Picture Perfect Queen Anne has been working to beautify the entrances of the Upper Queen Anne business district along Queen Anne Ave N at Galer and McGraw through the Green Gateways program. Beginning with the construction of curb bulbs last year, the group has been busy raising money and organizing volunteers to help “green” these intersections and make them more friendly for pedestrians and passersby.

(Photo courtesy of PPQA).

Last week PPQA reached its fundraising goal of $16,000 to complete the Green Gateways project and cover landscaping and maintenance for the 2,200 square feet of garden space for the next two years, a feat PPQA Treasurer Elaine Talbot attributes to “the overwhelming generosity of our neighborhood residents, organizations, and business people,” alongside support from the Office of Economic Development and SDOT.

To commemorate the completion of the project, PPQA has planned a community celebration at the Galer gateway (meet at the foot of the Galer Stairs, at the intersection of Queen Anne Ave N and Galer) this Saturday, May 1 at 12:30 p.m., where they will unveil the paving stones and fully landscaped curb bulbs.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of the Green Gateways Project,” said PPQA founder Kathy King in a press release last week. “Queen Anne is one of Seattle’s most walkable neighborhoods. Pedestrian safety and a family friendly environment are important to our neighborhood and the city. Not only will we have welcoming spaces, we will, with the engraved paving stone walkway, have a historic reminder of the people who made our neighborhood what it is today.”

Trolley Hill Park, located at 5th Ave N and Blaine St on the east slope of Queen Anne, appears to have received some unintentional landscaping over the weekend. Reader Stephanie sent in these photos yesterday.

Tire tracks that appear to have come from a Bobcat tractor have dug ditches in the grass throughout the park. Though some of the tracks may have been caused by the recent landscaping work done next to the park, Stephanie finds the fact that the tracks are all over the park grounds a bit suspicious.

“There are tire tracks all over the lawn up there. There is a Bobcat sitting next to what looks like a residential rockery job adjacent to the park but it doesn’t look like simply collateral damage. Maybe someone came and took the Bobcat for a joyride?  If it’s Park Dept. or some landscaping employee, they need a map,” she wrote. “I can’t see any reason for the cat to have been up around the sign and there are also some tracks out in the middle of the lower lawn that are not to or from the project. Just makes ya wonder…Bobcat joyride on a Saturday night?’

I’m waiting to hear back from Parks and Recreation to see if they know anything about landscaping at Trolley Hill Park or the tracks. In the meantime, if anyone has any further information, please post in the comments below.

(Thanks to Stephanie for the tip!)

Picture Perfect Queen Anne (PPQA), a community organization dedicated to revitalizing and maintaining the neighborhood’s business district streetscape from Queen Anne Avenue from Galer to McGraw St., has just signed on a Platinum Sponsor for their Green Gateways fundraising campaign.

The new KeyBank branch at the top of the hill has donated $3,000 toward the group’s efforts to make Queen Anne Ave more pedestrian friendly, putting PPQA’s sponsorship at $12,000, just $4,000 shy of their $16,000 goal.

“KeyBank has a tradition of being active in the neighborhoods where we’re located. We’re excited to finally have a branch to serve the top of Queen Anne Hill and the Green Gateways project gives us a great opportunity to get involved with our new neighbors,” said branch manager Tia Catli in a press release.

“I’m impressed by how quickly KeyBank stepped forward to support our community. Their generous contribution as the Green Gateways Platinum Sponsor provides a critical boost to our fundraising efforts,” said PPQA’s president Margaret Okamoto.

The funds raised for the Green Gateways campaign will be used to finish installing landscaping for the major pedestrian improvements along the “gateways” to the upper Queen Anne neighborhood – Queen Anne Ave., at Galer Street and McGraw Street.

Landscape design for the project is being donated by neighborhood-based Land2c Landscape Design, and Vertumni Fine Landscaping and Gardening is providing maintenance, donating a large portion of the cost on their end.

PPQA hopes to raise the remaining $4,000 and complete the installation of the Green Gateways landscaping projects by March 1, 2010. Donors can purchase pavers inscribed with their names or the name of the donor organization for $100 per line or $250 per paver. Half of these have already been claimed. For more information on making a contribution or purchasing a paver, visit their website, PPQA.org.