Join the cool kids for a planting party Oct 10

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Dawn

Cari Simson and her team from EarthCorps, plus neighbors Rich and Mary have been busy these past weeks since the Sept 21 groundbreaking for the East Ballard Roadside Rain Gardens. The soil has been dug up and the trenches are made. All that’s left is the fun part….planting!

What: Join us for a planting party!
When: Saturday October 10, 10AM-2PM
Where: East Ballard roadside rain gardens (1101 NW 57th St)

We will be planting shrubs, grasses, and some trees, as well as mulching to help finish up the East Ballard Greenstreet project. Lend a hand and learn about this exciting neighborhood project. No experience necessary! Snacks, tools and instructions provided.

Check out pics from the groundbreaking ceremony a few weeks ago and of the work that’s been going on since then. King 5 was there for the groundbreaking and did a great piece on this project. Click here to watch.

Got questions? Contact Cari Simpson or check out the Facebook event page. We’re looking forward to spending the morning getting our hands dirty and making history with the very first road side rain garden in East Ballard!

This project is made possible through a grant from the Russell Family Foundation to Antioch University Seattle, with additional support from the Surfrider Foundation and East Ballard Community Association

East Ballard Oktoberfest Sept 26

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Dawn

We guess East Ballard has finally made it on the map when it gets its very own Oktoberfest!

Reubens Brews, Stoup Brewing and Populuxe Brewing Announce First Annual East Ballard Oktoberfest sponsored by Verity Credit Union

On Saturday, September 26th Reuben’s Brews, Stoup Brewing and Populuxe Brewing are bringing a little bit of Bavaria to the East Ballard corridor. The three breweries are hosting a neighborhood Oktoberfest crawl!

The event will kick-off in high, auditory fashion with a traveling Oompah band, The Oompah Machine will be playing at Reuben’s at 2 p.m. They will then will march revelers to Stoup Brewing at 3 p.m. and onwards to Populuxe at 4 p.m.

Since it wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without the beer, each brewery will be releasing a signature Oktoberfest brew, available in individual commemorative steins. Limited quantities of each stein will be available at their taproom locations, $6 empty or $10 filled.

Not to worry, they know that good, ole fashioned revelry requires proper fuel. A food truck will be posted at each location: At Reuben’s, Burgurphenia will be grilling a beer brat made with their Marzen, Das Brat Wagen will be vending signature German fare at Stoup and Peasant Food Manifesto will feature a currywust sausage on a pretzel bun, in the yard at Populuxe.

And since pretzels are second to beer at Oktoberfest, event sponsor Verity Bank will provide pretzel bites at each stop.

“The inaugural East Ballard Oktoberfest will undoubtedly be the beginning of an exciting new Ballard tradition that celebrates one of our most valuable locally-produced resources: beer!” said Ballard Chamber Executive Director Mike Stewart. So break out the lederhosen and get ready to nourish your beer loving soul. You won’t want to miss this Oktoberfest celebration.

Reuben’s Brews, Stoup Brewing and Populuxe Brewing are craft breweries and taprooms in the East Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

Reuben’s Brews is located at 5010 14th Avenue NW – Seattle, WA 98107. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 3-9pm, Friday-Sunday 12-9pm. For more information, visitwww.reubensbrews.com, or call (206) 784-2859.

Stoup Brewing is located at 1108 NW 52nd Street – Seattle, WA 98107 and is open 3-9pm Tuesday through Thursday, 3pm–10pm on Friday; 12-10pm on Saturday and Sunday from 12pm-9pm. Happy Hour is Tuesday through Friday from 3pm-5pm. For more information, visit www.stoupbrewing.com, or call 206.457.5524.

Populuxe Brewing is located at 826B NW 49th Street – Seattle, WA 98107. Hours are Thursday 4:30pm-9pm, Friday 4:30pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm and Sunday 1pm-8pm. For more information, visit www.populuxebrewing.com, or call (206) 706-3400.

Wouldn’t a customized crosswalk be fun to have in East Ballard?

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Dawn

Interested in applying for a Dept of Neighborhoods grant to give an existing crosswalk in East Ballard a makeover? Read below and contact the EBCA so we can help you get started!

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) jointly announced the Community Crosswalks program, a new way for residents to secure neighborhood oriented crosswalks.

“This is about celebrating and enhancing community identities,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “The iconic rainbow crosswalks on Capitol Hill started a broader conversation on how we can incorporate neighborhood character in the built environment across Seattle. I’m excited to see more history, culture, and community on display for residents and visitors to enjoy.”

Spurred by the popularity of Capitol Hill’s rainbow crosswalks, which were installed in June, residents can now use the existing Neighborhood Matching Fund to request such crosswalks. This will allow unique crosswalks to be approved and installed through an established process, ensuring that they are safe, reflective of community values and can be maintained.

“Community oriented crosswalks are great ways to represent a neighborhood,” said Kathy Nyland, director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. “This new crosswalk program will allow interested community members to showcase their neighborhood’s unique culture and history or just liven up an intersection with a colorful design.”

To be eligible for an installation by SDOT, applicants will need to adhere to City guidelines for crosswalk locations and designs. Crosswalks must be sited where vehicles already stop for a traffic signal or stop sign, the design should consist only of horizontal or vertical bars, and the pavement underneath must be in good condition.

“We are pleased that other Seattle neighborhoods are being inspired by Capitol Hill’s rainbow crosswalks,” said SDOT Director Scott Kubly. “Through this joint SDOT/DON effort, we can transform other crossing points into tangible signs of community pride.”

Crosswalks typically cost about $25 per square foot, depending on the complexity of the design and installation, and can be expected to last approximately 3-5 years based on the amount of vehicular traffic at the location. More information about the program can be found here: http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/community-crosswalks. Crosswalks installed or modified outside of this process will be reviewed by SDOT and removed/repainted if determined to be unsafe.

The Neighborhood Matching Fund provides matching dollars for neighborhood improvement, organizing, or projects that are developed and implemented by community members. More information about the longstanding program can be found here: http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/neighborhood-matching-fund.

East Ballard Greenstreets Groundbreaking

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Dawn

Cari Simson and crew have done the official calculations, and according to the City of Seattle, The East Ballard Greenstreet swales and 9 newly planted trees will absorb and filter nearly 50,000 gallons of roadway runoff each year. This is equivalent to 1,000 bathtubs of polluted runoff captured each year.
This is no small feat for a grant-funded and community-led project developed through a $65,000 grant from The Russell Family Foundation. Once completed, the project will naturally filter runoff that currently flows unfiltered to Salmon Bay in Ballard.

Come join us at the Groundbreaking event on Monday Sept 21 from 9-10am on 11th Ave NW between NW 57th and NW 58th Streets to celebrate and learn more about green streets!

Come out to play and Do the ‘hood a solid on Saturday Sept 19

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Dawn

From 11am to 3pm, on Saturday September 19, 14th Ave NW between NW 58th St and NW 59th will be closing to vehicle traffic and open to a party in the street celebrating Ballard Summer Parkways.

Enter the Land of East Ballard, visit the 6 stations on “How to Grow a Park”.
Leave knowing how to git ‘er done in any ‘hood.

Share the idea – Become a part of park history by sharing your answer to “What’s the best thing about parks?” Decorate your answer to be displayed on the Idea Wall. Got a name suggestion for the new park? Share it here as well!
Team up – Browse the creative wonders of Blowing Sands Glass Studio, get to know uber-local artists, and acknowledge our community partners.
Be Tenacious – View the latest drawings for the 14th Ave NW Park, chat with our landscape architect from Mithun, and learn about the history of this 10-year-in-the-making park from neighbor, architect, and idea catalyst, Peter Locke.
Host events – Make a memory photo with friends and family faces poking through the Head-in-Hole Adopt-A-Street event scene.
Embrace change – We didn’t get what we asked for, but we want what we got.
Celebrate – Sit and chat over complimentary lemonade or coffee in the Celebrate Cafe’.

Heaps of time and resources have been donated already by skilled neighbors and generous businesses. To pull this off successfully on Saturday, we need your help.

Start accumulating points in the Solids Bank today. Pick a specific task at a specific time from the list below. Contact Shannon at shannon.meredith.dunn@gmail.com to make it official then head out to play in the land of East Ballard.

Day	Time	Task
Anytime!	Anytime!	Groom east & west bioswales and Median at 14th Ave NW and NW 58th
Thurs or Fri	bet 7am & 5pm	Pick up 12 delineator posts from National Barricade at 6518 Ravenna Ave, NE.
Fri	after 4pm	Sweep area around median and crosswalk at 14th Ave NW and NW 58th
Sat	8-9am	Pick up 24 helium balloons from Fred Meyer and deliver to 14th Ave NW and NW 58th
Sat	8-9am	Position 12’x6′ chain link fences for station displays
Sat	9-10am	Set up Celebrate Cafe’ – layout astroturf, set up cafe’ tables & chairs and position garbage/recycling/yard waste containers
Sat	9-10am	Balloon installation – distribute and attach per layout
Sat	9-10am	Sign placement – 6 station signs, Land of East Ballard entrance sign, signs for median memorial plaque and sculpture
Sat	3-4pm	Gather all mounted display materials from each station to central location
Sat	3-4pm	Gather all in-ground signs to central location
Sat	3-4pm	Secure all Alexander Rental equipment to central location: 6 cafe’ tables, 24 chairs, 2 bike racks, 2 pedestal tables
Sat	3-4pm	Gather all equipment borrowed from Kelly and Geoff: 2 folding tables, 10 folding chairs, 2 dog bowls
Sat	3-4pm	Gather 12 National Barricade delineator posts and return to 6518 Ravenna Ave NE
Sat	3-4pm	Take down canopies and gather in central location
Sat	3:30-4pm	Collect and secure fence panels when all mounted material has been removed
Sat	3:30-4pm	Tidy site and dispose of garbage/recycling/yard waste

One person’s trash is not another person’s treasure especially when it’s dumped in the street

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Dawn

There has been an epidemic this past month in East Ballard with furniture and trash piling up in the medians along 14th Ave NW. On a recent walk from NW 65th to Market St, almost every block had something dumped in the median or on the sidewalk at the intersection. Even if the original owner believes that perhaps someone would find their beat up couch or lumpy mattress valuable and take it into their own home, the truth of the matter is that your unwanted items end up just sitting there for days or weeks attracting more people to dump their own stuff into the pile and contributing to a neighborhood trash pile until the City comes by and hauls it away.

Is this the community we want to be? Whether you’re a resident (owner or renter), business owner or just passing through, you are part of this community and only you can either continue to contribute to this problem or help resolve it.

Thank-you Fred and Michelle at the Seattle Conservation Corps!

Heroes to the rescue
Thanks to EBCA’s awesome relationship with the Seattle Conservation Corps, who have been watering the planters and weeding the medians on 14th these past years, their work crew this week took it upon themselves to gather up most of the furniture and haul it off in their own truck and take it to the dump. They gathered up what they couldn’t take into a pile at the corner of NW 60th and 14th for another truck to pick up later. Kudos to Michelle and Fred at Seattle Conservation Corps for taking the initiative and being part of the solution!

Now here’s how you can be part of the solution too!

What to do with your unwanted furniture
There are resources available to help you find a new home for your furniture. None are probably as easy as dumping it in the street, but you’ve already decided you’re not going to do that, right?!

If your furniture is in good, usable condition, you may be able to sell, exchange or donate it:

Buy Nothing Ballard – Facebook Group page for giving away unwanted items – This is a closed group, so you must request to join
Freecycle-Seattle – A Yahoo! group for giving and receiving free items. This is a closed group, so you must request to join.
Craigslist-Seattle – a good ole standby for buying, selling and giving away your stuff.
Goodwill (or any other donation drop off spot) – If your items are in good condition, this is an excellent option if you have the means to transport
Salvation Army – This charity will pick up certain furniture items for free (couches under 8ft long, e.g).
Northwest Center – This charity will pick up certain furniture items for free (no mattresses or sleeper sofas though)
GetWagon.com – This courier service will pickup items and drive them to places like the Goodwill for you for $15 per 15 minutes. It looks like they’re quick to respond and since the Goodwill is so close, this could be a great option.

If your items aren’t in good shape and need to be thrown out, here are a couple of options:

City of Seattle Bulky item pickup – For about $30 per item, you can schedule a bulky item pickup by the City.
Seattle Transfer Station – If your items are not in good shape to resell, then sending them to the dump may be an option. Unfortunately, the North transfer station is closed right now and you’ll have to go to the Shoreline or South Seattle station. The cost is $30 per vehicle.

How to report illegal dumping
Of-course, there will be folks who will not have read this post and will dump their items into the streets and medians. Regardless of whether these actions are good-intentioned or just lazy, the fact is that illegal dumping will happen. It’s your responsibility as an engaged member of the community to report this to the City as soon as you see it.

Here’s how:

Find it Fix it App – Install this nifty app on your phone, take a picture and report it to the City
Report online – Fill out the City’s online report to report illegal dumping
Give the City a call at (206) 684-7587

There are many more options that we missed and we’d love for you to share your ideas on our Facebook page.

Join neighbors Aug 22 to walk the proposed 6th Ave NW Greenway

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Dawn

West Woodland Neighbors & Seattle Neighborhood Greenways are co-hosting a walk along the proposed 6th Ave NW Greenway on Saturday Aug 22 meeting 9:30am at 6th Ave Pocket Park (NW 76th & 6th NW) *or* 10am at Cafe Bambino (NW 65th & 6th NW)

The purpose of this walk is to build enthusiasm and support for safety improvements along 6th Ave NW. Safety improvements serve everyone, but particularly children walking to the several schools and preschools located along this corridor and elderly people who have chosen to age gracefully in place in this neighborhood.

The three most difficult areas to address financially and from an engineering perspective are the street crossings at NW 65th, NW Market, and NW 43rd crossing at Leary Ave NW.

The walk will start at NW 76th and 6th NW and travel the Ballard Summer Parkways route that will go along 6th NW between NW 76th and 58th.

For those who prefer to start further south the group will meet up with people at NW 65th (Cafe’ Bambino) at 10am and will continue walking and talking down 6th Ave NW, pausing for a while to discuss crossing improvements possible on NW Market and on NW Leary. This 1.5 mile walk is downhill.

In order to build safe streets, people who live on the street need to advocate strongly for improvements.

Making 6th Ave NW safe for all ages & abilities is Seattle Neighborhood Greenways District 6 priority for 2015

Remember to vote by August 4!

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Dawn

Your ballot for this year’s August 4 primary election should have arrived and if you haven’t already filled it out and dropped it off at the Ballard Library drop box, then you better tear open that envelope, review your voter’s pamphlet, grab your pen and get going, cause time is running out!

Washington state had a disappointing 31% voter turnout in last year’s primary election, which is actually higher than the national average, but is that really something to be proud of? We can do better! Primary elections aren’t exciting, because you’re not directly voting anyone into office, you’re just helping decide who the top two candidates will be on the ballot for the November election. But, do you really want such a small number of voters making those decisions for you? We didn’t think so!

We’re not going to tell you who to vote for, but here’s some information about this primary election, in particular, the District 6 City Council election, that may help you better understand the significance of your vote in this election.

This year, voting for Seattle City Council positions will be by district, a result of a measure Seattle voters passed in 2013. In this primary and the general election in November, voters will elect seven out of nine councilmembers by district. The remaining two positions (8 and 9) will be elected “at large” (citywide).

If you live in East Ballard, then you’ll be voting for a councilmember to represent you in District 6, which covers Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, Ballard and Fremont. That’s a lot of neighborhoods with very different interests and needs! There are 4 candidates running to represent you in District 6 (3 of them live in Ballard). The top 2 vote-getters will appear on your November ballot:

City of Seattle Council Position No 6 Primary Candidates
Stan Shaufler (no campaign website)
Mike O’Brien
Jon Lisbin
Catherine Weatbrook

If you want to learn more about these candidates than what’s provided in the voter’s pamphlet or on their campaign websites, check out the Seattle Channel’s Video Voter’s guide for District 6 where you can view statements from the candidates. If you want to learn more (which you should), view the candidate forum that took place at the Phinney Neighboorhood Center on June 6. The forum will give you a really good idea on the issues that are important to your candidates and should help you decide who’s going to best represent what’s important to you when their in office.

Although this article focuses on the District 6 City Council primary elections, you will also be voting for the District 8 and 9 at-large positions, Director of Elections, and Commissioner Positions 2 and 5. Check out the Seattle Channel’s online voter guide for more information about these candidates where you can view individual statements and watch recorded forums for the at-large City Council and Port of Seattle races.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make difference. Vote today (or at least by August 4!)

Support Groundswell NW at Reuben’s Brews this Thursday

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Dawn

Groundswell NW has been the fiscal sponsor and mentor for the East Ballard Community Association since our inception. By joining us at Reuben’s Brews at 5010 14th Ave NW between 3PM and 9PM this Thursday and raising a pint (or 2) in support of Groundswell NW, you’ll not only be supporting the East Ballard neighborhood, but also supporting the great Parks and open spaces in NW Seattle!

Bring the kiddies along as well. There’s usually a food truck right in front or order a pizza from Zeek’s from the taproom and you’ll get 15% off your order.

We’ll see you there!

East Ballard’s on the map for Ballard Summer Parkways

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Dawn

Mark your calendar for Sept 19 from 11am-3pm for a day full of fun and exploration of Ballard’s parks (present and future), greenways and even a festival!

Imagine… 7 miles of open streets and a beautiful Saturday afternoon to walk, run, play with the kids, ride bikes, and do whatever you want! Sound amazing? Well, on September 19 that’s exactly what you get. Explore streets being considered for bike and people-friendly transportation upgrades. Come walk and ride the loop and share your ideas for the future of Ballard.

From what we’ve learned, there are going to be a ton of activities across the different parks on the map, including chalk artists, buskers, puppets, clowns, plant giveaways, music stages, skating, food trucks, a climbing wall, petting zoo, ice cream, yoga classes, and so much more! Not to mention the big Sustainable Ballard Festival at Ballard Commons Park!

There will be a stop along the future 14th Ave NW Park. The EBCA will start planning activities for this site this week and would love to get your best ideas for what we can do for this event. Our first planning meeting will be this Wednesday July 22 at 7pm. If you’d like to join in, please contact Dawn at eastballard@gmail.com

UPDATE!
The volunteer portal is live via the Cascade Bicycle Club website’s Summer Parkways page.
Volunteers will receive delicious snacks, water and a cool Summer Parkways t-shirt! The City is also offering stipends to groups, teams, clubs, bands or other aggregates of people that would like to volunteer en masse. Know a team that needs some funds to support their cause? Please have them contact summer.parkways@cascade.org to arrange to volunteer as a group.