We are getting very close to seeing this park that was conceived on a back of a napkin back in 2004 actually get built! We recently heard some good news from our Parks Project Manager, Toby Ressler, that Parks intends to sign a contract with Jansen, Inc to construct the Gemenskap Park! If all goes well, work could begin before the end of this year. We’re still trying to nail down the exact date with the Parks Department. We’ll continue to keep you posted..

If you’re new to the neighborhood and are curious about the details of the park, here are some highlights…

If you’re not an engineering geek and your eyes just glaze over at the site of all those lines in the engineering drawings, then no worries, we sat down with our designers at Mithun and compiled the following overview to help you out:

What’s the park going to look like?
Gemenskap Park (formerly 14th Ave NW Park) will be a 2 block linear park that runs along the east side of 14th Ave NW from NW 59th St to NW 61st St. The current sidewalks on the east side (for these 2 blocks) will be replaced with brand new 12′ wide concrete sidewalks that will be wide enough for walking and wheeled activities. The park will include rain gardens that will not only filter stormwater before entering Salmon Bay, but will also provide a buffer between park users and vehicle traffic. Vehicle traffic will run side by side on the west side (no longer separated by a median) between NW 59th and NW 61st.

How are cars going to be diverted at NW 59th and NW 61st traveling north?
Speed limit on 14th Ave NW between Market and NW 65th will drop down to 20 mph (today, it’s 30 mph). This significant drop in speed will allow for vehicle transition to be done at stop signs. There will be a 4-way stop at NW 59th, NW 60th and another at NW 61st. If you are traveling north, you will stop at NW 59th, transition diagonally to the west alongside south bound vehicles, stop at NW 60th and then stop again at NW 61st where you’ll transition back to the east side with vehicles separated by a median again. If you’re traveling south, you’ll stay in the same lane along 14th and will stop at NW 61st, NW 60th and NW 59th.

What about lighting?
Pedestrian scale lighting will be provided along the 2 block park that should provide adequate lighting of the walkway without affecting neighboring homes. The existing street-scale lighting will remain as well. It’s not clear what’s going to happen with the light between NW 59th and 60th that’s strung in the middle of the median. We’re pretty sure that’ll get replaced with pedestrian-scale lighting.

What’s going on at the NW 60th intersection?
The intersection at NW 60th will have a 4-way stop and will be raised to sidewalk level so that people driving across the intersection will encounter a bump up when approaching and a bump down when leaving. People walking or biking along the park’s sidewalk through the intersection (north/south) will not experience an elevation change. There will also be bollards on the north and south sections of the intersection on the park side to provide a buffer from vehicles.

What about the trees?
Some existing trees will be removed and replaced with a mixture of larger and smaller trees where it makes sense. The significantly large tree near NW 59th on the east side will remain in place and accommodations will be made for its root system in the new sidewalk design.

Will there be play structures?
Not at this stage of the project. There will be a few grassy mounds to play/roll around on, plus the rain gardens will be accessible for learning and play. There will be grass space for lawn games as well. Once the park is complete and the community has played in it for a while AND there’s a strong interest for structured play equipment, this could be added at a later time.

What about an offleash dog park?
Sorry, no offleashing in this park. It’s really not big enough. You and your leashed dog will be more than welcome to enjoy the park!

Additional information about this park project and how to get in touch with our Parks Project manager can be found on the Parks Department website. You’re also welcome to contact us at the EBCA and we’ll do our best to get you the info you’re looking for.

Taste great beer and support NW Seattle parks! Join Groundswell NW (EBCA’s fiscal sponsor and mentor) at Reuben’s Brews in Ballard for a fundraising event. For each pint purchased, $1 will be donated to Groundswell NW to benefit parks in NW Seattle. Visit with Groundswell NW Board members Thursday July 27 4pm-8pm to talk about open space issues, neighborhood parks, and learn how you can change your gardening practices to encourage nature into your garden.

Invite your friends, bring the kids, dogs and all. Come enjoy beer and summer in Ballard!

What: Thank-you Thursday for Groundswell NW
When: July 27 11AM-10PM (Groundswell NW board members will be on hand 4PM-8PM)
Where: Reuben’s Brews 5010 14th Ave NW

Theater For Young Children, sponsored by an Arts in the Parks Grant from Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture and Seattle Parks and Recreation, will be bringing their summer show to Ballard Commons and Salmon Bay Parks this July. 

Ballard Commons on Friday, July 14^th at 6 PM and Saturday, July 15^th at noon.
Salmon Bay Park on Friday July 21^st at 6 PM and Saturday, July 22^nd at  noon.

Families are encouraged to bring blankets, a picnic lunch/dinner, and sit and enjoy 45 min. of theater in the park.  All shows are FREE, with a suggested $5/person donation.

This summer’s show is Tales from the African Continent and features stories, games, and songs gathered from many countries and cultures.  They will be performing the Tanzanian Folk Tale: Two Ways to Count to Ten and from West Africa: Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears. Their interactive storytelling allows children of all ages to participate by singing along to songs by famous Smithsonian Folkways artist, Ella Jenkins and join them on stage to play the Liberian children’s game Who is in the Garden.

Theater for Young Children is an outreach division of Sweet Pea Cottage Enterprises and part of the North Seattle Arts Initiative. For more information about our programming or initiatives please visit sweetpeacottage.org or contact Cara Anderson-Ahrens at cara@sweetpeacottage.org

Fun for the whole family!

We got a lot accomplished last Saturday, May 20 for Adopt-A-Street Cleanup & Rain Garden Restoration along 14th Ave NW. The sun was out; 35 volunteers worked between NW 65th all the way to Shilshole Ave. A big thank you to our awesome neighbors for collecting 25 bags of trash, 25 bags of yard waste, 1 tiny figurine and 1 old weedwhacker! Neighbors also pitched in to help dig out the rain gardens, including the 6 ft yucca in front of Blowing Sands Glass. Because of the huge scale of the rain garden project, we ran out of time to prune the shrubs in the planters. We will get to that in a few weeks; email us at eastballard@gmail.com if you want to help. What a great job of making our neighborhood look beautiful!

We would like to extend our gratitude:

Thanks to Cari of Urban Systems Design and Roseann of Aster Rosa Ecology & Design for their amazing leadership of & commitment to getting things done with the Rain Garden restoration. Thank you to all the rockstars of Dirtcorps who came out & tackled a much bigger job than expected.

The Dirtcorps Rockstars

Thank you to David & Cynthia of Blowing Sands Glass for letting us camp out in front, use there space, & for helping us out.

We would like to give a thank you to Seattle Dept of Neighborhoods for the $3500 grant to make all this a reality. And for Groundswell NW, we are grateful that they were our fiscal sponsor.

A big thank you to our steering committee: Sue, Mary, Chris, Peter, Linda, Rachel & Dawn for organizing & setting this shindig up.

Finished East Rain Garden

& West Rain Garden

Check out the pics in our Flickr album to see all the fun we had! Be sure to click on the individual photos to read the captions. Thank-you neighbors and we’re looking forward to seeing you again in the fall for our next Adopt A Street Clean up event!

The EBCA invites you to our bi-annual Adopt-A-Street Cleanup along 14th Ave NW and Rain Garden Restoration event on Saturday May 20. We will also be celebrating the 1 year anniversary of East Ballard GreenStreet.

What: Adopt-A-Street Cleanup & Rain Garden Restoration Event
Where: NE corner of 14th Ave NW and NW 58th
When: Saturday May 20, 10AM-1:30PM

What: East Ballard Greenstreet celebration
Where: SW corner of 11th Ave NW and NW 58th
When: Saturday May 20, 1:30PM

Come join us, rain or shine, and bring your favorite gardening tools. We’ll provide gloves and vests. This will be a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, learn how rain gardens contribute to environmental health, and help cleanup 14th Ave NW from Ballard High School down to Salmon Bay.

Thanks to the Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods matching grant program, the EBCA is bringing in the talents of Cari Simson from Urban Systems Design and DirtCorps, who we partnered with on the East Ballard Greenstreet. Cari will be leading a team of volunteers, including you, in restoring the rain gardens at 14th and 58th.

Coffee and treats will be on hand to keep you well-fueled!

We’re pleased to announce that Gemenskap Park just went out for construction bid last week. Bid opening will begin May 17 with plans to start construction this summer. This is a huge milestone for this park which was first conceived by the community over 12 years ago! We’ll continue to keep you posted as we learn more. Check out the final engineering drawings here.

Gemenskap, pronounced Yuh-MEN-skawp, means community in Swedish and truly reflects the perseverance of the East Ballard Community these many years to stick with our dreams, push Seattle Parks and SDOT to work outside of their comfort zone, and demonstrate that with patience and tenacity, our dream of creating a safe, beautiful, and innovative linear park along a former trolley line can come true!

Ballard Corners Park is having a work party Saturday, April 8 from 9AM-2PM, rain or shine. There will be fun work to do for all ages and abilities to keep this gem of a park beautiful and an admiration of the community!

You’ll be spreading wood chips and getting the park ready for spring. Some tools and refreshments will be provided. If you have your own gloves and tools please bring them.  Any questions, please contact Gabriella: gabriella@seanet.com or (206) 782-3238. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

What: Ballard Corners Park Work Party
When: Saturday April 8, 9AM-2PM
Where: 1702 NW 62nd St

Groundswell NW has a long and rich history with Ballard Corners Park and continues to support the activities of the Friends of Ballard Corners Park through fiscal sponsorship and mentorship. Click here to learn more about this park and how you can get involved.

We recently received an update from Seattle Parks that they are still on schedule to begin work on Gemenskap Park this Spring. Final corrections to the bid documents are in process. When complete, these documents will be sent to City Contracting. It then typically takes 2-4 weeks for review before they can advertise the bid. They are planning for a 4-week advertisement period with plans to hire a contractor and start construction in April. The time between bid opening and actual contracting will fluctuate based on contractor response time and the time it takes for them to prepare bonding and insurance requirements. We’ll continue to provide updates as we learn more. 

The 6th Ave NW safety corridor that had been prioritized for safety improvements next year is now on hold for the foreseeable future — unless you act now!

Who: Anyone who lives, works, or travels near 6th Ave NW and wants their street to be safer
What: Send email to Mike.Obrien@Seattle.gov and/or make a public comment at a meeting of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (SBAB)
Where: Seattle Municipal Tower 5th & Cherry Room 3832
When: Wednesday, Feb 1 at 6PM

Talking Points:

• Families and elders already use 6th Ave NW as a quiet, convenient street to walk through the West Woodland neighborhood
• There is lots of fast cut-through traffic on and across 6th Ave NW. With just a small investment, an important neighborhood street will be safe for all ages
• SDOT needs put 6th Ave NW back on the schedule to make it safer for our children and elders
• 6th Ave NW is an important safe routes to school connector for Pacific Crest Elementary, West Woodland Elementary, Greenwood Elementary and St. John’s Elementary

Our community worked hard to get a safer crossing of NW 65th and 6th Ave NW funded through a neighborhood grant. 

Several community walks affirmed that 6th Ave NW was a slow street that families already use now to walk and bike to Pacific Crest Elementary, West Woodland Elementary, Greenwood Elementary and St. John’s Elementary schools.

This Wednesday, February 1 at 6PM is one of your few chances to get this project back on track and scheduled for safety improvements.

The Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (SBAB) meets on Wednesday from 6 to 8PM in Seattle Municipal Tower 5th & Cherry Room 3832. Public comment is first on the agenda and you could leave by 6:30 if you didn’t want to stay for the whole meeting. SBAB will discuss the SDOT work plan this month and also next month March 1st, same location.

If you feel strongly that you’d like to see safety improvements to slow vehicles to 20 MPH on 6th Ave NW and cannot attend either meeting, you can write to your City Councilmember Mike O’Brien — he also chairs the Transportation subcommittee. Mike.OBrien@seattle.gov

NE rain garden at 14th Ave NW and NW 58th, 2009 and today

Because so many of our potential volunteers are planning to attend the Seattle Womxn’s March on Jan 21st, we will be moving this restoration event to April in order to coincide with EBCA’s bi-annual Adopt A Street Cleanup on 14th Ave NW. Stay tuned for the date, but it will most likely be on April 29 from 10AM-2PM.

In 2009, the EBCA wanted to make the crossing at NW 58th and 14th Ave NW safer, more beautiful and better for the environment. The rain gardens on the NE and NW sides of the intersection have been taking stormwater runoff from the street, filtering out the toxins from the water through the plantings, absorbing the water into the ground and sending the excess water into the storm drain. Through the years, the NW rain garden has been thriving, but the NE garden has not. Fast forward almost 8 years and the EBCA is bringing in the talents of Cari Simson fromUrban Systems Design who we partnered with on the 11th Ave NW East Ballard Greenstreet roadside rain gardens in 2015. Cari will be leading a team of volunteers, including you, in fixing up the rain garden. Come join us, rain or shine, and bring your favorite gardening tools. We’ll provide gloves and vests. This will be a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and learn how rain gardens contribute to environmental and habitat health.

What: Rain garden restoration and planting event
Where: NE corner of 14th Ave NW and NW 58th
When: Sunday January 21, 12PM-4PM