On an unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon, Mayor Mike McGinn got an up-close and personal view of Crown Hill's problems and successes during a Sept. 25 walking tour of the neighborhood lead by a group of business and neighborhood representatives.

The tour started with introductions at the Crown Hill Center, located on Northwest 95th Street and 13th Avenue Northwest.

"I know a little bit about this neighborhood, living so close by," McGinn told members of the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association and the Crown Hill Business Association. "But, I'm looking forward to learning a lot more today."

One of the major stops early on the tour was the Holman Road pedestrian overpass for a view of the busy street below.

Ryan McFarland, president of the neighborhood association, said Holman Road is unsafe, especially when it comes to pedestrian crossing and turn lanes, and does not look nice for the neighborhood. The neighborhood is attempting to get planted medians installed, he said.

McGinn said the Seattle City Council is proposing a $20 per year vehicle licensing fee, which would bring in $7 million per year to the Seattle Department of Transportation, as well as a 2.5 percent increase to the commercial parking tax, which would be used for the seawall and Mercer Street projects.

He said he is proposing a larger raise in the commercial parking tax to increase resources for pedestrian and bicycle projects, such as redevelopment of Holman Road.

As the tour continue along 13th Avenue, Catherine Weatbrook of the business association, said the neighborhood is trying to turn that street into a primary bicycle and pedestrian corridor. The neighborhood association's Dennis Galvin pointed out the high volume of traffic on a street with no sidewalks.

The neighborhood was recently granted funds to create asphalt walkways on 13th Avenue from Northwest 90th Street to Holman Road and on 90th Street between 13th Avenue and 14th Avenue Northwest. But, a resident at the intersection of 90th Street and 13th Avenue told the mayor that asphalt walkways are a bad solution because they will cost much more in maintenance than concrete.

During a stop at Baker Park, Weatbrook told McGinn about problems from homeless people and drug deals due to a lack of sight lines in the park.

McGinn said it is a beautiful park but needs to be activated. He suggested turning a portion of Baker Park into a P-Patch, which would get a handful of people to use the park everyday.

West Crown Hill resident Jon Bez gave the mayor a photo he took last winter of the flooding that occurs at 17th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 87th Street. He said the neighborhood has been fighting hard to get sidewalks to help drainage and allow for better pedestrian access to the future Metro RapidRide corridor along 15th Avenue Northwest.

Toward the end of the tour, McGinn said he would look into two issues with gates near Whitman Middle School.

The first gate blocks a pedestrian path to the south side of Whitman Middle School at approximately 17th Avenue and 90th Street. Though pedestrians can still get through, the gate makes it difficult for bicycles, strollers and dogs.

The second gate is at 17th Avenue on the north side of Whitman Middle School and blocks parents from using the parking lot there when taking their children to the playground.

Following the tour and McGinn's speech at the dedication of Fire Station 35, the mayor had an informal town hall with Crown Hill residents where other issues, such as the budget and the Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail, were discussed.

Click the image above for more photos from the Sept. 25 walking tour.