Pinehurst Seattle

Hubbard Homestead Park Drama

I’m hearing reports of major issues with the current design of Hubbard Homestead Park. As you may know, they’re converting the 3.73 acre park and ride just north of Northgate into a park. They are well into the process and there have been numerous public meetings already. It seems like the consensus was that the community (and the former owner of the property) wanted to restore the burried historical spring and some of the wetland to create a more natural open space. But apparently this is now being ignored and they’re doing a man-made water feature instead.

I haven’t seen it myself but Bruce Hubbard was interviewed on King 5 news about this story. And another blog has already covered this in much greater detail here: http://ofparamount.blogspot.com/2010/04/hubbards-spring-will-it-come-back-to
.html

Comments can be sent to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw (chairs city council Parks committee), sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, tim.gallagher@seattle.gov, and Mayor McGinn, mike.mcginn@seattle.gov.

Thank You Everybody!

I really want to thank everybody who emailed me or commented on the latest sidewalk post. I haven’t responded to as many as I’d like yet but I have read everything. Obviously it’s an important issue to a lot of people but it’s amazing to see that much energy despite how slow the process has been. I also love seeing that much discussion in general. I wish all the posts could be that exciting.

Sidewalks were definitely a large part of the discussion on the Lake City walking tour with Mike McGinn. You can see me helping the picture there by deciding to eat at that exact moment… There was also a little bit of discussion on a streetcar and the People for a Northgate to Lake City Streetcar Facebook group was mentioned.

And last and certainly not least, I wanted to remind everybody that Pinehurst is going to get it’s own chance to talk about our priorities soon. The Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith will be doing walking tour of Pinehurst on Monday, April 26 from 4:00-5:00 pm. The details are still being worked out but the Safeway site and NE 115th St are going to be on the list. I know the time is a bit awkward but anybody who can make it is welcome to attend. With the level of enthusiasm I saw earlier I’m sure we could leave quite an impression.

Feedback Wanted: Pinehurst Infrastructure

There has been a lot of advocacy for sidewalks and infrastructure coming out of Pinehurst and the North District over the years. Many of our local community members have been instrumental in pushing this as a priority and making people aware of the lack of equity in our current investments. While people have worked hard, the money isn’t there to solve many of the urgent needs.

A new group is forming to try to push this concept even further. It will focus on both short term and long term goals to try to fill in many of the gaps we face in walking, biking, and transit. In many ways it’s an extension of the ideas of Safewalks and already includes people who have worked on that as well as local projects like the NE 125th St sidewalk. They’re working closely with communities to find their priorities and trying to create a broad coalition of support. I’ll have more details once they make their official announcement next week.

In the meantime, I would like get feedback from the Pinehurst community. Sidewalks have obviously been a priority here in the past and we’re still working hard on NE 115th St. There is going to be a walking tour of the neighborhood with Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith on Monday, April 26 from 4:00-5:00pm and I’ll have more info on that soon. We’re going to continue working on these projects as they come up but I also wanted to get some broader feedback.

Do people have any specific concerns? What about specific priorities? Or suggestions? Please let me know by Friday, April 16th at Phillip@pinehurstseattle.org

Treehouse Coffee breakfast special this weekend (April 10-11)

From Michele: “Calling all crepe fans! This weekend we will continue to offer the fruit and granola yogurt parfait but will add to the mix an egg and bacon crepe with hollandaise sauce. There will also be a mixed berry and fresh whipped cream crepe. Enjoy that sunshine!”

Read more about Treehouse Coffee here and here.

Update on Bird Shootings

Back in February we had a few reports of birds found dead, apparently shot. I just checked with Diane Horswill, our North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator, to see what advice the Seattle Police Department (SPD) had on this type of incident. Here is her reply:

“It is illegal to shoot birds and to discharge a firearm in the City. My guess would be that the shooter is using a BB or pellet gun. Small dead animals are now allowed to be wrapped and placed in the regular garbage. If it happens a lot or there is a possible suspect it should be reported to SPD. During the summer mosquito season the Health Dept wants to know about dead crows as they are markers for avian flu, so if I saw one I would check to make sure it was shot.”

North Precinct Advisory Council – home burglaries

At last night’s NPAC meeting Diane Horswill, North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator, mentioned that she did an analysis of residential burglaries in NE Seattle and found that about half were NOT forced entry. This means the burglar entered an unlocked door or window. It also means that possibly half the burglaries didn’t need to happen!

There is a a continuing rash of home invasion robberies in the North Precinct, where the burglar enters while residents are home. They do what car prowlers do – turn the door handle to see if the door is locked. If unlocked, they’ll go in, even if they know someone is inside sleeping. They often take electronics and car keys (and the car).

Another speaker said that this year burglaries are down all over the city EXCEPT in the North Precinct. We don’t want the north end to become a target, right? We don’t want it to be known as an easy mark and draw more criminals here.

Please protect yourself and your belongings by locking your doors and windows. Also, if you are burgled, it helps the investigation if you have a list of serial numbers of your valuables. The greater success investigating and prosecuting, the better for all of us.

Also, keep an eye out on your street. If you see suspicious activity, abandoned (stolen) cars, and the like, call the police. SPD is truly dedicated to making our city and neighborhoods safer, and they have many tools in their toolkit to help, but they need to know from us what is going on.

If you would like a home security review by a SPD officer, call or email Diane Horswill at diane.horswill@seattle.gov
or (206) 684-7711

North District Council and NE 115th Sidewalk

There’s another possible funding source for NE 115th St!

I previously wrote about how Pinehurst had come in 4th for the Bridging the Gap Large Project Fund recommendations from the North District Council. It had come down to a single vote in a tie breaker but they were only considering the top 3 so it was eliminated.

At the meeting this afternoon we toured, discussed, and ranked projects for the Neighborhood Street Fund (NPF) and a section of NE 115th St came in first. This is a much smaller amount so it’s only looking at a section from 5th Ave NE and 8th Ave NE but the hope is that smaller pieces can be combined to fill in the blanks over time.

NEST Map Clearly Shows Streets to Burke Gilman Trail

The “Northeast Seattle Trails” (NEST) walking map clearly shows several cycling connections to the Burke Gilman Trail, even better than the new 2010 City of Seattle Bicycle Map, released April 23.

Issued by Feet First, this map not only illustrates walking routes and community info but provides easy-to-see connections to the Burke Gilman Trail, including limited steepness info, and hints to other bike-friendly routes.

Sponsored (it seems) by the National Park Service and Active Living By Design, the “NEST” Feet First walking map is free at community and neighborhood community centers. Alternatively, contact:

Feet First
314 First Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
info@feetfirst.info
(206) 652-2310
www.feetfirst.info

Safeway Shopping Help

Renee sent this to the email list but I wanted to make sure it was available for everybody to see. I would also add that it’s a great opportunity for neighbors to help each other when there is a need.

“I have heard that some Pinehurst residents who normally shop at the Pinehurst Safeway have been struggling with grocery shopping logistics since the Pinehurst store closed at the end of February. With these neighbors in mind, I approached Safeway to ask if they have any thoughts on ways to help those who do not own cars or who are physically challenged by the distance to the nearest open grocery store.

If Safeway is able to offer a discount on home grocery delivery during the store closure period, would you use it? If so, please e-mail me at reneeastaton@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 14th. If you have neighbors or relatives who would use it, please pass this e-mail on to them and ask them to e-mail me as well.”

Parks Community Open House Tonight

Seattle Parks and Recreation Invites YOU to An Evening with Tim Gallagher, Superintendent Parks and Recreation

Lake City Community Center
Wed, April 7. 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.

12531 28th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA
98125

The purpose of the evening is to host a community dialogue with Seattle Parks and Recreation about how it’s meeting neighborhood needs.

Light Refreshments and Child Care Provided

You will have the opportunity to:

Meet the staff that serves your community
Have conversations with the staff about what is working and how we can improve
Speak with Tim about your ideas for building community relationships, and guide our programs and services to effectively respond to the needs of those living, working, and playing in the Lake City Community

Pinehurst Seattle

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