W Green Lake Way to Reopen in October

September 9, 2021 4:39pm
Currently open only part-way in one direction, West Green Lake Way is planned to reopen with a new bike lane

Seattle Department of Transportation announced the section of W Greenlake Way N that has been closed since May, 2020 as a “Keep Moving” street initiated at the start of the pandemic, will fully reopen in October – that’s BOTH WAYS this time – with an added bike lane.

“We’ll be starting the construction and installation work of the new 2-way walk and bike path on W Green Lake Way N as soon as next week,” SDOT’s web site says. “Our goal is to complete the installation in early October with a target date of October 1 for reopening. After completion, we’ll have a street for people of all ages and abilities to safely walk, roll, and bike on”.

As we’ve reported, while some appreciate the car-free zone, the closure has caused frustration from many quarters – particularly people and businesses on both sides of the lake unable to use this major East-West crossing or to access parts of Lower Woodland Park, and park-goers finding the street congested with RVs.

The road partially reopened in one direction to enable some access to the tennis courts and off-leash areas, but many were not satisfied with this solution. Some never saw the benefit of the closure in the first place, since there is a full pedestrian loop inside the park, especially since bicycles were removed from the inner lake loop.

More changes ahead?

SDOT says “we’d like to explore creative solutions for making the street less of a divider between Woodland and Green Lake parks,” including lowering the speed limit to 20 MPH, and adding crosswalks. Saying it welcomes neighborhood feedback, it is also looking at creating a full pedestrian and bike loop on the exterior of the lake, incorporating the eastern-most lane of Aurora Ave. N and connecting the new bike lanes along the North and East sides of the lake.

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Mayor Bans Cross-Country Training in Lower Woodland Park Due to Encampment

August 21, 2021 9:48am

Cross-country youth coaches citywide are getting their fall permit requests denied to train in Lower Woodland Park, a favorite training ground due to its varied terrain offering hills, trails, and fields. Today, as in parks throughout Seattle, those trails are being camped on and around, particularly in the upper area of the park, with large camps north of the 50th Street entrance and around the picnic shelters above the Off-Leash area.

A pre-pandemic cross-country meet in Lower Woodland, Oct. 2019
from themiter.org, Maya Quinanola

“They’re not issuing any permits for usage there,” Corey Batten, one of the head coaches for the Rain City Flyers, told KOMO news.

The Project Seattle team reached out to the parks department and mayor’s office, reports KOMO, and was told the permit denials were “due to concerns around the current conditions at Woodland Park, including reports from our grounds crews of encampments blocking some trails.”

Writing in the Seattle Times, Danny Westneat notes in a column today: “By Seattle parks standards, it’s a fairly routine scene, and on a recent day some parkgoers tossed Frisbees and walked dogs around the tents. But there are parts of the running course now where kids would be effectively racing through a homeless encampment, within feet of tents, piles of debris, and, in one spot, electrical extension cords crisscrossing the trail.

The Rain City Stampede, an October meet held in Lower Woodland Park for 30 years, will not run there this year.

According to KOMO, several thousands of young athletes are affected, including over a dozen schools as well as private running clubs.

Coaches are scrambling to find other venues for training and races, like Magnuson, Lincoln, and Genessee Parks, but they cannot accommodate as many runners, nor offer the same training challenges, KOMO reports.

The tension has been building for years between a growing need for helping and housing the un-housed, and the use of parks as safe, healthy natural refuges, but never more so than since the pandemic, which has seen an unprecedented expansion of tents and RVs across the city. As KIRO-TV reported in May, the tension goes both ways – incidents of crime, reports of violence, and backlash harassment against the homeless are all on the rise.

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s web page for Woodland Park still reads:

East of Aurora, just south of Green Lake Park, the park is an ideal spot for picnics with reservable picnic areas, barbecues, woods, pleasant grassy hills and pathways. It is also one of the city’s most active hubs for sports and recreation….

Let’s find a way to get back there together.

A picnic shelter transformed. Image, Erika Shultz for the Seattle Times

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Update: GreenLake Way Closure Permanent?

July 22, 2021 7:38pm
West Green Lake Way at the entrance to the Tennis Courts and the Off-Leash Dog Area in Woodland Park Credit: Erica Browne Grivas
West Green Lake Way at the entrance to the Woodland Park Tennis Courts and Off-Leash Area Credit: Erica Browne Grivas

Edited July 28th

Seattle Parks and Seattle Department of Transportation issued a joint email today stating that after considering input from the community, the Green Lake Way will once again become a two-way street, and a two-way bike lane will be added. The construction is expected to be done by early fall.

The full email is here:

Green Lake Keep Moving Street

July 28, 2021
You’re receiving this email because you’ve reached out to our team to share support or concerns about the Green Lake Keep Moving Street on W Green Lake Way N, or have expressed interest in nearby City projects. 
   
The Green Lake Keep Moving Street helped us get through a global pandemic by creating more space for people to walk, roll, and bike. It also provided an opportunity to reimagine how W Green Lake Way N could support human powered transportation and reknit a divide between Woodland and Green Lake parks.  Based on community feedback, Vision Zero safety goals, and desire to provide more travel options, we’re pleased to share that early design shows we have enough street width to accommodate both a 2-way walking and biking path and 2-way vehicle traffic at reduced speeds. We plan to make this change early this fall. Creating a more seamless connection between two major parks Beyond returning vehicle traffic lanes to W Green Lake Way N, we’d like to explore creative solutions for making the street less of a divider between Woodland and Green Lake parks. We have a rare opportunity to build on the Keep Moving Street and reimagine how W Green Lake Way N can serve multiple functions. 

We’ll seek community input on how to improve connections between the parks by keeping speeds calm and including possible solutions like more crosswalks, additional walking improvements, decreasing the speed limit to 20 MPH, and temporary changes in street operations to encourage community use and celebrations.    Schedule In February, we opened the street to one-way traffic and created a path for people to walk and bike on the northern half. This configuration caused confusion and some people drove on the path. So, prior to reopening W Green Lake Way N, we’ll finalize a design that includes 2-way vehicle lanes, reduces confusion, and ensures safety. Once the design is complete, we can grind out the current street markings, shift the posts, and install signs. 

We anticipate completing work early this fall. We’re aware of increasing calls from some neighbors to reopen the street to vehicle traffic as COVID restrictions are lifted and activities such as sports, boating events, and summer camps return to the parks and will look for opportunities to accelerate the schedule if possible. We’ll also work with Seattle Parks and Recreation on how we might increase access to parking lots. 


Studying a full outer Green Lake biking and walking loop  As we work on the final design for this near-term change, we’ll begin talking to neighbors about how we might expand a walking and biking path connecting around the lake, building off the recently completed Green Lake and Wallingford Multimodal Paving Project.

We’ve heard a lot from the community who are interested in creating a full outer loop for people to walk and bike around the lake, including repurposing the eastern-most lane of Aurora Ave N adjacent to the lake. We will be gathering feedback and sharing concepts with WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation), our partners in the corridor. Simultaneously, we’ll support Seattle Parks & Recreation in gathering feedback on reopening the inner loop of Green Lake Park to biking and other wheeled uses. 

To stay informed and engage with us, join our project email list (check the box for Green Lake Keep Moving Street) and share this information widely with your neighbors. 

Thank you, 
Keep Moving Streets team

Email: stayhealthystreets@seattle.gov 
Web: www.seattle.gov/stayhealthystreets 

Previous article:

Councilmember Dan Strauss has confirmed that a decision from Mayor Jenny Durkan is expected by the end of the month on the fate of West Green Lake Way linking N. 63rd Street to East Green Lake Way. Closed last April during the pandemic, it was recently opened in one direction from East Green Lake Way to the Woodland Park Off-Leash Area. There has been increased discussion on social media about a looming decision to permanently close the road, leading to at least one petition asking to reopen the roadway in both directions, citing environmental impact, increased traffic, and loss of business and services because of the block on this East/West road linking the Wallingford, Tangletown, and Ravenna neighborhoods to Phinney Ridge, Ballard, and Greenwood.

Speaking to Greenlaker today, Councilmember Strauss said “What they’ve [Seattle Department of Transportation] let me know is they are going to be briefing the mayor and making a final decision in the next two weeks.”

“I’ve heard from a lot of neighbors on the impact on their lives. I’ve heard that loud and clear. I’ve lived around Green Lake, so I know firsthand what that access means in terms of increased parking in the neighborhood and the need to avoid Stone Way and 50th Street. Unless you’ve sat at Stone Way and 50th for three light cycles, I don’t think you really understand,” Strauss said.

Councilmember Strauss has been advocating for the road to reopen and for the creation of a two-way bike lane on the lake side of West Green Lake Way to connect with the recently finished protected bike lanes around the lake. He felt that SDOT’s recommendations were in line with his, but noted that “the Mayor and I have a different view of what the future of the street should be.” Beyond stating the Mayor wants to “link” Woodland Park and Green Lake, he would not describe the Mayor’s position further.

Strauss says his proposed bike lane, which would help create a safe greenway for cyclists removed from the inner path of Green Lake, would only require restriping the traffic lines, since bollards are already in place.

SDOT’s Media and Public Affairs Lead Ethan Borgenson answered Greenlaker today via email, saying SDOT is aware of neighborhood concern, and that it is coordinating with Seattle Parks to create a “path forward” by the end of the month, at which point the community will be notified. The website has a listserv you can join for notifications on this page.

Saying the community “will be notified” is a change from a public email sent June 18, in which the same office wrote, “We will conduct community outreach before any permanent changes would be made.”

Last April, in response to the global pandemic, we implemented the Green Lake Keep Moving Street (KMS) to provide more space for people to walk, bike and roll at this popular destination park and keep 6-feet apart and provide a location for people to bike while the inner loop was closed to them. We are aware of the increasing calls from some neighbors to reopen the street to vehicle traffic as COVID restrictions are lifted and activities such as sports, boating events and camps return to the park. Other neighbors have organized for safety improvements along Aurora Ave N and are inspired by the Green Lake and Wallingford Paving and Multimodal project protected bike lane to provide a complete biking connection around the lake.

As Seattle fully reopens and travel patterns start to look more like they did pre-pandemic, options for improving safety, creating more space for walking and biking, and managing circulation needs for people driving and moving goods are all being evaluated for W Green Lake Way N. We’ve been coordinating the evaluation with Seattle Parks Department and considerations include:

·        Community input and values

·        Funding and staff availability

·        Equity and inclusivity

We have not yet made a decision about the long-term configuration for this street, and are still evaluating options to balance the needs of people who want to walk, roll, bike, and drive in this area. We expect to have a path forward identified toward the end of the month and will inform the community as quickly as possible.

-Ethan Borgensen, Media and Public Affairs Lead, SDOT in an email

In a recent email to the Green Lake Community Council, Councilmember Strauss suggested if you have constructive feedback on this issue, contact Mayor Durkan at 206-684-4000 and SDOT’s City Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang, City Traffic Engineer 206 684-5106 or email the following jenny.durkan@seattle.gov & dongho.chang@seattle.gov.

The Mayor’s office did not respond to Greenlaker’s phone call.

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Homegrown Garden Sale in Tangletown Saturday

May 20, 2021 7:16pm

Still planting your 2021 garden? We’ve got you.

This Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., find perennials for sun and shade, herbs, annual tomato, squash, and flower starts, potted dahlias, unusual shrubs, and climbing vines, and even some berry plants at this home sale. There’s a wide variety of choice plants, in limited quantities.

Details:

2324 N. 56th Street between 1st Ave. N and Kensington Pl. 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Cash and Venmo accepted.

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Outdoor Art in Bloom Tour This Weekend

April 20, 2021 4:45pm

The Annual Seattle Art in Bloom tour, usually a studio tour, is moving outside this year to yards and open garages to permit social distancing. Get inspired by the work of more than 25 local artists in eight yards from Ballard to Northgate on a self-guided walking or driving tour this weekend, April 23-25, from 10am -5pm.

Mosaic by Majken Ryherd

The plant-based theme of the show is on works drawn from nature or that can be displayed outdoors, in glass, metal, ceramic, stone, and more. Enjoy a range of garden art, mosaics, stained glass, gifts, and home decor – just in time for both Mother’s and Father’s Days.

In Tangletown/Meridian, Bridget Culligan will display her glasswork along with mosaic artist Maijken Ryherd and ceramic artist Caitlin Sullivan. In Phinney, at Seymour Stained Glass Studios (still outdoors), view the art of glass artists Karen Seymour, Andi Ficker, and Lael Bennett, along with the upcycled wonders of Greg Delaney.

Thanks to http://artinbloomseattle.weebly.com/ for the photos.

Stained glass by Bridget Culligan
Wooden vase by Norm Vigas Norm Vigas Woodworking
Upcycled Whimsy, Greg Delaney

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Flower Shop Pops-Up in Tangletown

April 3, 2021 5:23pm

We were clued in to this fun pop-up when people were passing by with bouquets this morning. That’s not unusual – if they were coming from the UDistrict Farmer’s Market, but they were ambling from the opposite direction, with pastries. A short jaunt with the dog cleared this up.

Just outside Mighty-O Donuts on N. 55th Street at the corner of Keystone Pl., a flower stall had popped up, offering daffodils and mixed bouquets in the range of $10-20. Turns out Lia’s Garden in Snohomish has come here a few times since February. They’d like to make it a regular Saturday event, but they say for sure they plan to come back for Mother’s Day Weekend.

Lia’s is part of the Hmong Flower Farmers of Washington, a group of growers and artists formerly based in Pike Place Market. If you missed them today, you can also find them Sundays at the Ballard Market, or order online. You can also reach them on Instagram.

Lia's Gardens of Snohomish visiting Tangletown Photo: Erica Browne Grivas
Bouquets from Lia’s Garden in Snohomish featuring tulips, narcissus, and pussy willows.
Photo: Erica Browne Grivas
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Closing the Loop: Protecting the Green Lake Outer Path

March 24, 2021 5:08pm
Neighborhood volunteers seek to create a protected route surrounding Green Lake Park for safer biking and jogging. From Green Lake & Wallingford Safe Streets https://www.glwstreets.org/

In the Before Times, when bikes were allowed along Green Lake’s inner path, it was a challenge for various-speed bikers, joggers, walkers, dogs, and strollers to share the space. Today, with bicycles banned inside the park to enable distanced walking, bikers are forced to use the outer loop, which is shared with busy traffic in several spaces – creating dangerous conditions.

In September of 2019, a University of Washington student was struck and severely injured when a car jumped the curb near Aurora Avenue and 67th St.

Green Lake & Wallingford Safe Streets, a volunteer organization, says its plan to create a protected loop around the park would prevent accidents like this. It proposes a jersey barrier, as shown in the above illustration, along Aurora Ave. which would connect with the in-progress SDOT plans for a two-way bike lane on the North and East sides of the park.

An email from organization leader Brock Howell says:

“With a protected path on Aurora, there can be a complete loop around the Green Lake Park that is safe for kids and others to safely and comfortably get around the park.  It’d effectively be a 10- to 13-foot widening of the City’s best* park on all sides.”

Brock Howell

In a footnote, Howell says that “best park” bit is his personal opinion.

The group is asking supporters to sign a petition to ask city officials to support the project financially. Want to learn more? GW Safe Streets is holding an online meeting April 2: Tuesday, April 6, 7-8 p.m. Register here to get your zoom link.

What do you think? Would you welcome a dedicated biking and jogging lane around the park?

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Home Gardeners Grow Tiny Trees for Wild Spaces

March 6, 2021 6:52pm

Jim Wright, a former environmental engineer and biologist, understands the struggle to preserve habitat for salmon and other struggling species in the Seattle area. Realizing how work-intensive it is for habitat restoration organizations to identify and restore small plots of damaged salmon habitat, inspiration struck in his Greenwood garden. (You may have enjoyed his annual spring plant swaps over the years.) He thought: what if we can grow and donate ready-to-grow young trees to habitat restoration sites?

Jim Wright taking a batch of seedlings to their new forest home. Photo via Jim Wright

Wright started “Grow It Forward” in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, funding the supplies and plants himself – with 23 volunteer home gardeners around Seattle – each growing a mini-forest of 100 saplings to donate to restoration projects. Wright calls these “Micro-Nurseries” and hopes to expand the project by 50 growers this year. 300 of the first 2300 seedlings were especially robust Douglas Firs, and were donated last fall to the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group site at Sedro Wooley’s Riverfront Park.

GROW IT FORWARD | Restoring Forest Habitat with Micro-Nurseries
A “Micro-Nursery” of Western Hemlock seedlings freshly potted up Photo: Jim Wright

Grow It Forward aims to assist the restoration process while saving habitat restoration organizations time and money, by producing some of the expensive tree seedlings they must buy for their sites. This lets the organizations focus on identifying and accessing habitat locations and removing invasive plant species to prepare the site for restoration. Wright hopes to obtain grant funding to expand and offer seedlings to more organizations.

Wright says volunteers need basic gardening skills and about 16 square feet of garden space – that’s a 4 x 4 plot or raised bed. Initial planting takes about five hours followed by consistent watering over the next one to two years. He says seedlings like the occasional bedtime story, too.

Ready to become a mini-forest ranger for a year or two? Applications are open now for this year’s growers to start planting on April 4; the cost covering plants, soil, and pots is $95. Get started at the crowdfunding page or ask any questions via the contact page on the Grow It Forward website.

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West Green Lake Way to Sort of Reopen

February 23, 2021 8:26pm

Seattle Department of Transportation says as soon as this week the Northbound lane of W Green Lake Way – a “Keep Moving Street” since last April – will reopen, but NOT the Southbound lane.

This will open access to the tennis courts (and their parking) across from the Pitch and Putt, and the dog park, but will not allow drivers to go through the park to Aurora near 63rd St., Phinney Ridge, and parts west.

Commenters on Next Door South Green Lake were divided, it seems by whether their goal is to walk around the lake and enjoy its activities, or to use that busy byway to get to Ballard.

S. Kopf of Phinney Ridge, wrote: “How disappointing they are reopening this street to cars. A real loss.”

While C. Michael, of E. Phinney, said, “They [SDOT] really didn’t think about how many people from all over the county and frankly further than just the neighborhood use this space for recreation. Which means drivers.”

Still others expressed frustration that the northern section of Green Lake Way is currently filled with campers and RVs.

SDOT anticipates keeping that northern section closed, in part to enable access for cyclists who are currently not allowed on the inner lake path.

We anticipate keeping this Keep Moving Street open longer than others, because Green Lake is a popular destination even during the fall and winter along with the challenge of reaching vaccine levels of 70 to 85% by spring. With bikes currently restricted on the inner loop inside the park, this setup helps people walk, bike, and roll into the colder seasons and spring at a safe distance.

Seattle Bike Blog hopes it does become permanent, with additions to make it even safer to bike up to Aurora.

What do you think?

The current closure of West Green Lake Way
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Free COVID-19 Testing Opens in Woodland Park

January 28, 2021 11:37am

By Erica Browne Grivas

Free COVID-19 testing is now available at the baseball playfields in Lower Woodland Park at 5201 Greenlake Way N. The initiative is part of three new testing kiosk sites announced by Mayor Jenny Durkan in late December, including at Seattle Center and in South Seattle, to help stem the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

Time slots for the self-administered oral swab tests must be reserved and results are expected within 48 hours. The site is open from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm and bookable online through Curative.com or the city’s testing site up to three days in advance. At the time of writing, there are 441 slots open three days from now.

Curative.com asks two questions in the booking process but was ready to let me book a test even though I indicated I had no symptoms and did not work or live in a high-risk situation.

The city’s web site explains the procedure:

The new kiosks allow clients to use an observed and directed self-collected oral fluid swab COVID-19 test. A Curative staff member will be available at each location to walk clients through the quick and painless process. Results will be delivered electronically within 48 hours. As with other City-sponsored no-cost testing sites, individuals must pre-register online….Clients will not be charged and will not receive a bill, regardless of insurance status. For uninsured clients, Curative will seek reimbursement from state and federal resources including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Relief Fund for the cost of the test. 

To learn about your place in the vaccine roll-out, read about the current phases here. 

See the latest on phase restrictions on gatherings and business openings here.

New COVID-19 testing kiosk open in Woodland Park ballfields. Free; by appointment only. Photo: Erica Browne Grivas
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