. “Several members of my team…were taking a walk around the neighborhood a few days ago and I totally understand why people put up barriers in the streets.”
TERRIFIED RESIDENTS IN CRIME-PLUGGED BLUE CITY RAISE GIANT BARRICADES TO STOP CHAOS
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson faces pointed questions from FOX 13 Seattle's Hana Kim about crime, shootings and traffic concerns along Aurora Avenue. (David Ryder/Reuters; Fox 13 Seattle)
“The problem is emergency access, and what we've done at the moment is there's one barrier that's actually still in place, but the others we've replaced with what are called chicanes, which basically don't completely block the street, but really slow down movement through it,” Wilson added.
After Wilson said the city had replaced some barriers with temporary traffic calming devices, Kim responded by saying, “Residents say that barrier doesn't work.”
Wilson said the city was moving quickly but had to weigh street closures with emergency vehicle access.
“I understand. So that's a very temporary thing,” Wilson said. “But again, SDOT is now, and you say study it, and it's true, study it, but study it very quickly. So we're talking about doing a quick assessment of what it would be like to more permanently block certain streets, but they need to study emergency access.”
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Aurora Avenue residents say they installed steel planters to curb criminal activity after repeated shootings, prostitution and safety concerns near their homes. (Fox 13 Seattle)
Wilson said Seattle police were also increasing patrols and sending additional gun violence resources to the area.
“And we also have emphasis patrols that SPD is doing right now,” Wilson said. “With greater presence, we are intensifying the unit to reduce armed violence in the area. And these are the immediate solutions, right?”
The mayor said she did not see the city's temporary measures as a long-term solution.
“There's no illusion that things like this are solving the long-term problem,” Wilson said. “But we're trying to take immediate steps to improve conditions in the neighborhood because it's unacceptable. There shouldn't just be gunshots around your house, inside your house.”
SEATTLE MAYOR INTERVIEW CUT WHILE STAFF BLOCKS QUESTIONS ABOUT ARMED VIOLENCE AND SURVEILLANCE
Mayor Katie Wilson says Seattle is adding patrols and reviewing street closures after neighbors pushed for faster action against violence along Aurora Avenue. (Fox 13 Seattle)
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The Aurora Avenue barricades drew national attention and online ridicule to Wilson's public safety approach, with conservatives pointing out the irony of residents building their own barriers in a city led by a Democratic socialist mayor.
Residents along the corridor spent Memorial Day weekend using metal planters, dirt, gravel, logs and chunks of concrete to block streets after weeks of gunfights, high-speed chases and concerns about crimes related to prostitution, trafficking and alleged turf wars. One resident, Peter Orr, told KTVB 7, “It's either this or bullets in my neighbors' houses.”
The confrontation came days after Wilson and Councilwoman Débora Juárez announced city actions targeting violence along Aurora Avenue North.
The city said Juarez was working with Councilman Bob Kettle on emergency legislation that would allow Seattle police and transportation officials to close public streets for public safety reasons when criminal activity occurs or comes from the street or alley.
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Wilson said in the May 29 announcement that “gun violence along the Aurora corridor is alarming and unacceptable,” while the city said SDOT would work with the mayor's office, the Juarez team, police, residents and businesses for two weeks to determine if more permanent barriers were needed.
