0 thoughts on “January 24, 2012 Community Involvement Meeting Resources”
Wow, when this project was first talked about I thought it was supposed to be a nice small green area with benches – a nice area to walk through and admire the trees and plants. My bad, I should have paid attention and attended the meetings. Well, I have read everything on this site and have informed myself now. I am late to the party, but I will try to get some people who actually live and park on 14th Ave NW to attend the March meeting (From my research there is only one person on the committee who actually lives on 14th Ave NW. I apologize if I am wrong about that figure as I have just started researching). I am betting that the person who wrote in comments, “Forget all the bitching about the parking issue,” doesn’t have a parking issue. I am very lucky; I have parking in my apartment complex. But, I know people who have to park on 14th and it is not easy. Do you all have any idea what it is like to work a night shift, come home and struggle to find a parking space close to your apartment? Someone very close to me has had that problem. Would you want to be walking from blocks away in the middle of the night to get to your apartment?
I am all for having a beautiful green neighborhood and wonderful sculpture and the beautiful 14th Ave planters, but you cannot ignore a huge part of the 14th Ave NW neighbors who don’t have time to attend meetings and in some cases probably don’t even realize what they will be losing. Mithun’s design plan (page 7) lists “Parking for a transit-oriented future.” Does this mean that you are willing to take parking places away from people who live in the neighborhood, but in the future you intend to build parking for people outside of our community to come and park so they can take the bus?
I think the Pea Patch garden is a great idea. I hope in an effort to give back to the community the food produced in the Pea Patch will go to the Ballard Food Bank.
The idea of a covered barbeque area is a problem. We have a huge homeless problem in Ballard and of course they are going to want to take shelter here. Do you want your child walking past a potential danger to get to Ballard High School on those dark winter mornings? It seems to me that the ideas of barbeques and the block parties are catering to a small number of families.
Finally, I am completely against the destruction of the trees in our neighborhood. Being “green” means working with what you have and recycling, not pulling up trees that have been in the neighborhood for years and years and replacing them with “native” plants. These trees are native.
I’m in total agreement with Catherine regarding concern over the elimination of parking spaces on 14th. I have lived on this street for 26 years, and do not have off street parking. I have watched the parking situation worsen over the years with the urban growth, and development of East Ballard. Single family homes have been replaced with multi family condo, apartment complexes, that only provide one very small parking space per unit. The over flow from this ends up parking on 14th., which eats up the parking for those of us who live on this street.
I was very entertained by the parking study done for the park project. Their study did not go past 8PM, and only surveyed 2 days in January. Sorry, but if you live on 14th, and rely on street parking, you are aware that later in the evening, after 8PM, parking is at a premium… (especially after the installation of the planters, which eliminated several spaces per block.) The study also suggested that we can park blocks away, if nothing is available on 14th. For myself, this is not a good option, for a variety of reasons, safety being one of them.
It is unfortunate that there is only one resident of 14th Ave NW on the planning committee, as I don’t feel that we are fairly represented.
As a home owner and property tax payer, I expect sufficient street parking to be available to residents. Perhaps it’s time to explore resident permit parking as a partial solution to this.
See you at the meeting!
Thank-you Ann and Catherine for your thoughtful inputs concerning parking on 14th and the parking study. I have shared your input with our parks dept project manager as well. I do hope that both of you can attend the meeting on March 7. I’m sure there is a way we can come up with a creative solution that works best for our community.
Thank-you Catherine for you valuable input and I’m looking forward to seeing you at the March meeting. In response to your questions about parking, I have just received a copy of the Parking Study conducted by Fehr & Peers and have posted it on the 14th Ave NW Park page under Resources, at http://go14thavenw.org. Please share this document with your friends who are concerned about parking on 14th. They can also provide comments to the EBCA at eastballard@gmail.com and to the Parks Dept pamela.kilment@seattle.gov or just post a comment on this site.
Hi. I live and park on 14th (corner of 58th) too and I do not have an off street spot. However, one thing to keep in mind is that much of the existing parking in the gravel median is taken up by long term trucks and campers. I think many of those vehicles will go elsewhere when there is only parallel parking. I’m really looking forward to those gravel medians going away. A friend of mine was badly hurt in a car wreck while crossing 14th at 60th.
After attending the meeting on the 7th, I am more outraged than ever.
The very important discussion about our parking crisis was halted by Patrick Donohue, early in the meeting with promise that it would be continued near the end of the meeting. This never happened!
I am very curious and furious that at the prior meeting a vote was taken over whether there would be more parking spaces preserved, or more park space provided. No one in the neighborhood, the residents of 14th, who will be impacted by this, were informed or notified of this “vote” taking place at the meeting. We would have been there, had we known!!! The meeting was misrepresented to the neighborhood.
How legal can this vote be, and how can the City of Seattle, allow this to happen? It’s totally undemocratic!!!
It’s a rainy Saturday night. I just got home from work. There was 1 parking space left on my block…. I got it! Before I got home,however, I drove around the neighborhood to see how far I would have to park if nothing were available. It was not on the next block, but the following block, that I found available parking. I can only imagine how bad the parking will be after the park is built! AWFUL!!! This is not only inconvenient, it’s dangerous.
The parking survey done by Fehrs & Peers, missed the boat. The “peak” hours in their study are not the “peak” hours. The” 400″? parking spaces in the surrounding neighborhood are too far away , especially for a woman, after dark.
There were no options given to us at the March 7th meeting. I get the distinct feeling that the blinders are on, and no one really cares…. except for the residents of 14th Ave. NW…. and the surrounding streets, who will be impacted by this.
Thanks Anne … I thought I might be alone in wanting the people of 14th Avenue NW to be heard. I am the woman who had her hand up the whole time they were talking about parking and refused to sit down when Patrick Donohue cut off the discussion.
I was appalled at that meeting. One young woman was saying that she worked very hard all day and she has to hunt for a parking space each time she returns home. The city and the committee had absolutely no empathy for this woman.
Shannon Dunn in talking about parking said – what do you want, free parking at your doorstep – hum – yes who wouldn’t want that.
I think the association is skewing all studies to their advantage – 9 trees are not worth saving (?) 70% of people want a bigger park and less parking (?). And I think the association has forgotten their Mission Statement “Our Mission: To build strong working relationships & facilitate communication between you & your neighbors, local businesses, organizations & institutions. To enhance quality of life & a sense of belonging in the East Ballard community.” Apparently the people of 14th Ave NW aren’t considered neighbors and we don’t belong. They are definitely not enhancing the lives of people who have to worry about parking (working class women and men), or the people who will be living right next to the park worrying about the noise levels.
A boulevard park is supposed to be a green area along each side of the street for people to come and relax and areas for children to play. 14th Ave NW is not a large enough area to support a larger park. The idea of having musical events in this area is not a good one.
I want to petition a public meeting, because this is just the tip of the iceberg. Eventually the entire length of 14th Ave is going to be boulevard park which means over time more and more parking is going to disappear. I don’t understand why they can’t put landscaping strips on either side of 14th Ave on our side of Market St and a larger park on the other side of Market.
I am currently requesting files from the city and I have been getting some advice from a lawyer I know. We must have a public meeting that is posted in the Ballard Tribune and the Seattle Times.
Wow, when this project was first talked about I thought it was supposed to be a nice small green area with benches – a nice area to walk through and admire the trees and plants. My bad, I should have paid attention and attended the meetings. Well, I have read everything on this site and have informed myself now. I am late to the party, but I will try to get some people who actually live and park on 14th Ave NW to attend the March meeting (From my research there is only one person on the committee who actually lives on 14th Ave NW. I apologize if I am wrong about that figure as I have just started researching). I am betting that the person who wrote in comments, “Forget all the bitching about the parking issue,” doesn’t have a parking issue. I am very lucky; I have parking in my apartment complex. But, I know people who have to park on 14th and it is not easy. Do you all have any idea what it is like to work a night shift, come home and struggle to find a parking space close to your apartment? Someone very close to me has had that problem. Would you want to be walking from blocks away in the middle of the night to get to your apartment?
I am all for having a beautiful green neighborhood and wonderful sculpture and the beautiful 14th Ave planters, but you cannot ignore a huge part of the 14th Ave NW neighbors who don’t have time to attend meetings and in some cases probably don’t even realize what they will be losing. Mithun’s design plan (page 7) lists “Parking for a transit-oriented future.” Does this mean that you are willing to take parking places away from people who live in the neighborhood, but in the future you intend to build parking for people outside of our community to come and park so they can take the bus?
I think the Pea Patch garden is a great idea. I hope in an effort to give back to the community the food produced in the Pea Patch will go to the Ballard Food Bank.
The idea of a covered barbeque area is a problem. We have a huge homeless problem in Ballard and of course they are going to want to take shelter here. Do you want your child walking past a potential danger to get to Ballard High School on those dark winter mornings? It seems to me that the ideas of barbeques and the block parties are catering to a small number of families.
Finally, I am completely against the destruction of the trees in our neighborhood. Being “green” means working with what you have and recycling, not pulling up trees that have been in the neighborhood for years and years and replacing them with “native” plants. These trees are native.
I’m in total agreement with Catherine regarding concern over the elimination of parking spaces on 14th. I have lived on this street for 26 years, and do not have off street parking. I have watched the parking situation worsen over the years with the urban growth, and development of East Ballard. Single family homes have been replaced with multi family condo, apartment complexes, that only provide one very small parking space per unit. The over flow from this ends up parking on 14th., which eats up the parking for those of us who live on this street.
I was very entertained by the parking study done for the park project. Their study did not go past 8PM, and only surveyed 2 days in January. Sorry, but if you live on 14th, and rely on street parking, you are aware that later in the evening, after 8PM, parking is at a premium… (especially after the installation of the planters, which eliminated several spaces per block.) The study also suggested that we can park blocks away, if nothing is available on 14th. For myself, this is not a good option, for a variety of reasons, safety being one of them.
It is unfortunate that there is only one resident of 14th Ave NW on the planning committee, as I don’t feel that we are fairly represented.
As a home owner and property tax payer, I expect sufficient street parking to be available to residents. Perhaps it’s time to explore resident permit parking as a partial solution to this.
See you at the meeting!
Thank-you Ann and Catherine for your thoughtful inputs concerning parking on 14th and the parking study. I have shared your input with our parks dept project manager as well. I do hope that both of you can attend the meeting on March 7. I’m sure there is a way we can come up with a creative solution that works best for our community.
Thank-you Catherine for you valuable input and I’m looking forward to seeing you at the March meeting. In response to your questions about parking, I have just received a copy of the Parking Study conducted by Fehr & Peers and have posted it on the 14th Ave NW Park page under Resources, at http://go14thavenw.org. Please share this document with your friends who are concerned about parking on 14th. They can also provide comments to the EBCA at eastballard@gmail.com and to the Parks Dept pamela.kilment@seattle.gov or just post a comment on this site.
Hi. I live and park on 14th (corner of 58th) too and I do not have an off street spot. However, one thing to keep in mind is that much of the existing parking in the gravel median is taken up by long term trucks and campers. I think many of those vehicles will go elsewhere when there is only parallel parking. I’m really looking forward to those gravel medians going away. A friend of mine was badly hurt in a car wreck while crossing 14th at 60th.
After attending the meeting on the 7th, I am more outraged than ever.
The very important discussion about our parking crisis was halted by Patrick Donohue, early in the meeting with promise that it would be continued near the end of the meeting. This never happened!
I am very curious and furious that at the prior meeting a vote was taken over whether there would be more parking spaces preserved, or more park space provided. No one in the neighborhood, the residents of 14th, who will be impacted by this, were informed or notified of this “vote” taking place at the meeting. We would have been there, had we known!!! The meeting was misrepresented to the neighborhood.
How legal can this vote be, and how can the City of Seattle, allow this to happen? It’s totally undemocratic!!!
It’s a rainy Saturday night. I just got home from work. There was 1 parking space left on my block…. I got it! Before I got home,however, I drove around the neighborhood to see how far I would have to park if nothing were available. It was not on the next block, but the following block, that I found available parking. I can only imagine how bad the parking will be after the park is built! AWFUL!!! This is not only inconvenient, it’s dangerous.
The parking survey done by Fehrs & Peers, missed the boat. The “peak” hours in their study are not the “peak” hours. The” 400″? parking spaces in the surrounding neighborhood are too far away , especially for a woman, after dark.
There were no options given to us at the March 7th meeting. I get the distinct feeling that the blinders are on, and no one really cares…. except for the residents of 14th Ave. NW…. and the surrounding streets, who will be impacted by this.
Thanks Anne … I thought I might be alone in wanting the people of 14th Avenue NW to be heard. I am the woman who had her hand up the whole time they were talking about parking and refused to sit down when Patrick Donohue cut off the discussion.
I was appalled at that meeting. One young woman was saying that she worked very hard all day and she has to hunt for a parking space each time she returns home. The city and the committee had absolutely no empathy for this woman.
Shannon Dunn in talking about parking said – what do you want, free parking at your doorstep – hum – yes who wouldn’t want that.
I think the association is skewing all studies to their advantage – 9 trees are not worth saving (?) 70% of people want a bigger park and less parking (?). And I think the association has forgotten their Mission Statement “Our Mission: To build strong working relationships & facilitate communication between you & your neighbors, local businesses, organizations & institutions. To enhance quality of life & a sense of belonging in the East Ballard community.” Apparently the people of 14th Ave NW aren’t considered neighbors and we don’t belong. They are definitely not enhancing the lives of people who have to worry about parking (working class women and men), or the people who will be living right next to the park worrying about the noise levels.
A boulevard park is supposed to be a green area along each side of the street for people to come and relax and areas for children to play. 14th Ave NW is not a large enough area to support a larger park. The idea of having musical events in this area is not a good one.
I want to petition a public meeting, because this is just the tip of the iceberg. Eventually the entire length of 14th Ave is going to be boulevard park which means over time more and more parking is going to disappear. I don’t understand why they can’t put landscaping strips on either side of 14th Ave on our side of Market St and a larger park on the other side of Market.
I am currently requesting files from the city and I have been getting some advice from a lawyer I know. We must have a public meeting that is posted in the Ballard Tribune and the Seattle Times.
Catherine, I have many neighbors who feel the same way that we do… furious!
Please contact me at, brownbags@comcast.net