As the final decisions are being made for the restoration of Lower Kinnear Park, hear an update from the landscape architects at a meeting next week.
“The project goal is to create enhancements that improve trails and signage, restore the native vegetation and make connections to other trails in the Seattle Parks system.,” according to the Parks Department website. The park will also have a dog off-leash area
Here are some of the improvements being made, from the FOLKPark website:
SOUTH HILL
Highlights of the preliminary grading plan around the W. Roy St entrance and the tennis court include:
* Making the trail to the court ADA accessible
* Opening sight lines for better safety
* Preserving the State Champion Linden tree and the beautiful purple Beech tree
* Keeping the walls along the path low and made of natural materials
* Transforming the court into a multi-sport court for tennis and basketball
* Adding steps along the trail for easier movement
GRASSY KNOLL VIEWPOINT
Highlights of the preliminary grading plan from the main trail up to the Grassy Knoll Viewpoint include:
* Preserving significant trees
* Making the trail to the viewpoint ADA accessible
W. OLYMPIC PLACE ENTRANCE AND TRAIL
Highlights of the preliminary grading plan include:
* Strong entrance design with plants and kiosk
* Retaining walls along the trail to minimize erosion
* Steps long the swtichback trail for smoother grade
* Use of natural material
The Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark), Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Parks and Recreation, along with HBB Landscape Architects, will provide the community update on Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Bayview Retirement Community (11 W. Aloha Street.)
Join FOLKpark, HBB Landscape Architects and Seattle Parks to learn more about the proposed restoration of the forest, the link to the waterfront, tennis court renovation, trail improvements, off-leash area and more! We will present findings from our arborist and geotechnical consultants and talk about funding priorities. Bring a neighbor!
The Lower Kinnear Park enhancement project is one of fifteen projects to receive funding from the parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund. You can read more about the redevelopment at the project website, or in our past coverage.
If you can’t make it to this meeting, there will be a second meeting also at Bayview on Thursday, October 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Want to pass along information about this meeting to friends and neighbors? Download the printable flier here (.pdf).
The open house, held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Northwest Rooms Plaza of the Seattle Center, gave the public a look at different possible plans for the street while providing a forum for comment and criticism with SDOT representatives. In the Rainier Room, posters of the different plans, stages of development, area studies and traffic analysis were displayed with a short video presentation at the front of the room.
“It’s been a good conversation and I think we had a good turnout,” said SDOT Project Manager Eric Tweit.
SDOT presented five alternative plans for West Mercer Place: Alternative No. 1 adds a sidewalk to West Mercer Place, Alternative No. 2 adds a sidewalk and a bike lane, Alternative No. 3 and No. 4 add the sidewalk and bike lane and extends the merge lane on West Mercer Place. Alternative No. 5, which can be a standalone or combined with any of the previous 4 alternatives, would extend the left-turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West. The illustrations of alternative No. 1 and No. 2 can be seen here, No. 3 and No. 4 can be seen here, and Elliot Avenue West left-turn lane extension with the alternatives summary can be seen here.
“More traffic is going to try to use Mercer, so the question became can West Mercer Place handle it? Do we need to or do we want to even increase the capacity?” said Tweit. “We were pretty concerned about what the cost and impact would be, so this is really the culmination of that evaluation of whether there is a benefit to doing it.”
The changes in traffic through West Mercer Place with the Mercer Corridor Project and the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct prompted many of those who live in that area to voice their opposition. (See our past coverage of public meetings and community events surrounding this debate here.)
“We recently heard from a lot of reasonably and understandably concerned people who live on West Mercer Place, so this is an opportunity… for people to see and comment on the project,” said Tweit.
Tweit said that those he spoke to were opposed to the addition of a lane on West Mercer Place, and, along with the increased traffic, many of them were concerned about the possible loss of parking in the area. He said of the alternatives, No. 1 and No. 5, those that made the least amount of change to the area, were most popular.
Community representatives, from organizations like the Queen Anne Community Council, the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce and the Department of Neighborhoods were on hand to speak to the public and SDOT officials. Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Mary Chapman said she was glad to see SDOT taking input from residents and businesses in the area and thought it was a positive sign.
“I feel that the mayor did not listen to us in terms of the Nickerson street road diet, [the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce] does not support the road diet, but we really hope that they will be listening more actively as the plans for West Mercer are being developed by the Seattle Department of Transportation,” said Chapman. “We highly suggest that everybody make comments and do so very soon so that they can get as much realistic input from the people who live in the neighborhood as possible.”
FOLKpark volunteers were on hand to present their conceptual plan for Lower Kinnear Park and the proposed Uptown Loop, a collection of pedestrian and bicycle routes that circle and traverse lower Queen Anne. FOLKpark Chair Debi Frausto said that, as the Mercer West Project coincide with Kinnear Park projects, they hope they can leverage dollars with SDOT to save money on different aspects of development, like design and surveys.
“There are things where there are overlaps between us, like at entrances to the park. Let’s work together so that where we do them coordinates with pedestrian crossings, bicycle safety and those types of things so that we’re not designing in isolation,” said Frausto.
The next step for SDOT is to present the alternative plans to the local community organizations and councils and evaluate public comments. This will last through April, after which SDOT will make a recommendation to Mayor McGinn.
Comments on the alternative plans or other ideas and considerations can be e-mailed at mercerwest@seattle.gov.
Update 4:40 p.m.: Traffic moving through West Mercer Place is projected to reach more than 800 vehicles every hour by 2015, according to figures by KPFF, an engineering firm used by SDOT. These figures, presented at the open house, take into account the waterfront construction during that time. Between 590 to 660 vehicles per hour are expected to move through West Mercer Place after the Mercer Corridor and waterfront construction is completed, compared to the estimated 372 an hour that move through the street now.
The Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) and Uptown Alliance rummage sale you’ve been hearing so much about lately is happening this weekend, from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27, at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne.
The organizations has collected tons of unique and interesting finds up for grabs at the sale – everything from a portable picnic table that folds up into a suitcase, to a men’s tuxedo, vintage wedding dress, swanky suede roller skates and more. Swing by to dig in and search for some second-hand treasures during the following hours this weekend:
Friday, February 25 from 4 to 8 p.m.–Preview Event
Saturday, February 26 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.–Sale all day
Sunday, February 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.–Close-out sale
Rummage shoppers should be sure to have cash in hand–the group will not be able to take credit card purchases. Check out the event’s Facebook page here.
While the rummage sale won’t take place until the last weekend of February (Friday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 27), but FOLKpark is already collecting donations to be sold at the sale. The rummage sale will be held at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne. Community members who’d like to donate their old stuff to FOLKpark for the rummage sale should contact Jean Sundborg at 206-283-6140 and arrange a time to bring their donations to the sale site.
FOLKpark is also looking for volunteers work the days of the sale, and in the weeks coming up to the event, helping to prepare. If you’d like to volunteer, reach out to FOLKpark via its Facebook page, or by calling the number above.
Tonight, FOLKpark and some landscape architects are asking for your ideas on how to include Lower Kinnear Park in an uptown loop trail. The special workshop takes place tonight (9/23) from 7pm to 8:30pm at the Queen Anne Neighborhood Center (160 Roy Street). For more information and to RSVP, go to their Facebook page.
Image above from FOLKpark detailing Uptown Loop and how Lower Kinnear Park acts as a link to the waterfront. Click here for larger maps.
This weekend Queen Anne-ers will have an opportunity to enjoy some of the neighborhood’s best eats, while supporting our own local nonprofit, FOLKpark. The volunteer organization dedicated to revitalizing Lower Kinnear Park has put together Happy Hour on the Hill event/fundraiser this Saturday, August 28 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
A $15 ticket will get you access to a bunch of ‘happy hour’ discounts at local restaurants and sweet shops. All of the proceeds will go toward helping FOLKpark reach it’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund requirement. The organization won the $100,000 city grant earlier this month, and needs to raise at least $50,000 to be awarded the funds, which will be used in the upcoming design development phase of the Lower Kinnear Park Enhancement Plan. (The community actively helped develop this plan last spring. See the finalized plan here).
The following Queen Anne locations are participating in Happy Hour on the Hill:
Betty – $8 drink and appetizer combo
Paragon – $5 Martinis and $7 Appetizers
Eat Local – Free farro salad with any purchase and get 2 bottles of Viognier for the price of one at $16.98
Chocolopolis – $1 Chocolopolis truffles (limit 2) & 50% of a chocolate drink
Wink – 15% off all cupcakes
Tickets are available at any of the participating locations, or can be purchased at the Uptown Strolland art walk this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Counterbalance Park (at Queen Anne Ave N and W Roy St).
The fundraiser in being put on in conjunction with the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce. If you can’t make it to Happy Hour on the Hill, but would like to donate to FOLKpark, you can make a donation via PayPal on the organization’s website.
Those interested in volunteering with FOLKpark should contact Phil Prahst at philprahst@gmail.com.
It looks like an off-leash dog area in Queen Anne has new life. Four years ago, there was a plan to add the area to Lower Kinnear Park. After several community meetings and site selections, the plan sat on the shelf. But we’ve learned that funding for design and planning will become available in late 2011, and construction could start in 2012.
The 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy allocates funding for the project. The parks department has worked closely with Friends of Lower Kinnear Park on the 5400 square foot site, which can be seen as #2 on the map below (click the map to enlarge).
Another off-leash area has been designated at Magnolia Manor Park in Magnolia. The parks department tells us that both projects will go through another full public process. For background on the site selections that took place back in 2006, click here.
This Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m. FOLKpark invites community members to participate in an informal meeting and help brainstorm fundraising and event ideas for the next phase of the park’s redevelopment. The meeting will be held at the Ten Mercer restaurant, located at, you guessed it, 10 Mercer St. in Lower Queen Anne, and will last approximately one hour.
“Now that the enhancement plans to Lower Kinnear Park have been finalized, our fund raising efforts will now move into full swing. Your help is now truly needed!” said FOLKpark Volunteer Coordinator Phil Prahst.
Phil asks that anyone planning to attend please RSVP by either emailing him at philprahst@gmail.com, or joining the event on Facebook.
Volunteers will be celebrating Earth Day (Thursday, April 22), by clearing out invasive plants at Lower Kinnear Park this Saturday, April 24. For those interested in participating, volunteers will be meeting at the Roy Street entrance to the park and working from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The clean-up is being spearheaded by the Scientology Environmental Task Force, which has been an active supporter of community group FOLKpark‘s efforts to redevelop and revive Lower Kinnear Park.
To get an idea of what the final design entails before the meeting, take a look at the enhancement plan (.pdf). As always, the community meeting is open to the public and will be held at Bayview Manor, located at 11 W. Aloha St.
On Thursday, April 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. FOLKpark will hold the third and final community meeting at Bayview Manor, located at 11 W. Aloha St., where they will present the final concept design for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park by HBB Landscape Architecture based on community input from the first two meetings.
According to FOLKpark, the final concept design “coalesced around six major themes” expressed at the first two community meetings:
Activate the park with improved trails to increase accessibility for all and expand ADA accessible areas of the park while opening sight-lines to increase sense of personal safety;
Leverage supplemental funding through the Green Spaces Levy for an off leash dog park;
Respect the park’s historical significance and uses by creating gathering spaces, viewpoints and restoring the tennis court;
Restore the natural environment by removal of invasive plants and addressing issues of drainage and re-vegetation of a dying/changing forest, building a forest for the next 50-100 years;
Enhance the entrances with a common identifying feature/planting and signage to attract visitors; and,
Provide a connection to other trails in the Seattle Parks system and to the waterfront by expanding the trail system to the Helix Bridge and at the same time remove pedestrian and biking traffic from crowded streets.
If you’d like to sneak a peak at the final design before the meeting, take a look at the enhancement plan (.pdf). FOLKpark also encourages those interested in the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park to pass out meeting announcement fliers (here and here) to friends and neighbors in Queen Anne.
FOLKpark has been working to redesign and revitalize Queen Anne’s Lower Kinnear Park with the support of a $15,000 Department of Neighborhoods grant and many community volunteers who have dedicated weekends to cleaning up the park.
Over the past few months the organization has enlisted the help of HBB Landscape Architecture to develop four concept designs for the enhancement of the park, built from community feedback at a series of public meetings. In order to finance Phase II of the project–design development and construction drawings–the group is applying for Department of Neighborhoods Large Project Fund, and is asking for community support in winning it. In an email sent out last week FOLKpark Volunteer Coordinator Phil Prahst wrote,
FOLKpark is applying for funding through the City’s Department of Neighborhoods Large and Simple Fund to take the conceptual design for Lower Kinnear Park into the next phase of design development and construction drawings.
Part of the application asks that we list individuals by name, address, phone and email that are willing to volunteer time or donate money to the project during the time frame of this grant, which is August, 2010 through January, 2011. I know we have asked you before, but we need your permission to use your name, etc.
FOLKpark is asking those planning on volunteering time or making a donation in the next year to fill out this short survey, which will be provided to the Department of Neighborhoods for grant consideration. For more information visit folkpark.org.
On Thursday, April 8, FOLKpark will be presenting the final conceptual plan for Lower Kinnear Park to the community at a public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St.
And on Sunday, April 24 FOLKpark will be leading a clean up in Lower Kinnear Park in honor of Earth Day. Volunteers are invited to come celebrate nature and clean up the park by clearing out invasive (ivy, holly and blackberries) from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Department of Park and Recreation will be providing tools.
FOLKpark will be hosting an Upper Kinnear Park Clean-up from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow, Saturday, March 20.
Volunteers interested in helping with some planting west of the comfort station should meet at 9 a.m. in the gravel area. Parks and Recreation will be supplying plants and tools. Everyone is welcome.
This event is being organized by the Church of Scientology Environmental Task Force. For more information contact Dave at davidscattergood@gmail.com.
One Lower Queen Anne woman, Camille, was assaulted outside her apartment late last Tuesday night, having her bag snatched only after she was repeatedly kicked in the face and chest by the assailant.
Many neighbors who heard her screaming during the ordeal, and many more who live in the area, were so moved by Camille’s story and concerned with the growing prevalence of violent crime in Uptown as of late–especially in the area between the Counterbalance and the entrance to Lower Kinnear Park on Roy that is very poorly lit–that they’ve decided to organize a new Block Watch program to connect neighbors and hopefully prevent future assaults like this one.
Reader J.P. Flores, who is spearheading the effort, wrote in the comments,
I am fairly new to the area (10 months or so) But I love my Neighborhood. I haven’t seen anything about a Neighborhood Watch in this (Specifically from Counterbalance Park to Kinnear Park along Roy where most of the recent disturbances have been happening) And I would like to propose one. I am married and I don’t like that I have to worry about my wife walking to the store or even from the car to our apartment. I know there are a lot of other young couples in our community who I am sure feel the same way. I would also urge the businesses in this area (On The Boards, The Sitting Room etc..) to participate as it is their community as well. Shall we do something about it? Let’s make this neighborhood safe for our kids and all those who live in this beautiful part of town.
J.P. has agreed to organize the Block Watch if he can find enough interested parties, and hopefully local businesses, to participate. If you’d like to take park in the Counterbalance to Kinnear Block Watch, contact J.P. at jflor84@gmail.com or comment below.
For more information on Block Watches or to find one in your area, contact SPD Crime Prevention officer Contact Terrie Johnston at (206) 684-4741 or terrie.johnston@seattle.gov. If businesses in the area would like more information on what they can do to encourage public safety, they can contactFran Tello at (206) 684-4730 or francisco.tello@seattle.gov. Read up on ways to get involved with community crime prevention here and here.
(Editor’s Note: Nick Feldman is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)
On Thursday night, nearly 60 landscape architects, parks department officials and Queen Anne residents convened at the Bayview Retirement Community to give feedback on the potential options for the rejuvenation of Lower Kinnear Park. The second of three meetings followed a gathering of 40 people on Jan. 19 in which neighbors voiced their concerns to community planning group FOLKpark and architecture firm Hough Beck and Baird.
Using large maps with overlays of the proposed changes, Dean Koonts and his team of architects took turns explaining the three “preliminary drafts” they created based on input from community members at the previous meeting and from the online survey, to which there were 88 responses.
Of the 59 attendees, 27 chose to discuss the development of an off-leash area (OLA) for dogs as the meeting split into discussion groups. After an hour of dialogue, the group relayed their suggested area size (5,300 sq. feet) and their desire to integrate it into the park’s landscape.
“It would be a great asset to the neighborhood to have an off leash park considering how far away every other off leash area is,” Brad Weinberg wrote on FOLKpark’s Facebook page. “To have a designated area for off leash play would open up the rest of the park for those people who aren’t dog owners [and] would limit people from using the rest of the park as an off leash area.”
While there are 11 OLAs in Seattle, none exist in the Queen Anne neighborhood, and in 2006 the Park Department Superintendent designated Lower Kinnear Park as the best site for that purpose. However, according to Parks and Green Spaces Levy manager Rick Nishi, the allocated funding source doesn’t allow for off-leash projects until later years.
The three large draft plans were fundamentally different, but the two major components that each concept shared were increased compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and a reestablished linkage to the waterfront via the “North Trail Link,” (.pdf) one of the ideas from the previous meeting that Koonts said “came through loud and clear.”
“Plan A” (.pdf) primarily focused on the northeast slope, re-engineering the hillside and easing the grade to make it more easy to navigate. While the cost of that effort was a concern for many of the community members in attendance, there was a general consensus in support of the plan’s expanded plaza on Mercer Street. Koonts also mentioned that this option best fits a designated OLA.
The most notable feature of “Plan B” (.pdf) was its elevated trail and boardwalk, as well as refurbished and redesigned tennis courts—ideas that drew mixed responses from community members based more on cost effectiveness than the design itself.
Focusing more directly on safety and sustainability, “Plan C” (.pdf) featured popular ideas such as rain gardens and other stormwater solutions as well as less popular ones such as a connecting set of hill-climb stairs near West Mercer Place.
HBB now plans to adjust their drafts in order to create an action plan and cost estimate, taking into account the feedback from the most recent discussion. With that plan, FOLKpark plans to apply to the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund in early April seeking an amount likely near $700,000. They then plan to hold the third and final community meeting on April 8 at 7 p.m., also at the Bayview, to establish a community consensus on the preferred plan.
FOLKpark initiated a rejuvenation of the five-acre urban forest after winning a $15,000 grant from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods last year. They chose HBB based on the firm’s history with sustainable green design and crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED).
This Thursday, February 25, FOLKpark will be holding the second in a series of three community meetings on the enhancement and development of Lower Kinnear Park, where HBB Landscape Architecture will be presenting three alternative conceptual park improvement plans, as well as a fourth concerning the north trail link.
FOLKpark held its first planning meeting back in January, asking participants to tell them what they wanted out of Lower Kinnear Park. The alternative plans were drafted based on ideas and input from community members. Now FOLKpark is asking those interested to come back and give their thoughts on what the architects have brought to the table.
“There will be lots of opportunity that evening for the community to comment on what they like and what they see as challenges. The three plans each have different elements that came out of the January community meeting and the public survey (that had 88 responses!) that emphasized expanded and improved trails, connection to the waterfront and a stronger connection to Mercer Place,” said FOLKpark chair Debi Frausto.
Here is an overview of what each of the conceptual plans will entail:
Plan A: Reworking the drainage and slope; gentler trail connection to Upper Queen Anne; replanting the slope with native urban forest vegetation, providing several “activity” nodes/viewpoints; strong Mercer Pl. connection. Download map here (.pdf).
Plan B: Increasing connection with upper Queen Anne; tree house lookout; vertical stair climbs; walking trail/elevated boardwalk through the trees; ADA accessible routes; restore/replant tennis court area. Download map here (.pdf).
Plan C: Relocating tennis court to trailside and interior of park; grassy hill to roll down; connecting stairs; Roy street entrance planting area provides transition into the urban forest with “rain gardens” and sustainable stormwater solutions. Download map here (.pdf).
North Trail Link: Extending a trail to an SDOT right-of-way directly across from the Helix Bridge allowing for greater public access to the waterfront. Download map here (.pdf).
In addition to the draft plans, FOLKpark and HBB will be presenting comments and ideas from PROView (a review board of the parks department), and the Landmarks Preservation Board at Thursday’s meeting. The Department of Parks and Recreation will also give the community an update on the proposed off-leash area in Lower Kinnear Park.
The redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park is being funded by a $15,000 grant from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods, awarded to FOLKpark last year.
Thursday’s meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St.
Last month community members gathered to tell FOLKpark what they wanted out of the Lower Kinnear Park enhancement. The developers took notes on your suggestions, but before presenting a draft plan at the next public meeting at the end of the month, there will be another opportunity to discuss the future of the park and share your opinions.
FOLKpark, along with urban advocacy group GreatCity.org, will be hosting a free brown bag discussion this Thursday, February 11 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at architecture and urban design firm GGLO, located at 1301 1st Ave.
Here’s what FOLKpark had to say:
More than a century ago, the Olmstead brothers developed the “Emerald Necklace” plan – a set of paths and vantage points creating a sense of continuity throughout downtown Seattle. Imagine a looping urban trail that includes a breath of fresh air in Myrtle Edwards Park, art in the Sculpture Park, breakfast spots in Belltown, the Seattle Center, coffee spots in lower Queen Anne, and tennis or picnic in lower Kinnear Park. An entire day of activities, highlighting Seattle’s finest, all in one easy stroll. The hidden and overgrown lower Kinnear Park link is a missing gem in this plan.
Community members and urban designers are invited to talk about how “completing this missing link in an urban loop that dissolves the boundaries between the Waterfront, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne.” There’s no need to RSVP – just show up and share your thoughts.
Dean Koontz from HBB Landscape Architects (the firm handling the development of Lower Kinnear Park), Alan Hart of VIA Architecture and Debi Frausto from FOLKpark will be leading the discussion, looking for ways to create an Uptown Loop that “can strengthen pedestrian accessibility and secure the relationship between urban forests, walkable city streets, community amenities, residential living, and waterfront vistas.”
For more information, visit FOLKpark’s website. Read up on past meeting progress here and here. HBB Landscape Architects will be presenting the draft plan for the park at the next public meeting on Thursday, February 25 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St,
If you missed the FOLKpark meeting a couple of weeks ago, but would like to share your opinions for the enhancement of Lower Kinnear Park, there’s still time to tell the planning committee what you think. Just take FOLKpark’s short improvement survey (it’s only seven questions, so it won’t take long). And if you missed the meeting, you can read up on the topics discussed, or watch the video for a quick overview.
The next FOLKpark meeting be on Thursday, February 25 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St, when the landscape architects will present a draft plan for the park to the community.
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