This post originally appeared on our sister site MyWallingford.

Tracking the progress of your favorite local potholes just got easier. The Seattle Department of Transportation has launched a Pothole Status Map, where you can see all the city’s potholes that have been reported and the ones that have been filled since March 15, 2010.

Let’s get caught up.

On January 14th, we heard about rising parking rates all around Seattle, including a $0.50/hour hike here in Fremont.

Yesterday, word came down that the City Council wanted to put those rates under review before they went into effect. Rising rates in some neighborhoods might have negative effects on local businesses and they want to conduct their own analysis. Fair enough.

Late yesterday the SDOT came back with their own modified rates after some deliberation. While some of the major traffic neighborhoods downtown will still see their rates climb, a few other neighborhoods are seeing those rate increases go away. Fremont is one of those neighborhoods.

Fremont’s parking rates will remain at $1.50/hour rather than rise to $2.00/hour. That keeps Fremont parking rates level with nearby ‘hoods Ballard and University District.

I don’t know which one of you complained but good work.

The City Council is tentative in its approval of these revised rates since they remain very high in certain neighborhoods. As far as Fremont is concerned, however, it’s a win.

Everyone, re-commence parking.

We mentioned earlier that snow was expected this afternoon and commutes should be altered accordingly as a precaution. Looks like that’s going to hold true.

The latest forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches of snow in Seattle, beginning after 4 p.m. today and changing to rain after midnight.  The National Weather Service is advising that “people should seriously consider finishing their afternoon commute early today if at all possible.” And Metro Transit is warning folks to plan ahead, considering the likelihood that afternoon and evening bus routes will be disrupted.

SDOT has been aggressively pre-treating roadways, elevated structures and city owned pedestrian pathways in preparation for the storm. While pre-treatment work will aid in clearing roadways, the storm’s arrival during the evening rush hour will likely create disruptions.

Motorists can check on current traffic conditions and roadway images on the SDOT Traveler’s Map at: http://web5.seattle.gov/travelers/. While several mass transit agencies have been preparing for early departures, please check with your specific agency for availability. For up-to-date information on the City’s response and roadway conditions, please visit: http://Seattle.gov/transportation/.

As a precaution, the Seattle Public Schools has canceled all after-school activities.

Update: Scratch that about the schools, they’re staying open for after-school activities after all.

H/T: MyBallard

Work to build a suicide prevention fence across the Aurora Bridge has been underway for months, but there’s still no sign of the fence itself. WSDOT tells us that will all change next week when crews start putting up the fence posts on the west side of the bridge.

So what’s taking so long? WSDOT says it has been dealing with small details they hope will make a big difference in the end. They drilled about 2600 holes for anchor bolts, used an x-ray device to make sure they didn’t hit rebar, and repaired the bridge’s steel that was damaged by corrosion.

The fence posts will go up first, followed by the fence panels. The fence should be finished by the end of the year. Image from WSDOT

Just when you thought WSDOT was finally done with its work on the Aurora Bridge, it turns out crews found more rivets to remove. Crews found the rivets when they began repairing corroded steel portions of the bridge at 23 fence post locations.

Photo from WSDOT

It means more lane closures and planning for traffic delays if you’re using the bridge this weekend.

• On Saturday, Sept.25, two out of the three northbound lanes will be closed from 5:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
• On Sunday, Sept. 26, two out of three northbound lanes will be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. until midnight. Seahawks fans, WSDOT is giving you that window of opportunity to use all the lanes from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate post game traffic.

There are a total of 186 additional rivets that must be removed as part of the steel repair work. The rivets are located under the bridge in tight areas where access is difficult, requiring at least two more weekends to bust them out.

WSDOT can provide you with industrial strength earplugs if all this racket is causing too many sleepless nights. Call its 24-hour noise hotline, 206-440-4099, for more information.

The work is part of a WSDOT project to install an anti-suicide fence on the outer railing of the bridge. Work began in May.

Unfortunately, there was a recent suicide from the bridge on Sept. 11. One of our readers, Ryan Healy, who lives on 34th across the street from the Lake Washington Rowing Club, and has a view directly of the bridge and water beneath it, e-mailed us to let us know.

I heard her scream and looked up in time to see her hit the water with a loud and large splash. I called 911 and I thought I saw her swimming on the surface. A pleasure boater came to her rescue and pulled her on to the boat but she was motionless. After the police and fire crews arrived and were about finished I walked down near the Lake Washington Rowing Club dock to check on her condition. I asked a fire department official if she was going to be ok. His response was simple: “No.”

This is the second suicide I’ve seen in the past 5 months.

Seattle Police confirmed there was a successful suicide from the bridge that day at about the same time as our reader mentioned, about 1:15 p.m.

After three consecutive Sundays of rivet busting and lane closures on the Aurora Bridge, crews will take this Sunday off to keep traffic moving smoothly over the Labor Day weekend. Rivet removal, along with the “rivet buster” equipment, will pick up again on September 12.

Crews continue to work Monday through Thursday nights drilling holes for the suicide prevention fence across the bridge.

Photos from WSDOT