It's almost Earth Day and some neighborhood groups will use that day to launch community clean-ups to celebrate their neighborhoods and drum up enthusiasm for community projects.

The 14th Avenue Northwest Vision Project will host an Adopt-A-Street Clean Up Party

Saturday, April 22 (Earth Day) from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., starting at 5912 14th Ave. N.W. Volunteers and are invited to enjoy a hotdog and tofu dog cookout after the clean up.

It seems fitting that the Vision Project adopt 14th Avenue for their cleanup effort since the group has been working for the last seven months to help to develop a vision for safety, aesthetic, and functional improvements to the street.

The group acquired a $15,000 Neighborhood Matching Funds Grant from the City of Seattle last November that allowed them to hire Carlson Architects as a design consultant to help them move forward with creating a vision for the street that involves the entire community.

According to the firm's Web site, Carlson worked on the Envision 15th Avenue Northwest project, designed the Path Building on the corner of Leary and 15th, and worked on the neighborhood plan for the Pike-Pine neighborhood. Carlson will lead the community in project development for the 1-mile stretch of road along 14th that runs from the ship canal of Salmon Bay to Ballard High School, which is home to a variety of businesses and residential homes.

A bulk of the grant money will pay for the consultant's work, so the group is looking for financial support from Ballard residents and business owners, said Mary Lou Olsen, a member of the 14th Avenue steering committee.

It's an extensive project, said Olsen, and business owners along the avenue have a vested interest in this project since many are concerned about graffiti vandalism and old campers and cars that litter the street's wide median.

The group has nearly paid off the matching funds grant, which is supposed to be matched with community contributions of volunteer labor, materials, professional services, or cash.

"We are now counting a bit more on the community and businesses to get more money to move ahead with implementing the plans once they are finalized," said Olsen. "Once the street is finished, it's going to be a real benefit to Ballard."

On Earth Day, volunteers will cleanup litter and foliage for the entire avenue. This is the group's second organized cleanup event.

"Show up and meet your neighbors," said Olsen.

The Crown Hill Business Association will also host a cleanup on Earth Day. Member Cinny Burrell said volunteers should meet at the HomeStreet Bank on 15th Avenue Northwest at 10 am. Lunch is provided around 2 p.m. after the event, when there will also be door prizes.

Volunteers will focus on picking up litter and sprucing up green areas in the business core along 15th to Holman Road and from Northwest 80th Street to the Dick's Drive-In.

Burrell and association president, Jack Seifert, said they hope to hold annual cleanup days in the future.

"We would like to have a regular interest in clean-ups," said Burrell. "We're trying to get consistent interest."

The Crown Hill Business Association is just over a year old and annual cleanups are just the beginning of the group's big plans for the neighborhood's future.

"People know where Greenwood and Ballard are, but they don't seem to know where Crown Hill is," said Burrell.

That's something the organization hopes to change through focusing on boosting the business district to a vibrant "destination spot."

We're really invested in this community and we are getting fired up and excited about it," said Burrell.

To join the Crown Hill Business Association clean up, just show up or call ahead to Shane Dir, at 229-6236. For more details about the Visioning Project, please contact Mary Lou Olson at 283-5582 or visit http://14avenw.org/index.html.