West Crown Hill, a small pocket neighborhood just off 15th Avenue Northwest, has many things: proximity to shops and bus stops, a sense of community and comparatively cheap housing.

But, there is one thing it doesn't have: sidewalks. And, a growing number of residents say they will not rest until that changes.

West Crown Hill is a half-dozen square blocks bordered by 15th Avenue and Olympic Manor to the east and west and Whitman Middle School and Northwest 85th Street to the north and south.

At the Dec. 9 Ballard District Council meeting, 30 neighborhood residents showed up to ask the council to consider them and their lack of sidewalks for a portion of the Bridging the Gap funds available to the city in 2010.

Deborah Jaquith, leader of the West Crown Hill sidewalk project, said she and a handful of other volunteers canvassed the neighborhood, asking residents how they would feel about sidewalks and informing them of the upcoming Ballard District Council meeting.

Jaquith said there is a real public safety need for sidewalks in West Crown Hill. Cars cut through the neighborhood, and on one block alone there are 13 children younger than 5, she said.

"If we work hard at this, ideally we will get sidewalks by the time they are walking to school," she said.

According to the project's proposal, the preference is for sidewalks for the whole neighborhood, but priorities are a sidewalk on 18th Avenue Northwest from 85th Street to Northwest 90th Street and a pedestrian throughway on Northwest 87th Street from 20th Avenue Northwest to 15th Avenue.

This would allow West Crown Hill residents to walk to Soundview Playfield, Whitman Middle School, businesses and bus stops, according to the proposal.

"While sidewalks/walkways surround West Crown Hill, the neighborhood itself is an isolated island that is unwelcoming to pedestrians," the proposal states.

The proposal makes the case that sidewalks will be a necessity for the growing neighborhood's children at every stage of their education.

According the proposal, children will walk to North Beach Elementary School before graduating to walking to Whitman Middle School.

With the new Seattle Public School boundaries going into effect next year, high school students north of 85th Street will need to walk to and from the bus stop at 85th and 15th in order to catch the route 75 to Ingraham, according to the proposal.

Jaquith said construction of new sidewalks will also allow for drainage improvements. Northwest 87th Street often floods during heavy rain, she said.

The neighborhood collected 45 signatures in one week for a petition to present to the city. Jaquith said she could definitely collect additional signatures with more time.

"There's a lot of community activism in our community already," she said. "Back in 2001, our community was able to get four plots of land gifted by the city for a natural space."

She said the neighborhood came together to work toward making that happen.

The West Crown Hill sidewalk project is one of about 10 projects the Ballard District Council is reviewing for Bridging the Gap funding recommendations in January. Some projects have been on the wait list for years.

Jaquith said it will be an uphill battle for her neighborhood's sidewalks as all the projects up for review have merit, but no one in West Crown Hill is ready to give up.

"If we don't make 2010, we will be back in 2013 (the next round of Bridging the Gap grants)," she said. "We are determined to find funding for this project."