Call for Ballard Tool Library Volunteers

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Dawn

Sustainable Ballard is looking to connect members of the greater Ballard community with the tools they need and the know-how to create projects. The Ballard Tool Library will be a wonderful resource for our community – little or no cost tool rentals and members looking to share knowledge with one another. ”Tool” can be broadly defined. Some ideas that have been kicked around include: wood working tools, gardening tools, sewing machines/sergers, masonry tools, marine tools, brewing equipment, canning supplies, recreational gear…the sky is the limit. Besides tool rentals, we could have a community workspace, classes, job training – and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and resources in so many other ways.

So what will the Ballard Tool Library end up looking like? That’s up to you: the volunteers.

Volunteers might…

Attend monthly planning meetings
Design a floor plan
Work on the Ballard Tool Library Space (building shelving, etc.)
Reach out to the Ballard community
Apply for grants
Work as a Project Facilitator at the library

Sustainable Ballard is looking for volunteers to help out with the Ballard Tool Library now! Volunteers can commit to as little as a couple hours a month. We’d love to have people help out as much as they can, but recognize that not everyone has a lot of time available. We already have a lead on a space and we could ramp this project up quickly if the pieces fall into place. If we could start with just 10 volunteers, we would be in a great position as the Ballard Tool Library turns from concept into reality.

Please reach out to Dan McKeon if you are interested in helping create the Ballard Tool Library or have any questions: dan@sustainableballard.org

Deadline approaches to apply for funds to support your neighborhood project

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Dawn

If your group needs funds to do a neighborhood project, the city’s Neighborhood Matching Fund may be able to help. But you’ll need to be quick because the application deadline for the Small and Simple Projects Fund is Monday, June 1 at 5:00 p.m. This fund provides matching awards of up to $25,000 to neighborhood groups and community organizations for community-building projects.

To learn about the Small and Simple Projects Fund, there is one more workshop scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at Northgate Community Center from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The workshop will provide an overview of the Neighborhood Matching Fund, the qualities of a good project, and the application process and requirements. To RSVP call 206-733-9916 or go online at surveymonkey.com/s/NMFWorkshop.

There will be another opportunity to apply to the Small and Simple Projects Fund this October.

Neighborhood Matching Fund staff are available to advise groups on ways to develop successful applications and projects. You are strongly encouraged to call 206.233.0093 or email NMFund@seattle.gov to discuss your project idea with one of our project managers.

A program of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, the Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF) has three funding programs that award matching funds for projects initiated, planned, and implemented by community members. Its goal is to build stronger and more vibrant neighborhoods through community involvement and engagement. Every award is matched by a neighborhood’s contribution of volunteer labor, donated materials, in-kind professional services, or cash.

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods provides programs and services that engage residents in civic participation, foster stronger communities, make government more accessible, and preserve and enhance the character of Seattle’s neighborhoods.

A great day for a Ballard Janes Walk

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Dawn

We had over 35 participants in this year’s Ballard Janes walk this past Sunday. We had beautiful weather just right for a 4 hour stroll to explore the nooks and crannies of a neighborhood deserving to be explored. A big thank-you to Stephanie Shelton with the EBCA, Cathy Tuttle from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and David Ramsay from FeetFirst who co-organized this walk and provided great insight into what’s going on in our neighborhood along the walk. Thank-you to Shannon Dunn, Dawn Hemminger and Zack Thomas from the EBCA, Rhys Van Bemmel from UW and Catherine Weatbrook District 6 City Council candidate, for being special guest speakers. If you didn’t make it out to this year’s Ballard Janes Walk, mark your calendar for the first weekend of May next year and look for walks at FeetFirst’s website.

Check out pics here.

Here’s what you missed!

Start: Hales Ales: 4301 Leary Way NW 11am
(1) 11^th Ave street end park Design-Build (Rhys Van Bemmel/UW)
(2) Future Greenway on 6th Ave NW(Cathy)
(3) Traffic circle, alleys, mini-park with art at substation (Cathy,Dave/save our substations, Shannon)(4) NW 58th Greenway (Cathy)
(5) 14^thAve NW Park-Boulevard and crossing compliance (Dawn/Zack/Stephanie)
continue on 58th
(6) 17th Ave NW Greenway/Ballard Urban Village Development (Cathy/Dawn)
(7) The SLUG community garden and little library: St Luke’s Urban Garden
(8) Ballard Commons Park/SNAP Emergency Preparedness/Ballard Opens Space Plan (Cathy/Catherine/Dawn)
(9) flashing crosswalk at 58th and 24th (Cathy/Dave)
(10) Ballard Farmer’s Market
(11) boat launch 14^th street end (Stephanie)

End: Hales Ales: 4301 Leary Way NW 3pm

Recent UW study shows a low stopping compliance at NW 58th and 14th Ave NW crosswalk

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Dawn

The EBCA recently invited UW students Qiren Lu & Ranju Uezono to include the crosswalk at 14th Ave NW and NW 58th St as 1 of their 4 studied intersections in Seattle School Walk Zones to see if drivers stopped for people crossing at crosswalks.

These students’ findings at this intersection were alarming with only a 15% motorist compliance rate, which means that only about 1 out of 7 people driving cars fully stop for people walking during school arrival & departure hours at this intersection!

Although this study is just a snapshot of stopping behavior at this intersection, it’s a very good reminder for those of you who drive cars and ride bikes to comply with Washington state law which states that,

“the operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning.”

Read the Seattle Greenways article here.
Read the full report here.

Join EBCA and Seattle Greenways this Sunday for a Ballard Janes Walk

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Dawn

This will be the 3rd year the EBCA has helped organize a Ballard Janes Walk in honor of Jane Jacobs who was a community organizer who helped save her neighborhood from destruction by the hands of outside interests. She invited everyone to see how cities actually work through experience, to go out and see what makes a neighborhood thrive, or to see what makes a neighborhood struggle. During this weekend, community organizers from all of the world will be giving tours in their own neighborhoods with this mission in mind. This year, the EBCA has teamed up with Seattle Greenways in this FeetFirst sponsored walk to explore Ballard urban green space of all shapes and sizes through a mix of residential blocks, commercial pockets and the historic industrial core.

Ballard Janes Walk 2015
Sunday May 3, 11 AM
Meet at Hales Brewery (Leary and NW 43rd)
Sign up: http://www.meetup.com/Feet-First-Walks/events/221896389/

PNA Village program extends to East Ballard

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Dawn

At 7 p.m. Thurs. April 30 the (PBS) KCTS channel 9 television show called IN Close will feature the PNA Village. This type of village is one of hundreds of existing and forming “virtual villages” in the U.S. – membership-driven, grass-roots organizations that, through both volunteers and paid staff, coordinate access to affordable services including transportation, health and wellness programs, home repairs, social and educational activities, and other day-to-day needs enabling individuals to remain connected to their community and to stay in their current homes throughout the aging process. East Ballard residents are within the PNA Village boundaries and can join and volunteer.

Representatives of the PNA Village will be attending the May 20 EBCA monthly meeting at 7:30pm. Please contact Dawn Hemminger if you’d like to attend.

The PNA Village serves persons living between NW 50th St and NW 105th St and Aurora Ave to 15th Ave NW. There are two existing Villages in different areas of Seattle, with one more launching this Spring and more in the works! The National Village organization conference is in Seattle this Fall!

Visit the PNA Village web! http://www.phinneycenter.org/village/index.html

Like them on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PNAVillage

Visit the National Village to Village Network: http://www.vtvnetwork.org

Thank-you for helping us clean up 14th Ave NW!

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Dawn

Thank-you neighbors for coming out Saturday morning to clean up 14th Ave NW. We had a bunch of new neighbors come out plus our trusty regulars who are now pros at keeping our neighborhood clean. We had about 25 volunteers this time around, enough to cleanup 14th from NW 65th to Leary! With each new cleanup, we come up with something fun and new. This time around, we added kid-sized vests with the EBCA logo sewn on the back. Very fashionable!

Check out all of the photos here.

Don’t forget Adopt A Street Cleanup is this Saturday

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Dawn

You never know the treasures you might find when cleaning up your neighborhood

We’re looking forward to seeing you this Saturday rain or shine!

Adopt A Street Cleanup along 14th Ave NW
Sat April 25, 10am-1pm
Meet over coffee & breakfast snack at Blowing Sands Glass
5805 14th Ave NW
Tidy up 14th Ave NW & care for the planters.
Come dressed for the weather.
Stay and have lunch donated by Ballard Market
contact eastballard@gmail.com for more information

Have you tried the City’s “Find It, Fix It” app yet?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Dawn

City of Seattle’s “Find It, Fix It” smartphone app takes advantage of technology available on mobile devices, including geographic awareness, to citizens a convenient way to alert the City to issues such as graffiti, potholes and streetlight outages, while providing location information that helps City staff respond.

The app, which can be downloaded to any iPhone or Android phone, offers the following service request categories:

Abandoned Vehicles: report vehicles parked in a public right-of-way more than three days.
Graffiti: report graffiti, including what it is on – parking meter, utility pole or building – so it gets automatically routed to the appropriate department for response.
Illegal Dumping: report illegal dumping in a specific location.
Parking Enforcement: make an inquiry regarding a parking concern.
Pothole: report a pothole.
Streetlight Report: report a specific outage.
Other Inquiry: this miscellaneous category is for making an inquiry or request, which will be processed by the City’s Customer Service Bureau. Mobile users should choose this category to provide feedback.

Android users can download the app from the Google Play Store and iPhone users can download it from iTunes.

The app also provides a link to http://m.seattle.gov, the mobile version of the City of Seattle’s website. Windows phone users can use this link to view the City’s full website and “request a City service” under the “Need Help” section near the bottom of the home page.

In addition to the app, you can report issues and request information:

In person at the Customer Service Bureau located in the City Hall lobby, the Customer Service Center in the Seattle Municipal Tower lobby and any of six Neighborhood Service Centers;
Over the phone by calling the Customer Service Bureau at 206-684-2489 (CITY); and
At the City’s website at http://www.seattle.gov.

All requests submitted must specify a location within Seattle city limits in order to complete processing. If the location is outside the city limits, a message will display to the user and the request will close automatically.

For help with Find It, Fix It and City services in general, please contact the Customer Service Bureau at 206-684-2489 (CITY).

Mark your calendar for Adopt A Street Cleanup on Sat April 25

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Dawn

Spring has sprung, which is a sign that it’s time to don our fluorescent vests, slip on a pair of rubber gloves, grab our picker uppers, sling a bright yellow bag over our shoulders, and take to the street, 14th Ave NW that is!

Join your neighbors on Saturday April 25 for EBCA’s biannual Adopt A Street Cleanup. We’ve been cleaning up 14th Ave NW since the Fall of 2005 thanks to your help and our amazing volunteers who organize this event. Picking up trash is a lot more fun than it sounds and is something the whole family can do together. See you there rain or shine!