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City planning another Capitol Hill park — Where should it go?

With Seattle’s 2009 fall election approaching, a choice voters made in 2008 will soon create even more open space on Capitol Hill. From the property taxes collected by the 2008 Parks Levy, money is being set aside to purchase land for another new park on Capitol Hill and the community process has begun to gather feedback on our parks needs — the city was even out on Park(ing) Day collecting ideas and suggestions. The project will join the spaces created on Summit at John and on 16th at Howell in a wave of new grass and p-patches on the Hill.

But where to put the new Capitol Hill park? The funds are intended to create a park within the Capitol Hill Urban Village, the area ringed in red in this map (the purple line is the light rail tunnel path, btw).


Chip Nevins, acquisitions planner for Seattle Parks, said the decision on where to put the next Capitol Hill park will hinge partly on the Summit/John and 16th/Howell locations:

The Neighborhood Park Acquisition portion of the Pro Parks Levy specifically named two projects to help implement the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan: Capitol Hill Park Acquisition: (“Acquire one or two sites listed in Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan”) and Bellevue Substation Acquisition (“Acquire Bellevue Substation”).

The Bellevue substation wasn’t available (and wasn’t a great park site) so an alternative site (John and Summit) was proposed by Park staff and agreed to by the community.  The other park that was acquired (16th and E Howell) was proposed by a member of the community.

In this case we would be looking for a park that complements those acquisitions by filling a need in another part of the neighborhood.

According to Lise Ward, senior real property agent for the city, there are a few specific attributes Seattle Parks will look for. “In general, we look for neighborhood park sites that are at least 10,000 sf in size,” Ward told CHS. “We are also trying to fill gaps in urban villages where there is more than a 1/8-mile to 1/4-mile walking distance to a park.”

This map created by CHS shows Capitol Hill’s park coverage using a very fuzzy approximation of the walking distance factor.

That measure leaves a swath of Capitol Hill between Broadway and 14th Ave and Harrison and Aloha relatively park-less. So here’s where CHS is plotting the next Capitol Hill park. We’ll leave it to you to figure out which 10,000+ sqft plot of land should be used.


View Capitol Hill Park Zone in a larger map

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Mike with curls
Mike with curls
15 years ago

This zone seems to in easy walking distance from Volunteer Park, the Crown Jewel of the Seattle park system, complete with museum, outdoor art, flowers, magnificent trees, a tower, and greenhouse and more, more, more … volleyball, frisbee, wading pool, playground ….

So, what exactly is the needed park for, who and what?

Perhaps the vision thing here is a small park that is totally unique in usage/concept, and not because of the tons of dog shit it collects … what say?

jonathan
jonathan
15 years ago

I think it might help to have a playground in the “swath” … the Volunteer Park playground is 0.6 miles away because it is at the northeast corner of the park.

Phil Mocek
Phil Mocek
15 years ago

It would be interesting to see population density in the coverage map. Other factors being equal, it would seem sensible to site a new park near more people, and to be less concerned with putting it near people who mostly have private yards surrounding their homes.

jseattle
jseattle
15 years ago

That makes a lot of sense. The green fuzz map is an overly simplified exercise. If you weighted it toward density, the band would definitely shift south.

jonglix
jonglix
15 years ago

If they really intend something 10,000 sqft then there aren’t many practical options. The stalled/abandoned “urban row house” development site at Federal and Republican might make the cut and it’s in your parkless area.

If we don’t need a big park then I think a really cool idea would be to close a part of Harrison or Thomas St on one of the steep blocks between 12th and 14th and put in some grass and benches. A mini park with a view of the sound and space needle would be way cool and it could be small enough to allow for a cul-de-sac on that block.

JoshMahar
JoshMahar
15 years ago

I love that idea Jonglix! Keep in mind though that the first round of funding is specifically for acquisitions. The development fund will be implemented a little later, probably in a year or so. But there is also an opportunity fund which funds proposals developed by the community instead of by the city. The applications for these will probably be due next summer so generating some ideas for these now is a great start.

I also wanted to let everyone know that Chip Nevins will also be at the next Capitol Hill Community Council meeting on October 17th @ 7pm at the Cal Anderson Shelter House. Stop on by to share your ideas in person!

Hong
Hong
15 years ago

Jonglix — members of Unpaving Paradise/the Capitol Hill Community Council have met with Chip Nevins and the site at Federal & Republican was discussed as a potential target for acquisition. We also talked about the property in between Republican & Mercer on Harvard Avenue (due west of the development at 523 Broadway). Chip is interested in hearing from more of us, so…thanks to Josh for getting the word out that he will be at October’s Capitol Hill Community Council meeting to talk to residents about where the next park should be.

It should be noted, however, that the meeting is actually on Thursday, October 15th, NOT Saturday, October 17th — same place, same time though. Details: http://www.capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org.

Vince Chau
Vince Chau
15 years ago

There is a vacant piece of land on the northeast corner of E Republican St and Federal Ave E. A townhouse development was scheduled to go there but because of the economic downturn, that project seems to have been shelved. How about an off-leash dog park there? There are quite a few dogs in this neighborhood and it would be a great place to have a park instead of being overgrown with weeds as it stands currently.

maarten
maarten
15 years ago

I’d argue your “walk-distance” model should take into account that Volunteer Park’s draw is much bigger than a 4 block radius. There’s a big difference between a quarter-block mini-park and a headliner park.

Is there any chance of putting the money towards green improvements around the light rail station area? (Sorry, I haven’t kept track of what’s planned for those currently-flattened blocks.)

Alternately, there’s that semi-public garden on… I think on 13th Ave between Harrison and Republican, west side of the street, next to a classic brick apartment building. Maybe we could preserve that space?

(Have to say I also *love* Jonglix’ idea for closing one of the view-rich street blocks.)

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15 years ago

I would support closing harrison between 12th and 14th. Great idea.

I couldn’t even get a traffic circle for 14th and Harrison. Not enough accidents to support it.

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15 years ago

Private yards and parks are not equal.

Laurie
Laurie
15 years ago

THere IS a playground in that swath–the playground of Lowell Elementary School, where neighborhood children used to often play late afternoons and weekends until it was fenced off and locked up by Seattle Public Schools two years ago.

Phil Mocek
Phil Mocek
15 years ago

I agree that private yards and parks are not equal. Regardless, parks, functioning somewhat like public yards, are particularly useful to people who do not have private yards.

yaydogpark
yaydogpark
15 years ago

agreed – an off leash dog park would be fantastic.