The City of Seattle is ordering the removal of neighborhood-built barricades in North Seattle that residents said were installed to stop weekly drive-by shootings tied to prostitution-related violence along Aurora Avenue.
The decision comes just days after neighbors said a bullet from one of the shootings narrowly missed a 6-week-old baby sleeping in a crib near N. 98th Street.
In a statement, Mayor Katie Wilson’s Office called the barriers along the Aurora corridor “unacceptable,” adding the resident-installed barricades cannot remain because they block access for first responders, trash collection, and other essential services.
“As part of our ongoing efforts, the Mayor has directed the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to replace the resident-installed barriers with temporary traffic-calming treatments at the three locations to reduce cut-through traffic and address the access needs of those living on the street,” the statement said.
The city said those temporary measures are expected to be installed within 24 to 48 hours while SDOT studies whether more permanent barriers are appropriate.
Neighbors who built the barricades said they acted out of desperation after repeated shootings they believed are connected to prostitution turf wars involving pimps operating along Aurora Avenue N.
Seattle police have previously acknowledged that many of the shootings in the area are tied to disputes connected to prostitution activity.
Aurora residents blast the city’s plan, citing data showing the barricades worked
Residents said the makeshift barricades successfully prevented vehicles from quickly entering and exiting residential streets near Aurora Avenue N., limiting opportunities for drive-by gunfire.
“We are getting shot up in drive-by’s, let’s stop their ability to drive by,” one resident wrote in an email shared with KIRO Newsradio.
Another neighbor criticized the city’s plan to replace the barricades with traffic-calming measures, believed to include speed bumps.
“What are they gonna study? How many shootings happen per night with a speed bump?” the resident wrote. “If they remove them to put in speed bumps, they get a gravel dump instead.”
Other residents accused the city of delaying stronger action despite what they describe as clear evidence the barricades were working.
“They have two years of data to find out if barricades work,” one neighbor wrote. “And they have three days without shootings on these blocks.”
The Mayor’s Office said SDOT will spend the next two weeks working with Seattle Police, residents, and businesses to determine whether the area would benefit from “more permanent and durable barriers, and at which locations.”
The statement also said Seattle Police will continue adding resources to the neighborhood while city leaders work to identify additional public safety solutions along the Aurora corridor. They said they will not be installing speed bumps.
This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
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