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THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BROADVIEW COMMUNITY COUNCIL                                 May 2008

Improvements Project Update at May 20 Broadview

Community Council Meeting

The project to add curbs and sidewalks and a center turn lane to Greenwood Ave. N from N 105 to N 112 will soon move into the construction stage.  

Seattle Department of Transportation Project Manager Mike Ward will present the current design for these blocks and describe the construction schedule.  

This is an opportunity to get answers to any questions you may have about the Greenwood improvements.

                               Meeting Location:

Community Calendar

May 15 Broadview Historical Society 12:30 PM Broadview Library.  Guest speaker Sue Nevler, Executive Director of Dunn Gardens. Information 206-363-7295.

May 20 Broadview Community Council Social gathering at 6:00 PM, meeting starts at 6:30 PM, Broadview Library.  Information 206-362-2980.

May 20 City Council Town Hall Meeting on Budget Priorities  5:30 PM 7:30 PM, Ballard NW Senior Center, 5429 32 Ave. NW.  Information 206-684-8807.

May 22 Pipers Creek Watershed Council 4 6 PM, Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center, 950 NW Carkeek Park Rd.  Information 684-9154.

May 26 Carkeek Park Advisory Council 7:00 PM, 950 NW Carkeek Park Rd. Information 684-0877.

Neighborhood Planning Ramps Up, Slowly

Its been almost ten years since neighborhoods in Seattle participated in a neighborhood planning process.  That process was part of Seattles response to the 1990 State Growth Management Act.  The Broadview - Bitter Lake - Haller Lake Neighborhood Plan was adopted in June, 1999.  Many residents of Broadview attended meetings and gave input to the plan.  Among other things the plan provides for the creation of the Bitter Lake Hub Urban Village, with infrastructure improvements to support increased density of residents.  (There is a link to our neighborhood plan on the Links page of our website, www.broadviewcc.info .)

Last year Mayor Nickels proposed an update for the neighborhood plans. Some neighborhoods had grown more than was anticipated and they may need to have plans adjusted.  Mayor Nickels proposed that the Department of Planning and Development coordinate the process, along with the Department of Neighborhoods.  A stated goal was to better coordinate plans among neighborhoods in the same area of Seattle, especially for transportation planning.

Representatives of some neighborhoods have expressed the opinion that the Mayors proposal would limit input by the residents of neighborhoods. The planning in the 1990s was conducted by neighborhood residents with funding support from the City, rather than being conducted by city departments.  At a recent forum sponsored by the City Neighborhood Council several attendees were skeptical of the Mayors approach, calling it a thinly veiled power grab.  City Councilmember Sally Clark, who is Chair of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, has said that she hopes to work with the Mayor to devise an approach that updates the neighborhood plans in a balanced way keeps citizen input.

Our neighborhood has had a lot of growth in the past ten years.  What hasnt happened is the improvement in infrastructure that was outlined in our neighborhood plan.  Much of our plan consists of a list of things we dont have, like curbs and sidewalks and drainage on our streets.  If updating our plan will make it even more obvious that increased growth needs infrastructure support, all the better.  Meanwhile, our Council continues to lobby for moving forward with projects to build the infrastructure that our current plan calls for.

Sign up for Your Block's Night Out Event

Every year on the first Tuesday in August Seattle neighbors participate in a block event known as Night Out.  The idea is to get to know your neighbors in your block, share some eats and enjoy the summer evening.

Night Out is a national Crime Prevention event. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities. It is a great chance to learn about crime prevention, while also celebrating your community and spending time with your neighbors.

You can find out more about this years event at http://www.seattle.gov/Police/nightout/.  You dont have to have a formal block watch program to get together.  If you do not live on an arterial street and you do not close your intersection, you are welcome to close the street to traffic for your Night Out Celebration.

Adopt A Street Works!

By Will Murray

Saturday April 5 marked our 24th Adopt A Street Cleanup on Linden Avenue North 125th to 143rd and we only acquired two bags of trash, 3 propane containers, a case of salmon which disappeared and some steel pipe. Last year at this time a Linden cleanup yielded 20 bags and an assortment of furniture, TVs and auto parts (transmissions, bumpers, hoods etc.). There was virtually no trash on the Interurban Trail as far south as 124th.

I'd like to thank our community partners Improve Linden North, Bitter Lake Advisory Council, Broadview Community Council and volunteers from Tri Court Apartments for contributing over 500 hours on cleanup duty which has really made a difference in the neighborhood. I'd also like to thank our sponsors Seattle Public Utilities Adopt A Street program coordinator Andrea Cuccaro and Bitter Lake Community Center director Cynthia Etelamaki for hosting our cleanups.

SPU Planning Drainage Improvements

In the December 3,2007 rainstorm there were many incidents of storm water and sewage overflowing and damaging residences in Broadview.  Some of the residences have had similar overflow problems during storms in previous years.  After overflow problems during a storm in 1996 Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) did some work on drainage problems, but it is apparent that the sewer and storm water systems still need improvements.

After receiving comments from many of our members the Broadview Community Council worked to coordinate a meeting on April 30 with Seattle Public Utilities planners. The goals of this meeting were for residents and SPU to exchange information about locations of overflow problems, and SPU to describe possible alternatives to prevent future problems.  As of the press deadline for this issue of the Broaderview the meeting had not taken place.  We will inform you of the results of the meeting in a future issue.

Its Budget Time Again

Every two years the Mayor and City Council plan a budget for the City.  The process starts in February and ends with a final budget resolution in November.  All over Seattle people with an interest in parts of the budget that affect them get active in asking support for their activity or project.

For the past two years the Broadview Community Council has actively pursued getting funding in the capital improvement program to improve Linden Avenue N in the Bitter Lake Hub Urban Village.   BCC Board members and residents of Linden have met with representatives of the City departments that are planning the Linden Complete Streets Project that was established in the budget process last year.

Board members will again this year testify at Budget Committee meetings in support of this project that is the highest priority in our neighborhood plan.  

The City Council Budget Committee has A Citizens Guide to the 2009-2010 Budgeton its website.  Its a primer on how to get involved.  Its located at http://www.seattle.gov/council/committees/budget_comm.htm#community_meetings  If you dont want to type that long address you can type Seattle budget committee guideinto Google and a link to the page comes up.

Pedestrian Crossing at N 130 and Aurora

With the completion last year of the large seniors housing project at the corner of N 130 St. and Linden Ave. N the number of seniors walking to the stores on the east side of Aurora Ave. N increased. One of the things they encountered is the lack of a street level crosswalk on the north side of the N 130 St. and Aurora intersection.  The elevated crosswalk there is difficult to navigate for those with limited mobility, and impossible to pull their wheeled wire grocery carts over.  To cross Aurora a person has to wait for three stop lights and deal with drivers making free right turns.

BCC Board member Robin Low is working with engineers at Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to come up with a solution that will allow pedestrians to cross on the north side of the intersection.  Local residents attended a fact finding site visit with a SDOT representative on April 18.  The engineers need to do some traffic studies to understand how a crosswalk would affect the flow of automobile traffic making turns at the intersection.   BCC will continue to follow up on this project.

SODA Proposed in Broadview

For over a year the Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecutor's Office have been working together to implement a Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) program for defendants charged with narcotics trafficking crimes.

As a a part of that effort the Seattle Precinct Commanders have identified geographic locations in their precincts as high narcotics trafficking areas. These areas were identified as suchbased upon citizen and business complaints, crime statistics and police observations.  One of these areas is in Broadview and adjacent neighborhoods.  It is along Aurora Avenue N from N 80th St. to N 145th St.

King County deputy prosecutors will soon be asking Superior Court judges to order defendants arrested in these SODA to stay out these zones as a condition of their pretrial release. This order will also authorize the Seattle Police Department to ontact and/or arrest defendants who violate the court's order.

Pass it On

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BCC Newsletter Schedule

The Newsletter is published six times a year, January, March, May, September, October and November. To contribute an article or comment, contact Dale Johnson, 206-362-2980 or e-mail dalerayjohnson@comcast.net.  Articles are due the last Friday of the month before publication.