Greenwood residents voiced a desire for greater visibility and public safety when community members and leaders gathered Jan. 13 at the Greenwood Public Library to discuss upcoming renovations to Sandel Park.

The meeting, led by project manager Kelly Davidson, kicked off with an overview of the park's current design and the standing ideas for renovation before opening up to suggestions for community members.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy, which passed in Seattle in 2008, provides $146 million in funding to upgrade the city’s parks. Most of the money will go toward renovating playgrounds throughout the city.

The project budget for Sandel is $350,000, and renovations will take place between April and October of 2010.

Sandel Park renovation plans were drawn up in 2002, but the renovations never proceeded.

Drawings displayed at the meeting were taken from the 2002 plans, but Davidson said that although safety standards have changed little since then, accessibility standards have, and the plans must be brought up to date.

She said the main concerns were to make the park safe and active and to design the structures so children can easily be seen by parents and caregivers.

Sandel Park is surrounded by trees and a somewhat wild area, and Davidson said she hopes to incorporate nature into the park plan.

They plan to design the park in greens and khakis—inoffensive “Eddie Bauer” colors.

The park will be designed to accommodate children of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers, but the main target will be ages 5 to 12. Davidson said the city sees Sandel Park as mainly a park for small children.

After a design presentation by Karen Kiest of Karen Kiest Landscape Architects, the discussion was opened to community input.

The audience, made up mainly of mothers as well as some fathers and other community members, voiced their concerns, mostly centering around improved visibility to cut down on after-hours illicit activity in the park and other safety concerns.

Davidson said the design team is very open to suggestions, especially about the kind of play equipment that parents would like to see.

Right now, the design includes slides and a variety of bouncing and swinging toys that primarily appeal to younger children.

The park features a basketball court, restrooms, two picnic tables and a wading pool that will reopen sometime after the renovations finish.

For more information or to give input, contact Kelly Davidson at kelly.davidson@seattle.gov or visit http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/sandel/playground.htm.