September 2009

Work on Greenwood Avenue North is past the halfway mark. The Seattle Department of Transportation has nearly completed paving the western side of Greenwood Avenue from North 105th Street to North 112th Street. Next wek they will begin work on the eastern side.

One lane of traffic in each direction will be open during general work hours-from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. During non-working hours, two lanes will usually be open in one direction and one lane in the other. There may be times in the evenings, however, when traffic is restricted to one lane in each direction.

There will be no on-street parking in the work zones, and access to driveways may be temporarily restricted. Emergency access will be maintained.

Construction crews are demolishing the existing pavement on Greenwood and then pouring new concrete pavement.

Greenwood Avenue North will have new pavement, sidewalks, street trees and lighting. The project is meant to help keep people, goods and services moving and will enhance pedestrian safety.

For more information please visit the project Web site.

Over the next four years, the Seattle Department of Transportation will be making changes along Metro's route 44 that will speed buses up by 10 percent to 20 percent, according to the department.

If the reaction to Department of Transportation spokesperson Bill Bryant's presentation at the Sept. 9 Ballard District Council meeting was any indication, a more efficient route 44 is something the neighborhood desperately needs.

Meeting attendees took turns sharing horror stories of being stuck on the 44 for hours, especially during special events at Husky Stadium.

"Those of us who use it between Ballard and the U District are basically stuck for the entire route," Bryant, also a Ballard resident, said.

The department will be adding traffic signal priority, queue jumps and bus bulbs to the 44's route along Northwest Market Street, 45th Street, 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Pacific Avenue.

Traffic signal priority means green lights would stay green longer or red lights would change to green faster when buses were approaching.

Queue jumps are lane marking that allow buses to get ahead of traffic at stop lights.

The Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association's LINKS community barbecue is Saturday, Sept. 19 from 2 to 6 p.m.

The event is open to the public and will help to raise money to support the work of organization and programs at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Look forward to food, family activities, live music and performances, and maybe even the sun.

The barbecue is co-sponsored by the Delridge Community Center and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The Seattle Parks Department is looking for possible locations in the Ballard urban village to build a new community park.

The 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy set aside money to build parks in 20 urban villages, one of them being Ballard.

The potential site has to be at least 10,000 square feet with southern exposure, preferably vacant with a willing seller, and far enough away from the other parks in the urban village, which is bounded approximately by Shilshole Avenue, Northwest 65th Street, 28th Avenue Northwest and 14th Avenue Northwest, Seattle Parks Department Property Manager Lise Ward said at the Sept. 9 Ballard District Council meeting.

"It's going to be a challenge in Ballard," Ward said. "But, we think we can find something in the levy for you."

Two possible park location were brought up at the meeting, but both had their problems.

One resident brought up the Monroe Substation lot that is located across from Ballard High School on 15th Avenue Northwest.

Ward said that site is not preferable because it is small, the Parks Department would have to pay City Light for it, and it would probably become a smoking lounge for the high school.

The future Compass Center site at 1753 N.W. 56th Street, which has been a dirt lot since a vacant house was torn down in June, will be planted over with grass in the near future.

"It will look a little more like a meadow," Compass Center Program Director M.J. Kiser said at the Sept. 9 Ballard District Council meeting.

In June, Compass Center Executive Director Rick Friedhoff said grass would be planted at the site as part of the demolition of the vacant structure. The lot was touted as the neighborhood's newest open space.

As of Sept. 10, the lot was still vacant dirt.

Kiser said the grass hasn't been planted yet because they missed the planting season, but now that the rain has returned, grass will be planted.

The Compass Center, a low-income housing provider, is a few years away from building the Ballard development, Kiser said. The Center owns the property, but she said they are in the process of raising funds to build the project.

The site will become a seven-story, 80-unit development to provide permanent housing for homeless men and women, Kiser said.

On Friday, Sept. 18, the candidates for mayor of Seattle, Seattle City Attorney, and two Seattle City Council races will answer questions and debate one another on issues of concern to people with disabilities.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Alliance of People with Disabilities, the Resident Action Council of SHA, the Committee to Establish a Seattle Disabilities Commission and other groups. The event is from 5:30 p.m. to about 7:30 p.m. in the Center Park Community Room at 2121 26th Ave. S.

Location and transit: The Seattle Housing Authority's Center Park building--one of the state's first to be designed specifically to accommodate people with disabilities--is located across Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, from the Amy Yee Tennis Center. It is six blocks from the Mt. Baker LINK light rail station, and is served by Metro routes 4, 7, 8, 9 42, 48.

At the end of August, Mayor Greg Nickels awarded 19 neighborhood projects a total of more than $1.3 million in matching funds from the Department of Neighborhoods.

Local West Seattle organizations to receive funds:

- $67,210 to the Global to Local project to create youth-driven approach to creating and producing programming in Delridge and West Seattle. (Delridge)

- $77,200 to the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for the ALL ACCESS partnership to empower local youth through arts-based learning. (Delridge)

- $54,849 to the Delridge Neighborhood Trails Committee to create kiosks and wayfinding signs to guide pedestrians to parks, business areas, and community resources. (Delridge)

- $88,200 to the Concord Elementary PTSA for the creation of a multi-purpose space for outdoor recreation and education. (South Park)

- $98,761 to the West Seattle Junction Association for the creation of a community plaza and green space in the heart of the West Seattle Junction. (West Seattle)

I’m in the middle of a perfect storm right now. How did I get here and can I rewind? Please?

Can I share?

We’re in the middle of house hunting, it’s the fall planting season, and I just had surgery on my knee.

Yup. When I do something, I try to do it right. But lately the only thing I’ve done right is get myself into a pickle!

Calgon?

The good news is that my “wish-list” from Iseli Nursery has been granted. The trees haven’t arrived yet, but it looks like I’m getting all that I asked for this season! Yay! There is a Santa Claus and her name is Carol!

But, really. I really can’t wait. I put off the delivery because of the knee surgery, (it was minor, no worries) but I can’t stand it anymore (pardon the pun) I need to see them.

Here’s a sneak peak at a some that are coming next week:

This week the Seattle Department of Transportation will remove and replace approximately 40 Arbutus trees that have died along Eighth Avenue Northwest in Ballard, in the two blocks north of Northwest 65th Street.

The department's Urban Forestry division plans to replace the trees next spring with a different variety, not yet determined.

The trees died as a result of severe weather during the last two winters, according to the city. Several other
Arbutus trees on 8th Avenue were damaged but are expected to survive and will not be removed.

The wood from the trees that are removed will be salvaged and given to the Childrens PlayGarden at 23rd Avenue South and South Grand Street to be used for constructing arbors, trellises and bird houses.

Crews will be removing the trees from Wednesday, Sept. 9 until Friday, Sept. 11, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. No on-street parking will be allowed in the work area during the day, but will be allowed at night.

While the crews are working at this location they also plan to prune the Zelkovas located in the medians along the same stretch of Eight Avenue.

Ballard resident and Fremont pub owner of the George and Dragon, John Bayliss, said his plans to expand to Ballard will happen a little later than expected as he continues to wait for permits from the city.

In January it was announced that Bayliss would be opening Market Arms at the corner of Northwest Market Street and 24th Avenue Northwest. That location was the home of Mandrakes Antiques for several years until it closed this past February.

“We’re pretty much waiting for the city since all the plans were submitted four weeks ago,” Bayliss said.

As soon as they receive permitting they will start work on the new pub, he said.

“I’d like to think we’ll create a local pub for the people of Ballard,” he said. “It’ll be closer to home for me and we hope for it to be a nice pub people can call home.