Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board seeks new members

Pedestrians-on-Fifth-Avenue-in-midtown.-New-York-1942-241x300Let’s get Seattle walking

Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board seeks new members. Anyone interested that lives in Broadview?

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board is accepting applications for several new members to help make walking in Seattle safer and easier.  The volunteer board, which was created by Seattle City Council in 1993, plays an influential role in implementing Seattle’s Pedestrian Master Plan. The board advises the Mayor and City Council, participates in planning and project development, evaluates policies and makes recommendations to all city departments including the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Currently we are looking for candidates to fill three positions.  Board members are frequent users of our pedestrian network, and represent a variety of ages, levels of mobility, walks of life, and areas throughout the city. Members must be Seattle residents, and may not be city employees. The board meets the second Wednesday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m. at City Hall on Fifth Avenue between James and Cherry streets.

According to David Goldberg, chair of the Pedestrian Advisory Board, “Seattle has declared an ambition to be the ‘most walkable city in America,’ and is embracing a goal to make our streets among the safest in the world. The Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board can play a key role in holding ourselves accountable for these aspirations while meeting the needs of all residents, regardless of age, income or ability.”

The City of Seattle is committed to promoting diversity in the City’s boards and commissions. Women, young persons, seniors, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, persons of color, and immigrants are encouraged to apply.  Interested Seattleites should submit a resume and cover letter explaining their interest via email by January 5, 2015 to:  Howard Wu at howard.wu@seattle.gov.

For more information, call Howard Wu at (206) 684-3902, or send e-mail to the address above.

The Broadview Garden Club wishes you a Peaceful New Year

 

Broadview Garden Club invites you to join us for an evening with garden designer and author, Jessi Bloom:

BGC logo Mindful Gardens: Finding Zen & peace in your garden

 7 p.m.   Thursday, January 8, 2015

Luther Memorial Lutheran Church

13047 Greenwood Ave N. Seattle, WA 98177

 

 

Jessi Bloom is a Puget Sound native, an award-winning ecological landscape designer, professional horticulturalist, and certified arborist. She and her family practice sustainability as a way of life.  She is lead designer and owner of N.W. Bloom—EcoLogical Landscapes, which prides itself as one of the first landscape companies that has never used pesticides. She has just been featured in a new episode of the PBS series “Growing a Greener World” about modern homesteading.  She spends much of her time teaching, consulting, and speaking nationwide in addition to designing landscapes. She has been recognized by the American Horticultural Society; her work featured in Pacific Horticulturemagazine and Sunset magazine and she is a regular speaker at the NW Flower & Garden Show.  Jessi and her family, including two boys, chickens and a handful of animals live on a small farm north of Seattle.  You can follow her blog at: http://www.nwbloom.com/.

Come start your new year with fresh ideas to inspire you in the garden!

This is event is free to the public.

Directions

CKS Student Does Her Part For Pets

Lizzie, a 5th grader at Christ the King Catholic School located in the heart of Broadview, does her part to help felines find new homes.  Lizzie is an avid writer and does research and writes blog posts to help cats find families.  She was recently featured in a King 5 news story:  Girl Pens Cat Bios for Humane Society.  If you are thinking of adding to your family this holiday season, think adoption.  You can visit the Seattle Humane Society website for more details and to read all about the cats that need homes.  Seattle Humane Society.

Holiday Tree Sale at Broadview-Thomson

Broadview-Thomson K-8 will be hosting its third annual Winter Tree Farm this Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7, and again on December 13 and 14. Trees will be sold from 11am to 4pm each weekend.

Noble Fir trees (5 to 8 feet) and Douglas Fir trees (5 to 7 feet) will be available, as well as small Douglas Fir tabletop trees. Come out and support a community school this holiday season!holiday-tree-sale

Broadview-Thomson is located at 130th and Greenwood Ave N.

Interested in updates on Light Rail at Northgate Station

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The elevated Northgate Station will be located east of 1st Ave NE,

spanning NE 103rd Street. Station entrances will be on the

Northgate Mall property north of NE 103rd Street and near the

Northgate Transit Center south of NE 103rd Street. This station

will provide access to Northgate Mall, bus transfers at the

transit center, adjacent park-and-ride facilities

North Seattle Community College and nearby homes and businesses.

Opens for service: 2021

Ride time: Northgate to downtown Seattle in 14 minutes

Rider projection: Approximately 15,000 daily riders will board the train

at Northgate Station by 2030

Phase: Final design

There is a lot of updated information at: www.soundtransit.org/Projects-and-Plans

 

 

Second Community Meeting Playground Improvement Project

 

 

 

Second community meeting 2

Community Playground Improvement Project 

Review Three Conceptual Designs
This Project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award
from the City of Seattle, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
Vote for Your Favorite Ideas
Join us and enter the raffle to win a family guest pass
to Pacific Science Center and IMAX Theater
Thursday, Dec. 4th
Broadview-Thomson K-8
13052 Greenwood Ave N
Pizza Arrives at 5:30 pmPresentations from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Coyotes in Broadview…Best to keep an eye out on your pets.

DDow_November 16 2014__MG_7409 sml

photo taken by Dennis Dow

DDow_November 16 2014__MG_7423 sml

photo taken by Dennis Dow

Neighbors spotted a coyote in their yard.  It had a large grey cat cornered and was about to move in for the kill.  We opened our back door and scared it away giving the cat a chance to escape.  The coyote returned a few minutes later looking for the cat.  .

Aaron, Federal wildlife agent came out to West Seattle and did a talk on coyotes.  “Don’t put your pets in harm’s way. And don’t make any other food source easily available, either. Losing pets to coyotes (or other predators) is a neighborhood problem, not a coyote problem.

He says one big problem is people letting their dogs out, unaccompanied, to relieve themselves in the middle of the night. Even if they’re just sticking to their own yards – a coyote might be out there, “coaxing” the dog to the edge of the yard because the dog gets “riled up” and wants to protect his yard, and that’s when they’ll get snatched. And he says letting cats roam outdoors is problematic too.

“A lot of these (coyote) ‘issues’ aren’t really issues if you (keep pets indoors),” he says, adding that while sometimes the coyote “situation” is “more serious than (residents) think … in this case, we’re just calming people down. It happens, it’s normal. This is not something that’s worth a coyote being euthanize– as of right now. … People just need to be reminded that their pets are precious and coyotes are out there. It’s natural. Try to keep (your pets) indoors.”

And watch out for other food sources, he advised – bird feeders can attract rodents, which coyotes eat (they might eat the seeds and nuts, too); even an uncovered compost pile can draw coyotes interested in food or produce scraps.

He says, “Just having us out there doesn’t mean we’re going to remove (coyotes),” and insists part of Wildlife Services’ job is “educating people and their cats and dogs.

So, what to do if you see a coyote?

Same advice we’re been sharing in coyote-sighting stories here for five years. “Yell at it, throw something.” Scare it away, so it maintains a healthy fear of humans. You’ll find that advice in this state publication, too. Overall, Aaron insisted, the state of things right now is not a coyote problem, but a neighborhood problem, and if neighborhoods minimize the food sources, the problem should recede.

link to West Seattle Blog article

 

 

Crown Hill Neighborhood Association questions on the Holman Road Project

pavingMost of us in Broadview use Holman Road. Do you have any comments or questions that would be helpful to this project?  Please feel free to contact Bert.

The Crown Hill NA is excited that the Holman Road project is approaching completion and is following up on a few related items….

It has been a busy year here in Crown Hill with the work being done along Holman Road. We have appreciated the work done so far and are already seeing benefits from many of the improvements. Also, since construction crews are in the process of finishing their work on the repaving project, we wanted to get a status check on some items connected to this project to make sure that it is completed thoroughly and well, and so that we do not lose sight of ongoing planning beyond this project. We would appreciate a response on each so that we know where they stand.

The following items relate directly to the completion of the repaving project:

1.     Landscaping in the medians – We greatly appreciate that the medians were structured to accommodate plantings and are already filled with soil so that this can happen soon. Are there plans and funds remaining in the project to do that? If not, can we get the OK to secure funding and/or donations of time and materials from local businesses and neighbors to make this happen ASAP? Large weeds are already growing in this space and what is an overwhelming positive to the project is in danger of becoming an eyesore. Now that the rainy season has returned, it is time to plant. Please advise.

2.     Speed Limit Sign and Speed Tracking Device on Southbound Holman Rd. – During consultations earlier in the year, we were told that the speed limit sign could easily be moved north of 12th and the radar and digital speed readout could be moved further north, as well. They need to be moved from their current locations to encourage traffic to slow before it gets to the park area where the signs are currently located. Please advise on when this will happen.

3.     FYI on Drainage Issues by 15th crosswalk on Holman Rd. Northbound – We have been very pleased with the extensiveness of the sidewalk repairs happening adjacent to this stretch of road but have concerns about large pooling of water that occurs alongside it. Has this been addressed in any way and/or will it impact the integrity of the road and sidewalk there and/or usability of the crosswalk?

4.     FYI on Cut-Through Issues at 13th and Holman – Because the new median prohibits left turns from 13th onto Holman, the gas station is being used as a cut-through to make left turns. There is no way to address this structurally but are there any suggestions on how to mitigate (e.g. police monitoring for a time, etc.)?

These items are short and mid-term follow up issues connected to the project that we would also appreciate receiving a status check on:

1.     Crossing signal at 13th – While the median may provide some relief (we have observed that it is being utilized as a crossing refuge), there was agreement that this crossing point warrants a signal of some sort and it was built with that intention in mind. How do we make this happen? There was talk of possible funding earlier in the year, is this still a possibility? What are next steps? Please advise.

2.     Assessment of and Mitigation for Increased Traffic on 12th and 14th – We have observed a marked decrease in both volumes and speed of traffic on 13th after the installation of the median, which is great. We have also observed definite higher volumes and likely increased speeds on 12th and 14th as a result. How can we confirm this and develop mitigation strategies to soften the impact on these streets? Please advise.

3.     Flashing Yellow on Left Turn Northbound at 15th – During peak traffic hours in the afternoon, because this turn has no flashing yellow light, cars avoid turning there and take an alternate left onto 90th, endangering southbound traffic and pedestrians along Holman. It makes better sense to have these cars turning left from the pullout lane at 15th, which they won’t do if they have to wait forever to do so as it is right now. A flashing yellow is an easy fix. How can we make this happen?

4.     Long-term Planning for a Complete Holman Road – In consultation with SDOT staff early this year, all parties agreed that the repaving project could address some of the needs for the Holman corridor but that this one project was not funded and structured to meet them all and that further planning and work would be necessary. While the Complete Streets Ordinance provides SDOT the flexibility to meet these needs in more than one project, it clearly specifies that all needs should be planned for and addressed. What are the next steps to continue planning for, funding, and creating a Complete Street along Holman Road in consultation with all community stakeholders? Please advise.

Thank you for the time and attention that has been given to this project so far and for your timely response to the items above. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Bert W. Hopkins
President, Crown Hill Neighbors Association
bert@crownhillneighbors.org
206-414-8733

Thanks Jayne Williamson BCC Boardmember for getting the information to us

Get Ready for Possible Freezing Weather

The National Weather Service has published a special weather statement about potential freezing weather in our area by Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.  Drain your garden hoses!

Here is the text of the NWS statement.

COLDER TEMPERATURES AND LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS
WEEK…

A COLD CANADIAN AIR MASS WILL DIVE SOUTHWARD ON MONDAY AND SPREAD
ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH AT LEAST
WEDNESDAY. STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW WILL DEVELOP ON MONDAY ALLOWING
DRIER AIR TO FILTER INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON. HIGH TEMPERATURES
ACROSS THE LOWLANDS WILL BE IN THE LOW 50S ON MONDAY…THEN FALL
TO THE LOW TO MID 40S BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. CLEAR SKIES WILL
ALLOW OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES TO COOL OFF DRAMATICALLY TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY. LOW TEMPERATURES AWAY FROM THE WATER ARE EXPECTED TO
FALL INTO THE LOW TO MID 20S. TYPICALLY MILDER SPOTS SUCH AS
SEATTLE CLOSER TO THE WATER WILL GET DOWN TO THE UPPER 20S OR LOW
30S. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST HARD FREEZE FOR SOME AREAS THIS SEASON.
BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT…A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL APPROACH AND SPREAD
CLOUDS INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO MODERATE
AS A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION RETURNS THURSDAY.

LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE AS STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW
DEVELOPS. FRASER OUTFLOW ACROSS THE NORTH INTERIOR SHOULD BEGIN
MONDAY NIGHT OR EARLY TUESDAY WITH GUSTS OVER 45 MPH POSSIBLE
THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. LOCATIONS SUCH AS
BELLINGHAM…BLAINE…SUMAS…AND THE SAN JUANS ARE PARTICULARLY
VULNERABLE TO FRASER OUTFLOW. IN ADDITION…STRONG EASTERLY WINDS
ARE ALSO EXPECTED ALONG THE FOOTHILLS DURING THIS PERIOD. WIND GUSTS
IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH MAY DEVELOP…ESPECIALLY NEAR THE CASCADE GAPS
AFFECTING PLACES LIKE ENUMCLAW AND NORTH BEND. STAY TUNED TO THE
LATEST FORECASTS FOR UPDATES ON THE CHANGING WEATHER.

Damage to Salmon to Sound Trail at Carkeek Park

salmonHave you ever seen the salmon along the Salmon to Sound Trail at Carkeek Park?

For the next few weeks you can watch adult salmon returning to the creeks where they will spawn and complete their life cycle. Next February and March you can also witness thousands of baby salmon being released from the Imprint Pond where they will travel to the ocean to mature.

The Salmon to Sound Trail offers visitors the unique opportunity to witness the salmon life cycle in a major metropolitan area. Many schools use the trail as an outdoor education site for an up-close experience of stream and forest ecology.

Unfortunately, trees along the trail were cut last summer to improve safety, but falling logs and branches damaged Venema creek. Venema Creek is an integral part of the Salmon to Sound Trail where adult salmon will spawn and baby salmon are released. Damage to the creek is preventing visitors from fully witnessing the salmon life cycle. It is also affecting salmon counting and may be detrimental to salmon habitat.

debris

Carkeek Park lets visitors witness the beauty of nature and educates people about the importance of protecting our environment. Let’s take care of this wonderful feature of our neighborhood.

Article courtesy of Spencer Fisco