Lakewood Moorage, soon to be the subject of an RFP.

Today in the Parks and Neighborhoods Committee meeting, we did the following:

• Passed two pieces of legislation on to full council,
• Held a public hearing on the partial transfer of jurisidiction of two pieces of subterranean property from Parks to SPU,
• Heard from our wonderful Parks Trusts volunteers, and
• Got caught up on events and developments in the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

The encroachment legislation, C.B. 117694, is designed to make it easier for Parks to reclaim Park land that has been encroached on by private property owners.  Highlights of the legislation are as follows:

• Parks’ complaint-based system will use terminology, timeframes, processes that are aligned with SDOT and DPD.
• There will be a clear roadmap for what to do if you get a violation, and what will happen if you don’t respond.
• There will be an appeals process, ensuring that people affected are given due process.

I wrote earlier in the week about the Marination legislation, which did pas

The Arboretum will get some 520 mitigation help.

s out of committee. I look forward to sampling some shave ice shortly.

Our public hearing focused on two partial transfers of jurisdiction and was required by the provisions of I-42.  We heard from neighbors who supported the idea of keeping sewage out of Lake Washington but had various perspectives on how outreach for the project had been handled, as well as some great questions.

One person asked whether parks would receive land in exchange for the PTOJ to SPU, but Andrew Lee of SPU explained that when the land that is trading hands is subterranean, an exchange of property is not required. The surface will be returned to parks use after construction. However, DPR will receive compensation for the time that the parking lots are torn up for construction. 

Friends of Seward Park was represented by organization president Jennifer Otts, who spoke on behalf of the historic vegetation in the area and made a special case for preserving older trees, citing the Scholar’s Tree in Cal Anderson Park as a successful example.

And it was awfully nice of one constituent to come down simply to say he’d watched the outreach efforts of SPU and DPR around these projects, and appreciated how open they’d been to community input in selecting the best sites for the tanks.

We will hear more about these two PTOJs in our next committee meeting, 2/21, and possibly vote on them.

I strongly suggest that you take a look at Christopher Williams’s Superintendent’s Report, in which he discusses the Parks Legacy Plan, Washington Park Arboretum/SR 520 mitigation, upcoming RFPs for Lakewood and Leschi moorages, and much, much more.  

We were joined also at the table by David Dougherty, Chair, Olmsted Park Trust; Doug Bayley, Chair, Volunteer Park Trust; Richard Piacentini, Magnolia Boulevard Trust, who gave us an update on all the great work their volunteers have been doing to help maintain Seattle Parks at their best possible quality. Thank you so much, Trust members and volunteers. You make it happen.

Volunteers are the heart of the Parks system. Here children plant native plants at Magnuson Park.

Our committee attendance was VERY small, due to icy conditions on the roads.  I missed our usual crowd, but I’m glad people were wise and stayed warm and safe at home.

One important note for those who might be looking for emergency shelter:  I confirmed with our Human Services Department that the Rainier Room at Seattle Center provides shelter for people, including their well-mannered pets for overnight shelter during this extreme weather.   I am told that every shelter accepts service animals.

Parks highlight – saving energy, water, and money!

Christopher Williams was the designated hitter for David Broustis, Parks’ Utility Conservation Manager, to deliver the Parks Highlight.

David was tasked a number of years ago to strategically reduce Parks’ use of water, and make our Parks facilities more energy efficient.  Over the past few years, David has been remarkably successful.  I was pleased to hear that Parks recently celebrated bringing in its 1 millionth conservation rebate dollar.

The rebate dollars come from Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities, and result from 59 energy and water conservation projects Parks has completed over the past five years. These projects continue to save Parks more than $1.5 million each year on utilities.

In 2006, Parks evaluated the $6 million spent on utilities to see where they could save money. They found outdated equipment, parks where irrigation systems were overwatering landscapes, and buildings that were heated at night.

Parks invested in high efficiency boilers, variable speed fans that ramp down at night, toilets that perform exceptionally well with less water, and sensors that shut down irrigation systems when it rains.

Parks workers also installed lights in playfields across the city that reduce energy use by 40% and integrate shielded fixtures to keep light away from neighbors and the sky.

Great work on saving money and going green at the same time, Parks!

Superintendent’s Report

1.  Mighty Volunteers : Christopher Williams gave us an overview of some impressive Parks statistics including this one about our volunteers:  In 2011, 40,000 volunteers contributed 362,000 hours to the Parks system, doing everything from coaching to blackberry removal to reforestation. That’s the equivalent of 226 full time employees, a 20% increase in productivity over what Parks is actually staffed for.  Thanks to everyone who makes our Parks places we love to see and visit.
2. Vandals attack Beaver Pond Trees:  Recently, vandals at the Beaver Pond natural area aggressively “pruned” more than 50 trees, cutting branches from the lowest 10 feet of the trees.  Arborists believe that many of the trees will die within two or three years as a result.   This is shameful.  The trees were planted by volunteers working to restore the area. Parks has filed a police report destruction of the trees.  The department is working with the Seattle Police Department’s North Precinct to address safety issues in the natural area and to identify those responsible for the cutting.
3. Polar Bear Plunge.  I asked Christopher if he’d participated in the January 1 Polar Bear Plunge. Thousands of celebrants met at Magnuson Park and Matthews Beach to take the New Yeare’s Day dunk in Lake Washington.   Christopher queried why I wasn’t there.  The challenge is on.  I  told him I’d do it next year if he would. You can find his full report here.

Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee Reappointments

We reappointed six generous and capable people to the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee.   I’m grateful to the following dedicated individuals for continuing to serve on this committee:

• Bruce Bentley, who brings 33 years in the recycling and waste management industry to the committee, sits on Southwest Community Center Advisory Council, and who has served as Chair of the Park Board.
• William P. Brosseau, who contributes 20 years experience human resources and natural resources management and is currently Field Operations Director with EarthCorps.
• Dennis Canty, now the Regional Director of American Farmland Trust, who previously ran an environmental consulting firm that helped get funding for fish and wildlife restoration.
• Shanon Kearney, who has dual masters degrees in landscape architecture and in regional planning, and, perhaps even more important for sitting on a Seattle commission, experience in dispute resolution and mediation.
• Pete Spalding, recipient of People’s Choice award from City Club because he’s such an active volunteer for so many organizations, and who has served on the City Neighborhood Council and the Delridge Neighborhood District Council.
• Beth Purcell, a former Parks employee and landscape architect who helped develop the Levy and who now sits on the Board of the Parks Foundation.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee advises the Acting Superintendent, Mayor, and City Council to help ensure successful implementation and fiscal responsibility for the projects and programs included in the levy.

By the way, the public is encouraged to attend the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meetings – there’s a public comment period at each meeting. The next meeting of the Oversight Committee will be Monday, January 23, 2012. The meeting is from 7-9p.m. at the Parks Headquarters at 100 Dexter Avenue N. Seattle WA 98109.

Blowing leaves into the street

Property owners may think they are doing the right thing by cleaning off their sidewalks, but for those property owners or managers who don’t know:  blowing leaves into the streets creates additional problems for everyone.

This is a bigger problem than may be apparent on first glance.  Dumping leaves into the gutter is clearly not a 911-type of violation, but it costs all of us money and creates bigger problems for us when the storms start.  Leaves clog the storm drains, and that leads to flooding in the streets and even into your and your neighbors’ basements.  Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Department of Transportation work  hard to keep the drains clear but they can’t be everywhere at once. 

Too loud to operate without hearing protection.

Since our tree canopy is dropping leaves in earnest this week, here’s what we all can do to keep our sidewalks clear and keep water flowing where it should:

• The best way to deal with leaves is to bag them up and put them in your yard waste bin or compost them. Learn about composting on the Seattle Public Utilities web site.  
• If the gutter or drain is filled with leaves on your corner, be a good sport:  pull the leaves out of the drain so the water will go where it is designed to go.
• In lieu of a gas powered leaf blower, try an electric one if your back is giving you trouble or the broom is too much. Admittedly not as powerful as the gas-powered blower, the electric ones are substantially quieter.  The clean-up crew at City Hall combine brooms and a battery pack. 
  

  Electric blowers -- a quieter alternative

• A vacuum/composter like the Billy Goat is a less noisy tool that works well downtown.  Thanks to the Norton Building and the Columbia Center’s crews –for example –for using this vacuum.  Rather than blowing the leaves, it sucks leaves up and mulches them, creating a great byproduct for our gardens.

Thanks for doing your part to keep our city clean and our storm drains clear.

I’ve posted this reminder before, but here’s a new push to remind people that the decisions the city makes now will have great implications in the future. We need your thoughts on updating Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan – the vision for how Seattle will evolve over the next two decades.

There’s a great YouTube video that explains the purpose of the Comp Plan and directs the sort of feedback that the Department of Planning & Development (DPD) are looking for. Check the video out here before moving on to the additonal information provided below.

DPD has a great overview of the Comprehensive Plan available online. Included in that overview is a public involvement plan that outlines the schedule for the public participation process, the methods and tools the department will use, and what materials and information will be produced and available for distribution as a result of that process.

There’s also a brief survey available on the site that allows users to rank and prioritize the goals driving the Comp Plan review and update. It takes about ten minutes to complete. The public’s contribution to these outreach efforts will influence the final decisions.

Help DPD  – and Seattle – plan ahead for the next twenty years. Share the links to the video, the public involvement plan, and the survey.

I had a great time participating in last year’s Spring Clean of Pioneer Square and I’ll be there again tomorrow. There’s opportunities for participation. Just check the information provided below by Seattle Public Utilities.

Spring Clean—held each year in April and May—is Seattle’s premier clean up event. Spring Clean provides opportunities for citizens to clean up Seattle’s public open spaces of their choice with city support, including planning assistance, gloves, safety vests, disposal bags, transfer station passes, and waste disposal. Typical volunteer projects include litter pick ups, invasive plant removal, storm drain stenciling, graffiti removal, and general area beautification.

Sign Up

Complete the signup form (doc) and e-mail to Gretchen Muller at gretchen.muller@seattle.gov, or mail to the address below:

Seattle Public Utilities
Attention: Gretchen Muller
700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4900
PO Box 34018
Seattle, WA 98124-4018

For more information about Spring Clean, please contact the Spring Clean hotline at (206) 233-7187.

Planned Spring Clean Events

Don’t want to organize your own project? Join a planned Spring Clean event:

• 3rd Annual Pioneer Square Spring Clean
  Sponsored by the Alliance for Pioneer Square 
  When: Saturday, April 16, 9:00 am – Noon
  Where: Check in at Occidental Park
  Activities:
  • Weed, plant and mulch 1st Avenue medians and parks
  • Pick up litter throughout the neighborhood
  • Graffiti removal throughout the neighborhood
  • Other beautification projects 

  Contact: liz@pioneersquare.org or call 206-667-0687. Individuals and groups welcome.

• Lake Union & Portage Bay Sweep
  When: Saturday, May 14, 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
  Where: Lake Union Park
  Activities: Over 200 volunteers in kayaks, row boats and motorized craft remove 2-3 tons of trash annually from Lake Union and Portage Bay. Volunteers are treated to a picnic lunch provided by event sponsors and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.
  Contact: Katelyn Kinn at katelyn@pugetsoundkeeper.org or call 206-297-7002.

One of our favorite parts – and not just because we got to ride our bikes – was a tour of Portland’s “Neighborhood Greenways.” Portland has connected specific neighborhood destinations like schools and parks via safe, green, streets that are easy for both walking and biking. These connections are away from major arterials which continue to be preserved for faster modes, such as cars and trucks.

The concept is simple and we learned that implementing the concept is cost effective, too.

First, heavier traffic is routed to arterials; neighborhood traffic and parking remains, but the speed of all traffic on the Neighborhood Greenway is limited to 25 miles per hour. Speed bumps have been added every three blocks or so to discourage speedsters and to remind drivers that bicyclists and pedestrians have priority on the Greenway.

To make the Neighborhood Greenway a through street for bikes, stop signs have been added at most intersections to stop vehicles wanting to cross the Greenway. Clearly marked crossings, large pedestrian and bike islands on busy arterials, and a well signed route keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe along the Greenway itself. To our great surprise, Portland drivers on these busy arterials actually stopped for us on our bicycles!

One Portlander told us “Our goal is to make this road safe enough so that I can let my 8-year-old daughter ride to her school or soccer practice alone.”

In addition to integrating a new traffic system, Portland is focused on making these Greenways visually appealing streetscapes that also improve their air and clean their storm water runoff. The City of Portland has worked with the neighbors and Friends of Trees, a local nonprofit, to provide and plant trees in the parking strips along the Greenways.

In addition, Portland’s storm water utility is adding storm water solutions along the Greenway that help handle rainwater and create additional green spots between the street and the walkways.

Finally, we heard how neighborhood parks have been re-activated with consistent pedestrian and bike traffic on the Greenways. Last summer, several weekend events were scheduled in multiple neighborhoods where families could walk or bike between the parks. Neighborhoods organized local music, square dances and even a cupcake potluck (only in Portlandia).

Part of the success of these projects is coordinating efforts and funding opportunities. We can take a page out of Portland’s book where departments including transportation, utilities, parks, nonprofits, community groups and businesses pooled their resources – and the result is clearly better than the sum of its parts.

Seattle has opportunities to create these Neighborhood Greenways. The transportation investments around Children’s Hospital present one option. Wallingford and Beacon Hill neighborhoods are considering others.  Imagine providing local bike routes to schools as we transition back to neighborhood districts. Our goal is to start with at least one Greenway in every neighborhood between your favorite parks or schools. As Portland has shown, the benefits for the community, neighbors and local businesses are vast.

Is there a spot in your neighborhood that could benefit from a Neighborhood Greenway? Please let us know!

 - Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw