Morgan Junction

City accepting suggestions for Morgan park name

Guest — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:18:28 +0000

Guest (not verified) Thu, 02/26/2009 - 9:18am

April 4 deadline to sign petition to name park after St. Clair

Former West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair. Citizens of Morgan Junction are trying to convince the Seattle Parks Department to name a new community park after the long-time Morgan resident who died one year ago.

Steve Shay

Seattle Parks and Recreation is inviting the public to submit potential names for the new Morgan Junction park by Monday April 6.

A petition has been circulating the West Seattle community to name the park after long-time Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, a former Morgan resident who died a year ago from pancreatic cancer.

The park sits on former monorail property and is yet to be named. One roadblock is that the Parks Department requires a person be deceased for three years before it considers naming a park after that person.

Exceptions have been made, and a petition is now circulating to request such an exception in St. Clair's case.

"We want to get several thousand signatures," said Pete Spalding, of the Delridge Neighborhood District Council, who has teamed up with Morgan Community Association’s Steve Sindiong, Chas Redmond, and Cindi Barker, to present the petition to area City Council member and Parks committee chair, Tom Rasmussen, who will then approach Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher.

The Southwest District Council has also partnered with Spalding's district on this push.

"We want to pay honor to Tim St. Clair's legacy," added Spalding. "We realize the tremendous benefit his reporting brought to the city and his neighborhood."

The petition deadline in April 4.

Morgan Junction park is being developed on newly acquired property at the southwest corner of California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Eddy Street. The city parks department acquired a .2 acre property at 6140 California Ave. S.W. in 2006, for a new neighborhood park in the heart of the Morgan Junction urban village.

Funding is coming from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy and a matching grant from the King County Conservation Futures Tax.

The levy also provided the funding for planning, design,and construction of the park. The result of two public meetings developed a design for a piazza-like space with green edges, a U-shaped public gathering space with seating, a central lawn, and a prominent tree located at the southwest corner of the property.

The Parks department is also seeking a name for a new park in the Northgate Urban Center

The Park Naming Committee is comprised of one representative designated by the Board of Park Commissioners, one by the Chair of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee, and one by the Parks Superintendent.

Criteria the committee considers in naming parks include: geographical location, historical or cultural significance, and natural or geological features.

A park may be named for a person no longer living (deceased a minimum of three years) who made a significant contribution to parks and/or recreation. The Park Naming Committee will consider all suggestions and make a recommendation to Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who makes the final decision.

Suggestions need to be submitted in writing by Monday, April 6, 2009, and include an explanation of how the suggestion matches the naming criteria.

Send to Seattle Parks and Recreation, Park Naming Committee, 100 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109, or by e-mail to paula.hoff@seattle.gov.

To sign the petition, contact Pete Spalding at 4107 20th Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98106 or contact bayouwonder@msn.com or call 206.579.4373.

Steve Shay contributed to this report.

Parks/Open Space/Trails

Robinson Papers

Fauntleroy Way to get 'road diet'

Guest — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 01/26/2009 - 12:00am

<b>Graphic courtesy of Seattle DOT</b>

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced today (Jan. 23) its decision to change Fauntleroy Way Southwest to one travel lane in each direction, including a center turn-lane and bike lanes, often called a "road diet."

Between California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Edmunds Street, Fauntleroy Way will be converted from two travel lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction, a center two-way left turn lane, a bicycle lane northbound and shared lane pavement markings, for motor vehicles and bicycles, traveling southbound.

"It's the right thing to do," said Aaron Goss, owner of Aaron's Bicycle just a block from Fauntleroy. "It's the flatest bike route through West Seattle and a lot of people already use it."

Marked crosswalks will be added at Southwest Brandon Street and 40th Avenue Southwest. Most on-street parking will remain with a few spaces replaced by bus zones.

The restriping has been designed to make Fauntleroy Way safer for both pedestrians and bicyclists by reducing vehicle speeds and collisions while still supporting the road's capacity, accoridng to the city, which cites national studies that have revealed that single-lanes in each direction calm traffic and create a safer environment for all road users.

Goss says the average driver goes much faster than Fauntleroy's 35 mile an hour speed limit. According to the city, the average speed is 41 miles-per-hour.

Eric Widstrand also explained that similar "road diets," where lanes are limited to improve safety, have been successful on Rainier Avenue South, Stone Way and 24th Avenue Northwest in Ballard.

Travel times for motorists will not increase, even for those traveling to and from the Fauntleroy Ferry docks, the city expects. As Widstrand explained, Fauntleroy will experience less turning conflict with a shared center lane.

Steve Sindiong, president of the Morgan Junction Community Association, said the association is pleased with the possibility of new bicycle lanes and decreased speeds on Fauntleroy Way, but hopes the city has considered the possibility of additional services being added to the Fauntleroy Ferry terminal.

The department's decision was guided by an analysis of current and future traffic conditions, Bicycle Master Plan recommendations, and input from the community.

The 1.3 mile stretch of Fauntleroy will be repaved and restriped between May and November 2009. The road will not be completely closed in either direction during construction.

Once construction is complete, the road will be analyzed and adjustments, including additional crosswalks, could be made as needed.

"We want to take a look and see if there are any change in traffic volumes and make sure its working as we anticipated," said Widstrand.

A similar project, called a "boulevard concept" was rejected by the local community in 1998 as a part of the Morgan Junction's original neighborhood plan.

For more information please contact Reiner Blanco, Arterial Operations supervisor, at 206-615-1911 or at reiner.blanco@seattle.gov or Jessica Murphy, Arterial Asphalt and Concrete Paving program manager, at 206-684-0178 or jessica.murphy@seattle.gov.

Bicyclists/Pedestrians

Emergency Preparedness/Safety

Robinson Papers

300+ dogs and puppies seized from three puppy mills

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:00:00 +0000

admin Mon, 01/26/2009 - 12:00am

Furry Faces Foundation, [F3], and multiple West Seattle Businesses are teaming to collect donations of supplies to assist with the care of the dogs and puppies that have been seized from three puppy mills. It appears that these puppy mills are part of a puppy mill ring and F3 wouldn't be surprised to see more seizures in the near future. Thank you for caring and helping these animals.

Everett Animal Shelter and Saving Pets One at A Time need help with the following supplies:

Update Fauntleroy Way to get 'road diet'

Guest — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Guest (not verified) Fri, 01/23/2009 - 12:00am