"In Belltown people are under siege by drug-addled panhandlers, thugs who throw punches and rampant drug peddling. A man whose job it is to bring convention dollars to Seattle tells me he steers out-of-towners away from the heart of Belltown." reads Robert Jameson's latest article entitled "Where are city leaders as violence rages on?" I was saddened to hear that Belltown's reputation is officially going downhill.
In a comment left in response to our post, Belltown, the wild wild west? one Belltowner shared their idea of how to put an end to Belltown's current state:
"close down the clubs that attract the bridge and tunnel crowd, and the problem will go away. drugs have nothing to do with it. the example you gave about the guy that fell down in front of the father and daughter is unfortunate, but really how traumatizing will that experience be in the long run? the dip sh*t frat boy types that come from the burbs and try to start fights with people in belltown actually are dangerous."
I think Belltown's problem isn't caused by one "breed" of person at all. It's not just the "Crackheads" it's not just the "Bridge and Tunnel crowd" it's a lack of police attention in general. I think the idea of a neighborhood march demanding a change in Belltown sounds like a great start. Anyone interested should send an email to: safebelltown@gmail.com.
I think having some police presence walking around Belltown on Friday & Saturday nights would be a great addition. Perhaps shutting down traffic from driving up and down 1st Ave between Battery and Lenora would be useful, too.
They do this up in Vancouver on Granville during the summer. It allows people to walk around and generally not be crammed onto a sidewalk where girls get grabbed and drunk guys bump into each other. It also allows people who want to find a cab to get out of the way of people entering/exiting clubs.
I agree with DJ Kod.
Seattle is such a relative noob when it comes to partying, having a good time, having a district for this, etc.
The city could learn from places like New Orleans or Austin, where they do indeed shut down traffic in areas downtown where there is a lot of nightlife.
Whatever the case, they need to fix this problem, and soon; because it's growing at an alarming rate.
How the hell is it that the swankest neighborhood in the city looks like Detroit at night? NYC has tons of homelessness but you don't see them in the touristy areas like in Seattle. How dumb.
The clubs aren't the problem. It's the crackheads/drugdealers/homeless. You get rid of them and that will clean up most of the issues. The party goers go home after 2am, the street trash never leaves.