The Bullitt property will one day be home to an official city park
The Seattle Parks department is collecting feedback on the next update to its strategies for determining where in the city to develop new park space and make improvements to existing facilities.
You have until March 9th to weigh in on the latest update to the Parks and Open Space Plan.
The parks department says the plan helps determine “where park development, improvements, and asset maintenance projects should occur; and where open space should be prioritized for acquisition.”
Every six years, Seattle Parks must update the plan to maintain the city’s eligibility for state grants.
Parks says the 2024 proposal recommends a citywide “Level of Service” standard “to identify where future recreation facilities should be located which in turn informs asset improvements and property acquisition priorities” that shifts the model for future planning from an acres per 1,000 residents guideline to new standards based on walkability:
Rather than an acres per 1,000 residents guideline, the 2024 POSP outlines a level of service standard based on walkability. This is consistent with the direction of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The two walkability distances are:
5-minute walkability guideline to be applied within the Urban Center boundary; and
10-minute walkability guideline to be applied outside of the Urban Center boundary
“This change recognizes walkability is a better measure for how well our spaces are servicing the needs of the community because they are based on an individual’s ability to access open spaces within a reasonable walking distance,” the parks department said in the announcement of the feedback period. “This change will also help SPR align with the capital planning approach of other city departments.”
Having a solid plan is only part of the equation for sorting out where to build new Seattle parks. Paying for their construction is another matter entirely. CHS reported here earlier this year on the new five-year timeline for the city to develop the Bullitt property in North Capitol Hill as a new park due to funding constraints.
You can submit feedback on the plan through March 9th. After that, Seattle Parks will finalize its proposal and hand it over to the Seattle City Council before taking it to the state in May.
Learn more at seattle.gov.
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Let’s try and maintain what we have better before we start expanding.
Thank you! I feel like a broken record about this, but our existing park spaces need attention, more services, and better lighting.
Bellevue Place Park has been loudly occupied by the “Diamond Compound” drug outfit since at least last summer, cutting off the bike path and making it dangerous for locals to walk their dogs. I’d love to see a dog park, a pea patch, a playground, a flower garden, optimistic landscaping–basically, anything!–than its current filthy encampment. Neighbors that here want the simple freedom to use the park and are sick of being robbed and vandalized and having to clean up human poop from our carports.