The city of Seattle's Department of Planning and Development recently told a group of Crown Hill community members they would not recommend that 15th Avenue Northwest be designated as a Pedestrian Zone.

A city-wide process, The Neighborhood Main Street Mapping Project, is evaluating streets in commercial areas that can be changed to Pedestrian Zones. Neighborhood plans developed in the late 1990s stressed the importance of pedestrian friendly environments.

Some people at the Crown Hill meeting had not heard of the mapping project in their area until recently.

The recommendation to not make 15th Avenue Northwest into a Pedestrian Zone is not a done deal and the city is open to more input from the community, said Vanessa Murdock, senior urban planner for the Department of Planning and Development.

Murdock said public comment will be taken through the end of September and possibly through part of October is there is enough interest.

"It's another opportunity to talk about this. We will revise draft recommendations. The city council will review it as legislation," she said.

Murdock said she heard some good information at the meeting and has been thinking about it. She said the recommendation could go through small or large changes, or stand as it is now.

Once all the public comment is in, Mayor Greg Nickels will forward his recommendation to the Seattle City Council, which will then hold a public hearing. The Mayor's office could make changes or "tweak" the recommendation, said Murdock.

People in attendance at the meeting favored more pedestrian use for the busy Crown Hill street and said they will provide input to the city on issue.

"We plan to meet amongst ourselves and get back to (the city)," said Mel Kang, a member of the 15th Avenue Northwest Association. Two other groups, the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association and the Whittier Heights Community Council were at the meeting last week.

"We think encouraging pedestrian oriented businesses on 15th will help create a better environment for the neighborhood," said Kang.

The city came up with Pedestrian Zone (P Zone) Overlay designations to encourage Pedestrian Zones in commercial areas. They are studying streets all over the city.

The city has named the area between Northwest 80th and Northwest 83rd on 15th Avenue Northwest as the Crown Hill Urban Village. The Ballard Urban Village runs south of 15th Avenue Northwest from Northwest 65th Street.

Urban villages emphasize housing density and resident walking more to daily activities.

A Pedestrian Zone will encourage new development that reinforces public right-of-way and priority would be given to pedestrian friendly street improvements.

Buildings in pedestrian zones must have commercial activity on the ground floors that bring people in on foot. They must be for pedestrian use, not residential. Retail stores, restaurants, banks, medical offices, libraries and hair salons be included in that definition.

Pedestrian Zone streets receive a high priority for pedestrian improvements. These may include: wide sidewalks and planting strips; landscaping; pedestrian scale lighting; street furniture; awnings and weather protection; bike lanes; bike parking; and short term on-street parking.

Businesses in the zone must not cater to automobiles, so gas stations and auto repair are not permitted in Pedestrian Zones. Businesses where employees stay inside most of the day and don't have clients walking in regularly are not allowed.

No existing businesses would be displaced.

"The point of the zone is to encourage development that is pedestrian friendly. We want to have re-development go in that direction. A zone can play a part in that. We have to consider that as an option," said Kang.

Two Metro bus routes, numbers 15 and 81 run along on this street. "While there are sidewalks, the volume and speed of traffic along this corridor does not make 15th Avenue Northwest a comfortable place for pedestrians or bicyclists," the draft recommendation said.

In making their no pedestrian zone recommendation, Department of Planning and Development staff describes 15th Avenue Northwest as a four-lane principal arterial that is a major truck route. The dominant character of the street is retail with much of it auto-oriented.

The city also says the street is a valuable freight corridor running through Ballard to Interbay and beyond. As long as the street is used as a freight corridor, it will continue to be auto-oriented.

"The draft recommendation wrote the street off as a freight corridor. The two (pedestrians and freight) are mutually exclusive," said Kang.

Sixteen people attended the meeting. Many of them were veterans of the successful fight to prevent Crown Hill Safeway from building a gas station next to their store.

People at the meeting had a number of concerns, one of which was the notification process to inform the public on The Neighborhood Main Street Mapping Project in their area.

Murdock said she has given presentations at Ballard District Council, Fremont Chamber of Commerce and the Crown Hill Business Association meetings.

The city has sent letters to residents in the immediate area of 15th Avenue Northwest and two other parts of Ballard where they are considering Pedestrian Zones, as well as purchasing an advertisement in the News-Tribune.

Murdock said the city used a mailing list from the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center, meet with groups like the Ballard District Council and did mailings to people living in the zones. Open houses were also held in July.

The growth of condominium projects in Ballard came up at the meeting. Some people said they feared that 15th Avenue Northwest would be turned into a huge condo with no parking, and cars overflowing into neighborhood streets.

One man said the new townhouses in the area do not have basements and owners use garages for storage, while taking up street parking.

The proximity of schools came up with kids walking up and down the street a concern. Ballard High, Whittier Elementary, Salmon Bay and Whitman Middle School are all situated on either side of 15th Avenue Northwest.

"This the kind of decision that does not get a lot of attention. Once a zone is changed, it's hard to change the use. These kinds of decisions are important, to spread the word. That's how important this issue is," said Kang.

The Department of Planning and Development also looked at Northwest Market Street and is recommending extending the Pedestrian Zone east on Market from 20th Avenue Northwest to just west of 15th Avenue Northwest. "Extending the pedestrian designation in this location will preserve and enhance this pedestrian oriented shopping district," the report said.

The department is not suggesting a pedestrian designation for Ballard Avenue, which already has guidelines determined by the Ballard Avenue Landmark District.

A Pedestrian Zone is recommended for Loyal Heights between Northwest 80th Street and Northwest 77th Street, along 24th Avenue Northwest.

Comments can be e-mailed to: Vanessa.Murdock@seattle.gov or by mail to: Neighborhood Main Street Mapping Project, City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, 700 5th Ave., Suite 200, P.O. Box 34019, Seattle, WA 98124. To see the plans, visit http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/planning/pzone_mapping.