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$207,000 project will turn stretch of John into park and p-patch

In our reporting on the opening of the Summit/John park, we couldn’t have had worst timing — or memory recall — when we wrote this:

Starbucks will re-open their Olive Way location across the street from the park after a full overhaul in mid-October but it sounds like plans to ‘pedestrianize’ John Street between the Starbucks parking lot and the park haven’t gone anywhere.

That very day, a list of finalists for the city’s Seattle Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund grant process included the very project we said was stuck. In the comments, Christopher Hoffman set us straight immediately:


expansion coming soon

The article says that the plans to ‘pedestrianize’ John Street haven’t gone anywhere. Fortunately this isn’t true. Just this week we heard that we are likely to get $200K for the project. If you want to see this project go forward you can show up at 7:00 on October 25 at Miller Community Center for the final public hearing.

He should know. Hoffman submitted the application for the Capitol Hill Community Council’s plan to extend the park space and transform half of the nearby stretch of John into a pedestrian area connecting East Olive Way and Starbucks to the Summit/John park. Here’s more from the Council’s Jennifer Power about the proposal:

John and Summit Application to the Opportunity Fund
During the summer, Chris Hoffman put together a great application to the Opportunity Fund for a John St. extension of John and Summit Park. Our application proposed converting the half of John St. closest to the park into a bioswale and more P-Patches, i.e. taking car space and turning it into green space. We proposed doing this only half of John St. in order to allow utilities and emergency access on the remaining half of the street and to save us time and trouble with extra permitting. 

We recently found out that our application is #2 on the draft final list of Opportunity Fund Projects!  This still means we have a very, very good chance of getting the extension funded. You can help John and Summit get this money by coming to the public hearing on the Opp. Fund Draft Final list on October 25th: 

  • Time: Public Hearing starts at 7:00 pm
    (sign-up sheets available at 6:00 pm)
  • Location: Miller Community Center
    330 19th Ave E, Seattle WA   98112 
  • Final project recommendations will be made by the Oversight Committee to the Parks Superintendent on December 6th, 2010.

Hope to see you on the 25th!
~ Jen Power
UP/Open Space Committee Chair

Meanwhile, other Capitol Hill area projects that ranked lower in the process but are still being considered for funding are a proposed park at 19th and Madison and a project involving an overhaul of the McGilvra green space we wrote about there. Meanwhile, a $400,000 project to rehab the Volunteer Park conservatory greenhouse and a $1.1 million proposal to overhaul the park’s landscaping in advance of its centennial ranked low and are unlikely to be funded. We’ve attached the full roster of the draft project list for the 2010 Opportunity Fund process.

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wave
13 years ago

I like it

Monster88
Monster88
13 years ago

I like it too

Tom
Tom
13 years ago

I took a stroll down the center steps at the park last night. I whined when it was being built because the artist’s deception of the plan showed no p-patch space. There seems to be a lot of built-up planter box area that looks like it’s not quite finished yet, but is indeed there for the planting. It could be really cool to have that little street parked over as well, although I hate to lose parking spots.

If you want folks out of their cars, you have to provide them a spot to PUT said car.

ProstSeattle
ProstSeattle
13 years ago

I don’t agree with it, but I think the idea is that you don’t even HAVE a car on Capitol Hill. Or of McGinn has his way, in Seattle.

BenG
BenG
13 years ago

I’ll miss the parking spots as well. I know Seattle wants people out of their cars – but it’s not there yet (nor will it be for decades to come). I’m glad progress is being made, building light rail, trolleys, etc., but it’s too early to declare the war on parking spots. Remember, this is the neighborhood where they just started letting people park on both sides of many streets – because parking is so tough.

All of that being said, I think the new park is very nice. Wouldn’t mind it being bigger.

Chrstopher Hoffman
Chrstopher Hoffman
13 years ago

In the last year we added about 100 new on street parking spots west of Broadway. Even with these 10 gone we will still have a lot more than we had a year ago. I wouldn’t call that much of an effort to force people out of their cars.