Residents discuss Lake City Greenway proposal at meeting

Janine Blaeloch gives a presentation during the meeting.

 Lake City residents gathered for a meeting on February 21st to discuss a proposal for a pedestrian- and bike-friendly "greenway" along 27th Avenue Northeast.

The route, which would run from NE 145th Street to NE 125th Street, has been proposed by the Lake City Greenways project with the help of community members searching for safer ways for pedestrians and bicyclists to negotiate our neighborhood and its lack of pedestrian infrastructure—sidewalks.

Most of the people that attended the meeting were residents that live on 27th Avenue NE and wanted to understand how the proposed greenway would affect them and to voice concerns about altering the quiet neighborhood street.

People were vocal at the meeting, both in support of the project and with concerns—mostly about speed humps, emergency response times and the expense of altering the road.

Residents worried that the addition of speed humps, elongated and gentle traffic slowing devices, would encourage drivers to drive over gravel parking easements in an attempt to avoid the humps.

Residents discussed adding stop signs and speed-detecting cameras along the street—the benefits and issues with both were discussed. People at the meeting said they wanted safer access to the Lake City Hub Urban Village for elderly and disabled people. And proposals for street murals in Lake City were met with support during the meeting.

"People want to understand better what it might mean for their street," said Janine Blaeloch, a neighborhood resident working with other community members to bring safe routes via greenways to our neighborhood. "Most people just want information," she said.

A presentation on the Lake City Greenways proposal is posted below. You can read a previous story we wrote about Lake City Greenways and how it can help transform some of our streets here.

Neighborhood Greenways effort taking shape in Lake City

Residents wrote popular routes and difficult areas for pedestrians and bicycles on a map of Lake City.

The Lake City Greenways project recently had its kickoff at local coffee shop and bakery Kaffeklatsch. About 20 neighbors gathered for a presentation and to brainstorm about how the innovative pedestrian and bicycle program could be applied to the Lake City neighborhood.

Residents listen to the presentation.

Greenways are essentially residential streets, generally running near main arterials, with low volumes of auto traffic and low speeds, where people who walk and ride bicycles are given priority over auto traffic. Streets are reconfigured with speed calming devices and pavement markings.

Greenways are a more affordable option to sidewalks, an important part of infrastructure lacking in Lake City and much of North Seattle.

According to the program, sidewalks cost from $1 million to $3 million per mile to build; Greenways typically cost $100,000 to $300,000 per mile.

More from the Seattle Greenways project:

• Greenways provide safer bicycling and pedestrian connections.  Pavement markings alert people driving to expect people walking and bicycling. Improved crossings and curb ramps make walking easier and safer.
• Greenways help people across busier streets. Improved crossings at main streets help people walking and bicycling get across streets.
• Greenways guide people along the route to get them where they are going.  Markings on the pavement and signage let you know where your Greenway goes and what’s nearby, such as parks, schools, and business districts.
• Greenways reduce auto cut-through. Speed bumps and traffic diverters can keep cars trying to avoid main streets from speeding through on neighborhood streets.
• Greenways reduce auto speeds. Speed bumps and other road treatments can help to slow automobile traffic on greenways.
• Greenways provide more "eyes on the street." More people out on the street walking and riding their bicycles makes for a safer and friendlier community.
• Where is the "green" in "Greenways?" Biking and walking can be a form of transportation that is relaxing, pleasant, and inclusive. Greenways provide easy access to open space and have many park-like functions that can be very climate-friendly. New trees, public art, rain gardens, and gardens are an integral part of evolving our streets to be pleasant places to bike and walk.

During the Lake City meeting residents mapped their walking routes, flagged difficult intersections, brainstormed possibilities, and shared information.

A street mural in Seattle

As a kickoff to the program in Lake City, planners hope to create a neighborhood street mural, a tool some Seattle neighborhoods have successfully used to calm neighborhood traffic and make drivers aware that they are driving through an active community.

Lake City Greenways organizer Janine Blaeloch said the best sign of success during the kickoff "was a lot of sentences starting with 'What if...?'"

Below is a video shown during the presentation about Portland's successful Neighborhood Greenways program.

You can learn more about Neighborhood Greenways in this publication:

Open publication - Free publishing - More bicycle

Notes from DPC April 9th meeting

Below is a PDF  with notes from the April 9th meeting with Sally Bagshaw regarding Parks & Recreation in Lake City.

A few things to note:

- The major recent Parks expenditures in our area are:

1)  ~$800k for the purchase of the Varsity Building on 33rd, which will be torn down to make a park / open space. The land area is 10,000 sf. This was funded through the Parks and Greenspace Levy.
2) $500k is earmarked for improvements to the Cedar Park Playfield using funds from the Parks and Greenspace Levy. 

- It was emphasized that if we want a community center or any other major acquisition / development that we need to be able to clearly say what we want and say it with a unified community voice. This applies to sidewalks and greenways as well.

- To get programmed events up here at our current center, the best way to match the programming to what the community wants is to set up a Lake City Community Center Advisory Council with ARC and work with them. They can also act as a fiscal sponsor and accept donations for projects that we are working on getting matching funds for.

- The "Greenways" concept is very interesting and CM Sally Bagshaw  is very supportive of this. There are online tool kits for communities to use in developing a Greenway and funding is available from many sources.