The plans for the upcoming Highland Park Spraypark and developments for West Seattle Reservoir Park were discussed in a public meeting at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting Feb. 29. Also getting some attention was the upcoming public meeting for the new Westcrest P-Patch garden.

The design revealed a colorful "planetary theme" in terms of layout on the ground with shapes (all proportionally accurate) of the planets (except Pluto) represented on the ground.

The Westcrest off leash dog Park and West Seattle Reservoir Park are located at 9000 8th Ave s.w. and the primary park is the former reservoir which was covered and converted in the last three years, funded by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy. The budget was $3,455,000 for planning, design and construction.

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The Oversight Committee approved an additional $421,000 in funding to pay for street improvements required by the Department of Planning and Development as part of project permitting. Mark Brands of SiteWorkshop spoke about the now 18 month old Master Plan for the park and changes that have come along since its inception.

Virginia Hassinger, Seattle Parks Project Manager talked about the funding challenges and how they were met. "This is a great plan for the future. We don't have the budget to do everything on this plan. So what we've done is to select the critical 'bones' that we have to have. As we were doing that process, looking at what we could build for the $3.5 million dollars, we got a wake up call that there was a change in sidewalk code and we now have to put sidewalks in. This is actually a good thing but they are probably not all places you want sidewalks. What I'm really happy about is we get to put the sidewalk in along Cloverdale up to between 7th ave. s.w. and 6th s.w. up to the crest of the hill where we have an entry to the park (...) The downside of that is $3 million dollars, that's all we have and suddenly what we have for the park was having to go for sidewalks and permitting. That's why in 2011 we didn't get a lot done. Towards the end of the year we went back to the Levy Oversight Committee to see if we could get more money." Just under $2 million of the overall budget is being spent on construction. The remainder is consumed by permitting, surveying, consultants and normal Parks Dept. overhead.

Hassinger also explained about a sidewalk along 8th Ave. s.w. that would connect into the parking lot and a sidewalk, as part of the code, that would get installed down Trenton Street s.w. "It's really complicated because 8th
Ave. s.w. does not have a crown and water does not drain to each gutter (...) and we can't afford to rebuild the entire street." Working with SPU and SDOT they came up with a design that puts the sidewalk very close to the property line but above the street. A deep water main along the street also presents another complication that they hope to avoid. The design process is continuing. They would start construction next year.

Brands continued noting that community meetings highlighted the need for parking which has been included and expanded but will not be a drive through and instead be a "cul-de-sac" configuration, meaning that it will have one entrance.

The parking lot off 8th Ave. s.w. will mean improvements along that street including some pavement for consistency. The lot is a "double loaded" lot with room for 60 cars. This will "substantially add to the parking" already there with about 50 existing stalls right now (which includes 20 near the dog park).

The existing children's play equipment will be moved to a spot more central to the park. Trails will be built to blend into the existing trails near the dog park.

The restroom will be at the mid point of the parking lot where the first art installation is also located. The circular shape around the park is "about 1/3rd of a mile" and is a circular path.

The artwork in the new park, referred to as "fliers" will be kinetic, mounted on stainless steel poles and will be "reminiscent of airplanes, industry, and people all blended together." They will be grouped at two primary locations in the park, one at the east side and another on a slight rise to the south.

The updated design also delineates a four gate off leash dog/people interchange area to make a strong connection between the forested area and the trails. A pervious pavement path will allow entry from Cloverdale Street and they are looking at potentially extending the path down Cloverdale but that's more problematic.

The spray park plans
Kelly Goold, Projects Coordinator for Seattle Parks and Recreation spoke about the Spraypark. They are finishing the design over the next two weeks and expect bidding to ensue. The construction would begin in late spring and possibly have it open by late summer. "It won't be a full operating season but we want to get something out there," Goold said.

You can get a sense of what it will look like by visiting the new park in Georgetown at 750 South Homer Street or another at Northacres Spraypark at 12718 1st Ave. Northeast.

The spraypark incorporates ideas from the community including gathering places, art and the planetary theme. The existing wading pool will be removed.
The park is a recirculating type, meaning it is more sustainable, instead of a "pass through" that drains the water away. It cost more money but the Highland Park community lobbied and got the funds. This type of park also means more features could be included. Those features that will be put out to bid include a "tunnel" in which water arcs overhead, an above grade feature that has an "element of surprise" with "tippy buckets" that fill up and then dump water, a team spray that "consist of a number of ground jets that when you plug one it pumps up another one."

The planets will be shown in proportional shapes with a special highly saturated color coating and ideally will have a bronze astrological symbol embedded in the concrete. Some elements of the concrete will be slightly sloped so when the park is not operating as a water park it will offer recreational opportunities to skaters. There will be seatwalls that wrap around to contain the area.

Pete Spalding who is the chairperson of the Levy Oversight Committee spoke about additional $8 million in funding coming up, some of which could be used for possible later improvements to the park and urged those in attendance to "dream big" about what they would like to see. "Letters of intent will be due probably late April or early May and the applications will be due toward the middle of summer."

Westcrest P-Patch Meeting
The freshly announced Westcrest Park P-Patch Garden and layout ideas will be discussed at a meeting on Saturday, March 3 at the Jim Wiley Center in the Joe Thomas Room at Greenbridge, 9800 8th Ave. s.w. The P-Patch would be located in the "Panhandle" portion of the park at the southern end. The meeting will run from 10 am to 12 Noon. Contact Phi Huynh at 684-4531 with questions or via email at phi.huynh@seattle.gov .