The evolving design of the planned Junction Plaza met with general approval at a public meeting of about 25 people.

Junction Plaza, planned for the northwest corner of Alaska Street and 42nd Avenue Southwest, is envisioned as "a major-event place," said Karen Kiest, a landscape architect whose firm is designing the new city park. She and project manager David Goldberg stressed that the design has not been finalized and is still being worked up.

So far, they are suggesting there be two round, 50-foot-wide plazas with a slightly raised, circular, 15-foot-wide platform between them. The plazas could be covered with brick or permeable pavers that would allow rainfall to drain through. There could be fixed seating on portions of the plazas as well as grass seating stair-stepped on the edges of the park.

Pathways would arc inward from all four corners of the small park. Decorative shrubs, street trees and other landscaping material would be planted around the edges.

There were a few worries expressed at the public meeting about the proximity of the new park to Alaska House and its elderly residents.

One woman said she hopes the design of Junction Plaza will discourage skateboarders from using the park. Skateboarders often are teenagers who'd come to the park late at night, she said.

"This isn't Mayberry," she warned.

She also worries the park could draw vagrants.

"Is it going to turn into Pioneer Square with people sleeping there?" she asked.

Matt Johnston acknowledged concerns about how Junction Plaza might affect the residents of Alaska House, but there are an estimated 2,000 skateboarders in West Seattle who need places to skate, he said.

The new skatepark in Ballard is near a senior housing development, whose residents frequently sit and watch the skateboarders grind.

"The design (of Junction Plaza) looks like the main activity is sitting," said Johnston. Parks with activities and people in them are safer than quiet parks because activity discourages public sleeping and crime, he said.

Other people at the meeting expressed concerns about graffiti, dogs, lighting and Dumpsters in the nearby alley as well but most people offered positive comments about how the design is developing.

The rough estimate to build Junction Plaza is $600,000. However only $200,000 has been budgeted to pay for design and management. Citizens will have to raise about two-thirds of the money so less expensive alternatives might have to be found.

By the square foot, pavement is about twice the price of plantings, Kiest said. Two-thirds of Junction Plaza would be covered in pavement. Concrete would be cheaper, she said.

There might not be a water fountain or pedestrian lamps. Public art might have to wait too.

Private individuals will try to raise as much money as they can from November through March, Goldberg said. The design would then be based on the amount raised.

Junction Plaza isn't the only future Seattle park relying on public help for development money. Neighborhood groups in Queen Anne and Fremont are raising money to help pay for new parks in their neighborhoods too.

Counterbalance Park (formerly Queen Anne Park) got $304,000 from the Pro Parks levy. Residents raised an additional $510,000 to develop the 12,000-square-foot park.

Friends of Fremont Peak Park hope to raise $50,000 more to develop their park. It will have pathways leading from the street through a meadow, forest and out to views of the Olympic Mountains as well as Mount Rainier.

It is possible too that the new park will be named something other than Junction Plaza.

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Naming Committee follows established criteria to avoid duplicating, confusing or inappropriate names. The committee gives weight to local geography, history, culture, natural features and the wishes of the community where the park is located.

Parks can be named in honor of people but the person must be deceased at least three years and be someone who "made a significant positive contribution to parks, recreation or culture where the facility is located."

The Naming Committee makes a recommendation to the superintendent of Parks and Recreation, who has final say.

Construction of Junction Plaza could begin next summer.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.