Children at Broadway Playfield, 1918, originally uploaded by Seattle Municipal Archives.

At the heart of the situation that began with a mother’s complaints to City Hall and has so far led to a declaration to increase patrols and police presence in Cal Anderson Park is the theme that Capitol Hill isn’t a safe and fun place for kids to grow up. We expect the lack of amenities for children to be a part of the discussion at Tuesday night’s Capitol Hill town hall at Miller Community Center.

Mayor’s Town Hall
Tuesday, 9/13, 5:30 – 8pm
Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave East

We’re not here to completely skewer the position but we thought the information shared in a post last month in the online discussion board for the development of FedRep Park did a good job of documenting all the various places we have on the Hill for a kid to play. We asked the dad who wrote the list if we could share it on CHS. There are probably more. But keep the roster in mind as the discussion moves forward after the Tuesday night town hall — and the next time you want to go outside and play.

I’d like to introduce myself (Lance) and my boy/girl twins (Kylah & Tegan)!  My twins are almost 3 yrs old and I’ve been a stay-home dad with them since they were born, here on Capitol Hill, just off Broadway & E Republican.  I’d like to let you know where all we go to play… pretty much by stroller, tricycle, or walking and join us if you want.  The other parks and playgrounds here around the Hill that I don’t mention, maybe others could share their experiences!

The FOUR places we play the most are all 5-15 mins. walking time from our townhome:  

1)      Cal Anderson mostly for the swings!  The twins enjoy the climbing on the tots’ play set, but have ventured to the elementary play set now and are starting to attempt the climbing pegs and monkey bars!  The place is always occupied with same/similar aged kids and I can watch them without too much interference.  No sandbox, marry-go-round, climbing rocks/logs, or rope climbs, but the kids don’t miss it as far as I can tell.

2)      Miller Community Center mostly for the slides!  This park has three types of swings, high climbing structures, open space, and a water feature!  Again, no sandbox but the kids shovel and scoop the playground bark just as well.  When the building is open, there is a child playroom filled with toys, and on TUES & THURS 10-12noon, Mighty Mites playtime in the gymnasium has trikes & bikes, tumbling mats, and a bouncy house!  $2 bucks a kid!

3)      Volunteer Park mostly for the wading pool and playground!  This park has an older playground but that is going to change next year with a revised, updated, up-to-code, play area that will be more inclusive to the pool.  This park has sand and the twins love to dig and add rocks, sticks, and a leaf or two.  The swings are limited, but work.  FOUR different slides.  Space for tots and older kids.  This park is the furthest from our home, but it’s one block from the kids’ playschool, which we walk to… even in the rain.  For more info about the new playground design, look up seattle.gov/parks/levy or contact Karen O’Connor and ask about the new playground designs at Volunteer Park.

4)      Lowell Elementary School, mostly because it is the closest to our house and works well for a quick walking trip after dinner and before bedtime.  The playground section has a combo lock on the gate but is accessible to anyone who wants to use the playground with their kids.  The combo is 24-30-08 (update: 34-08-14) and the lock sticks, so keep trying it.  If you forget the combo, call the custodian, Ed Cummings 206-290-7655, leave a msg. and he’ll call you back with the combo number.  If anyone wants to spend time complaining… perhaps this could be a good cause into making this park open to the public without a combo lock on the gate. 

Other places I take my twins aren’t all that exciting for me, but the kids like it and it’s a good mix from the four above:

1)      Thomas Street P-Patch (@ 10^th).  The love walking through the paths, but it’s hard to keep them from picking and poking the plants.

2)      Seven Hills Park (@ 16^th South of Group Health).  This park has climbing rocks and open grass.  No formal play structures, but works with imaginative play.

3)      Fed/Rep Park [Space*].  Just a field now, but the kids like the chalk wall and picking dandelions.  Future plans don’t include a formal play feature, but unstructured play space with rocks, logs, sand, lawn, etc. is planned.

4)      Cascade Park (@ Harrison and Terry), down past REI.  A bit of a walk, but Route #8 gets us there and back pretty quickly.  This park is great with play structures AND imaginary play areas with rocks, trails, & SANDBOX. 

I’m thinking that Capitol Hill offers quite a bit for my kids to play, not to mention friendly people, a great Co-Op preschool, tons of bus routes, stores, Kid friendly restaurants (ie: MOD Pizza), etc.  Yes, it’s the “city” and not suburbia, but that’s why we live here.  We enjoy the walking, buses, light rail, and even ferries (W Seattle Water Taxi) rather than driving our Honda Pilot.  Although I do drive to the Woodland Park Zoo once each week.

 Let me know if there are other parks we could go to, but actually this has been plenty for the twins to enjoy!  I’m quite impressed with what Capitol Hill offers our family.  We’ve been here since 1996 and haven’t had the urge to leave.  Thanks for reading!  

Lance

CHS-tested additions include the playground at Stevens Elementary (18th Ave E) and grabbing some sticks and walking (no running with sticks!) the trails of Interlaken.