South Park Street Projects Open House
Tues, Feb 19th from 6:30-8:00 at the South Park Community Center


Duwamish Valley Safe Streets , Seattle Neighborhood Group, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) are teaming up to host an open-house with lots of info about pedestrian and bike safety projects being planned in South Park. If you visit community hubs, like Concord Elementary, the library, and the community center...then you need to be at this event!

SDOT representatives and community members will talk about their work at:
  • 5th and Cloverdale
  • SR-99 underpass
  • 8th and Cloverdale crosswalk improvements
  • 8th Ave sidewalk improvements
  • Potential solutions to dangerous freight traffic through the neighborhood.

Ask questions and share your ideas with SDOT!

The meeting will start promptly at 6:30 and City staff will have 3 minutes each to give an overview of their projects . After that, each project will have a display table with more detailed information for people to take a deeper dive into issues they care most about. DON will provide interpreters and food for the meeting!
We've had to reschedule our meeting about the Skate Park a couple times now due to snow and ice. The new plan is to gather on Tuesday, March 26 from 7:00-8:30 at Sea Mar (1040 S. Henderson St.) . Mark your calendars and please contact me in the meantime if you have any questions or skate park related topics to discuss. Thanks!

News to share:
  • Grindline has been working on a set of designs for park upgrades. We will see what they are and how much they will cost at the next meeting.
  • King County Noxious Weeds Program donated supplies to help us treat the knotweed at the park. The initial spray happened and we will have to reapply / dig up new plants for at least 2 more years at the end of each summer if we want to have a shot at permanently clearing it.
  • The members of this group put on an event with time trials, concerts, and raffles. (Video Credit: JR Pelkola)
  • A group of volunteers poured cement and added new skate features on the north side of the bowl.
  • There have been at least 3 cleanup crews going through the park in the last few months removing trash and dumped items
  • The park was a featured site on the City of Seattle's Open Spaces walking tour (more on that to come)
  • A local artist, Dan Melbihess, has continued adding art to a "free wall" in the north section of the park along some of the neighbor's fences near the alley.

If you have friends who are also interested in the park, have them reach out to me and I will add them to our list. Thank you for your commitment to making this park a safe and fun place for all and let 's keep up the good work!

Jake Hellenkamp
Seattle Neighborhood Group
jake@sngi.org | 253-353-0396
8th Avenue Trail Updates

A few things to know about the trail:

  1. Seattle Neighborhood Group and Seattle Police Department collaborated on a CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) evaluation of the 8th Avenue ("Scary Trail"). Here's a link to the document.
  2. Seattle Dept. of Transportation has been making minor trailhead upgrades to the south trail entrance at 10th/Henderson Street. The boulders, trees, and grass have been added.
  3. Seattle City Light upgraded the lights on the trail and they make a huge difference after-dark. Thank you SCL!
  4. WSDOT, who owns the property on the SR99 side of the fence, sent crews out to cut back blackberry bushes and trash. Visibility into and out of the trail is much better than before.
  5. Seattle Neighborhood Group is trying to bring art to the trail. We're making plans with a local artist and a property owner to put a mural on a frequently tagged portion of their fence.

Seattle Neighborhood Group | www.sngi.org