Thanks to the Seattle Park District, a grant from King County Parks, and the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, there is a great new space to ride bikes below the rush of I-5 between Capitol Hill and Eastlake.
This week, the Seattle Parks Department and members of the alliance gathered to celebrate the opening of the $314,000 overhaul of the city’s I-5 Colonnade mountain bike skills park including a new paved track ideal for young riders and those riding mobility devices. Continue reading
UPDATE: Hundreds filled Cal Anderson Wednesday night in a protest against ICE and the Trump administration. The demonstrators marched to the downtown federal building where the protest continued into the night (Image: Alex Garland/CHS)
Cal Anderson’s place as a gathering space for free speech and defiance against the Trump administration in Seattle will be on display this weekend as “No Kings” protests are planned across the country Saturday.
Crowds and energy will be split in the city. Many groups and organizations are planning a Saturday noontime rally in the Capitol Hill park before a march to the Seattle Center. Other groups have centered on the University of Washington for their demonstrations.
UPDATE 5:00 PM: SPD’s East Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator has issued a bulletin to businesses and community groups about protest activities expected in the area Wednesday night. “It is likely unaffiliated small groups intent on committing violence and/or property damage will attempt to embed themselves un this rally,” the SPD bulletin reads. We have posted the full statement at the end of this report. UPDATE x2: East Precinct Captain Jung Trinh has clarified that the bulletin was issued by the city’s Office of Economic Development, not the precinct.
The Seattle Office of Inspector General has announced it is conducting a review of the Seattle Police Department’s attempted crowd control actions and arrests against protesters in Cal Anderson Park demonstrating against an anti-trans Christian group’s rally in May.
Issues beyond policing like why the group was issued a permit in the first place for the May 24th concert and rally in the popular Capitol Hill park could also be part of the investigation conducted by the OIG component of Seattle’s police oversight system.
“The review will also include examination of broader City functions that may have contributed to the negative outcomes,” the announcement reads. Continue reading
A better use for Capitol Hill’s parks will be here next week as Pride celebrations begin across Seattle. Saturday brings the start of the 2025 festivities with the annual Pride in the Park party in Volunteer Park:
Seattle Pride in the Park is back and louder than ever on Saturday, June 7, from noon to 7 p.m. at Volunteer Park!
This free, family-friendly LGBTQIA2S+ event brings together community, culture, and celebration with: Continue reading
The fallen willow (Image: CHS)
The maple bench (Image: CHS)
By Domenic Strazzabosco
Streissguth Gardens, on the sloping hillside between 10th Ave and Broadway, lost an iconic willow tree after a wet snowfall this winter. The willow, seemingly weighed down by the snow, fell westward and perpendicular across two of the park’s paths of thin, winding trails.
“It’s kind of bizarre. I never really thought about losing it until it came down,” said Ben Streissguth, who describes himself, unofficially, as the director of the gardens. Streissguth’s parents’ personal gardens were the beginning stages of what constitutes the one-acre space today, and though it’s unknown how old the tree was, he can remember it as far back as his teenage years. Based on Streissguth’s memory, photos and size of the tree, it is estimated that it was around 80 years old.
Streissguth, his wife and a few others, including some community members, have been working to do as much cleanup of the willow and surrounding area as possible. He estimates they’ve spent about 120 hours cleaning up and restoring the space as best they can. Further work will have to be done by Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Just three weeks after the willow fell, a maple toward the southwest side of the park toppled, too. Streissguth has taken what he can of the trees to work on the gardens. So far, there’s a new bench beneath the top of where the willow fell, made out of maple, while the pathway above where the willow stood is being reconstructed using slices of the felled maple. Instead of walking behind it, you can now look down at the willow’s massive root structure. Other projects include creating a wattle fence to create a stronger border between one of the trails and the vegetation running up to it, and edging portions of other trails with willow branches.
Though what will happen to the tree and the space left behind has yet to be decided, the Capitol Hill community around the garden has found ways to mourn the tree, often sharing different connections residents each had with it. Continue reading
(Image: Seattle Parks)
The Seattle Police Department tells CHS it is pausing “directed patrols” at Denny Blaine Park in the wake of outcry of its enforcements efforts around nudity at the popular nude beach.
A spokesperson for the department responded Wednesday as city officials including Mayor Bruce Harrell weighed in on the concerns raised by the weekend police and the park’s longtime use as a nude beach the community.
SPD tells CHS the incident has also been referred to the Office of Police Accountability following a public complaint about the department and officer actions.
CHS reported here on SPD’s clearance of sunbathers from the park Sunday and reported threats of trespass to one park goer who initially refused.
City officials made it clear this week they were not going to stand behind the department on the issue. Continue reading
Police were at Denny Blaine Sunday(Image: @mom_calls_me_myrtle)
A police officer “on a premise” assignment at Denny Blaine Park caused a stir Sunday at the nude beach east on the shores of Lake Washington.
The Seattle Police Department is apparently cracking down on the popular Capitol Hill sunny day getaway.
Reports describe multiple police officers called to the scene Sunday telling afternoon park goers to cover up and trespassing one sunbather who refused, according to Colleen Kimseylove of the Friends of Denny Blaine Park community group that has been trying to find solutions that protect the park’s history and place in Seattle queer culture while also placating increasing hostile neighbors in the wealthy neighborhood that surrounds the nude-friendly beach and park that has been affectionately known as Dykiki for decades.
“When Kimseylove arrived, they spoke to SPD Officer Ella Brooks who told Kimseylove that no Seattle law protects nudity, and if someone called and complained, SPD officers had to respond,” independent Seattle news site The Burner reports. “The cops also told Kimseylove that someone had directed SPD to routinely check in on the park. They told Kimseylove that people needed to put their clothes on or be trespassed or potentially arrested.”
SPD reportedly told one sunbather who argued with officers Sunday they were banned from the park for the week. Continue reading
Redmon’s Marymoor Park (Image: King County Parks)
The King County Council last week finalized legislation that will put a $1.4 billion renewal of the county’s park levy on the August ballot.
“Over the life of the six-year levy, it is estimated it would generate $1.4 billion,” the announcement from the council reads. “The initial levy rate of 23.29 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would cost the owner of a median-valued home ($844,000) about $16.33 per month.”
The levy, first approved by voters in 2003, provides all funding to operate and maintain King County’s regional and local parks, trails and open space system, the council says. Continue reading
The CHOP “raised fist” remained for a short time following the camp’s clearance
This May will bring the five year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a Minnesota cop. June will mark five years from the Black Lives Matter protests that followed across the country and in Seattle centered around the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone and Cal Anderson.
This spring, the Seattle Parks department says it is working on a plan to create a new art installation in the popular Capitol Hill park “to commemorate the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, honor Seattle’s Black and BIPOC communities, and memorialize those lost to gun violence.”
The new project will join the nearby E Pine Black Lives Matter mural in marking the area’s place in 2020’s unrest. It follows the late 2023 removal of the Black Lives Memorial Garden from the park.
This year’s project will create a new memorial. Continue reading
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This pump track in Port Angeles is an example of the setup’s appeal for riders small and large (Image: City of Port Angeles)
The Colonnade (Image: Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance)
Construction has started on a bicycle pump track project including a new paved track for young riders in a $314,000 overhaul of the city’s I-5 Colonnade mountain bike skills park below the busy freeway on the slope between Capitol Hill and Eastlake.
Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance announced the project is moving forward with construction slated to be completed before summer.
“One beginner-friendly, aMTB-friendly paved pump track; and one larger, steeper paved pump track are expected to be completed by the end of May,” the Alliance says.
The Alliance has been working to improve the bike recreation area challenged by homeless camping, litter, and the area’s steep slopes. It designed and built the Colonnade as “the first urban MTB skills park to open in the United States” when the space debuted in 2005. The Alliance began seeking funding for the new tracks in 2018. The group has been holding work sessions to help prepare the area for the new effort. Continue reading
