West Seattle, Washington
03 Tuesday
(Photos courtesy Friends of Dragonfly Park)
Some of your neighbors spent part of the weekend giving TLC to some of the peninsula’s special spots – among them, Dragonfly Park in North Delridge, just upslope from Longfellow Creek. Above, the volunteers from Friends of Dragonfly Park who weeded and mulched on Saturday morning.
Laura Bruco from Friends of Dragonfly Park says they’ll “likely have another event within the next few weeks” since they didn’t have quite enough mulch and burlap to accomplish everything they had hoped to. They’re also expecting Seattle Parks to bring in equipment to do some work on the open areas soon too. After that, Laura says, “we’ll be focusing on fundraising and planning for new plantings next year.” You can find the group online here, and you can reach Laura at lauramaybruco@gmail.com. (And there’s more backstory in the garden-work-party announcement we published earlier this week.)
Start your weekend at one of West Seattle’s special spots! Here’s the invitation:
You’re Invited! A Garden Party for Dragonfly Park
Join the Friends of Dragonfly Park on Saturday, October 7, from 9 am-12 pm, to get the gardens ready for winter. The main tasks will be laying burlap and spreading sheet mulch.
Seattle Parks and Recreation will provide all of the tools, gloves, and materials. Folks may want to bring a dust mask if they’re sensitive. The Dragonfly Park is located on 28th Ave SW between Yancy and Adams [map].
If you’d like to meet your neighbors, help protect the watershed (a healthy park = a healthy creek!) and spend a little time outside before the winter sets in, head on over on Saturday morning between 9 and noon. Can’t attend this weekend, but want to keep up? (Go here) for news and neighborly camaraderie.
The group is tracking volunteer hours in order to apply for a city grant to purchase new plants and shrubs in the spring. Every little bit counts, so swing by and say hi.
If you know of a group or business might like to contribute financially or with volunteer hours, reach out to Laura Bruco at lauramaybruco@gmail.com. She’d love to hear from you.
A Little History
If you’re a dog lover or a nature lover, you may already know about Dragonfly Park. Back in the ’90s, Seattle artist Lorna Jordan designed dragonfly-shaped gardens and a metal pavilion shaped like a dragonfly, with a winding path leading down to Longfellow Creek. It’s still a magical little pocket park, but over the past decade this North Delridge neighborhood gem has fallen into disrepair. Until now.
A group of 60+ neighbors in the North Delridge / Luna Park area has teamed up with Seattle Parks and Recreation to restore the gardens to their earlier grandeur. Previous garden parties have focused on pruning, weeding and deadheading, as well as prepping the beds for this weekend’s sheet mulch.
After this weekend’s party, the Friends will focus on planning and fundraising for new plantings to go in next year. Phil Renfrow, Senior Gardener with Seattle Parks and Recreation, is leading the updated design efforts, with a focus on sustainability. The group is hoping that Lorna Jordan will speak at the park during an event in November.
(Click for larger view in PDF)
Last Sunday, we published a reminder about a city survey asking your thoughts on 36 possible “design elements” for the new West Seattle Junction park (4700 block of 40th SW). Commenters noted that the graphic showing those options remained difficult to read, and we promised to ask Seattle Parks for a larger, clearer version (since none existed on the Parks website at the time, either). Since then, they’ve provided a high-resolution version, and also added it to the project website – if you click the image above, you’ll go directly to the largest-available PDF version. In addition, the survey, which was supposed to close back on Monday, remains open. So here’s one more chance for your thoughts – the survey asks you to choose 10 of the 36 elements that you most would want to see in the park, which will be designed next year and developed in 2019.
The newly resurfaced track at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW), closed since mid-summer, is ready to reopen. That’s what we found out from project manager Jay Rood, after calling him to check on its status. The million-dollar project was supposed to be done earlier this month but Rood says the recent rain delayed painting of stripes and other markings – its start had been delayed too, and that was attributed to the bidding process. Now the track and fencing are finished and he says they hope to have it reopened to the public by day’s end. The stadium, which is a Seattle Parks and Recreation Department facility, hasn’t been completely closed in recent weeks – some high-school football games have been played, but covering was in place over the track.
12:42 PM: Seattle Parks reports that Southwest Pool – which would usually be in the middle of a lap-swimming session right now – is temporarily closed. There’s a problem with the HVAC system, and crews are on scene working to fix it. They hope to reopen later today; we’ll update when we get word of that.
3:40 PM: As of just before 3, the pool is open again.
Which of those design features would you want to see in the new West Seattle Junction park? As mentioned in our coverage of last Tuesday’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting, they’re now part of a survey on the city website – and project manager Karimah Edwards tells WSB that the survey is closing tomorrow (Monday, September 25th), so this is your last chance to offer opinions at this stage of the project. It’s a simple survey, asking you to choose 10 of those 36 features, and asking your zip code – that’s it. Take it here. (If you stopped by the “open house” at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market two weeks ago, these are the same 36 features you were asked about there.)
So what’s next? Edwards says a meeting will be scheduled to go over “concept designs” resulting from this input: “The community will have the opportunity to select their preferred concept design during the second meeting. We anticipate mid-November.” Seattle Park District levy money – almost $2 million – is set aside for developing the park site in the 4700 block of 40th SW in 2019.
(SDOT map showing where they’re studying Junction-area parking)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When SDOT‘s last major review of West Seattle Junction parking resulted in this July 2009 announcement that it wouldn’t recommend metered parking, you could almost hear a huge collective sigh of relief.
That review had begun more than a year earlier, and months after the no-paid-street-parking news, ended with what we described at the time as “a relatively minor set of changes” – some tweaks to time limits.
But The Junction has had metered parking before – and the city’s new review has rekindled concerns that it will return. A lot has changed since the 2008-2009 review – primarily a dramatic amount of redevelopment adding hundreds of new apartments to the heart of The Junction – and some projects including fewer parking spaces than units, or even none, with the city changing its rules in 2012 to say that nearby “frequent transit” means parking might not be needed. (As reported here last week, those rules might be loosened even more.)
So with all that setting the stage, two SDOT reps were at last night’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building.. They weren’t the only speakers of interest – the next Junction park and a HALA update were part of the agenda too – but we start with the parking discussion:
One more big Saturday event to preview – Mountain Fest at Camp Long! Event director Jeff Smoot shares the schedule for tomorrow:
11:00 A.M. – Event Begins! Activities continue until 5:00 P.M. unless otherwise
noted.• Rock Climbing on Schurman Rock*
• Rappelling on the Glacier*
• Scavenger Hunt at Friends of Camp Long Table (Prizes!)
• The Falconer – Live Birds of Prey Presentation at West Shelter Area
• S’Mores at the Fire Circle
• Nature Programs
• And More!Noon – High-Ropes Challenge Course Opens (runs until 5:00 P.M.)*†
1:00 P.M. – Bouldering Competition on Schurman Rock (runs until 3:00 P.M.)*
2:30 P.M. – Oswaldo “Ossy” Freire – Mount Everest Presentation in the Lodge
5:00 P.M. – Event Ends*These events require signed waiver; parent waiver if under 18. Size/weight limits may apply due to
safety equipment availability.Start time may be later than 11 A.M. While supplies last!
†Challenge Course for ages 14 and up only; limited spaces so arrive early; size/weight limits may apply
due to safety equipment availability; last group starts at 4 P.M.Limited to 20 participants; experienced climbers only; event will involve difficult unroped climbing;
minors may participate with direct parent supervision and participation as spotter; participants must
supply their own crash pads and other gear.
Mountain Fest is free! Camp Long is at 5200 35th SW.
(WSB photos)
12:30 PM: Having previewed them last night, we decided to stop by the three West Seattle “mini-parks” on the city’s map for PARK(ing) Day, promoted as a chance to re-envision use of public spaces such as streets and sidewalks. Above, flowers and greenery comprise the display you’ll find outside Junction flower-and-gift shop Fleurt, courtesy of mother-and-daughter proprietors Sam and Keonii:
At Westwood Village, Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) has been a consistent participant in PARK(ing) Day. Co-proprietor Kirk Keppler was hanging out in the mini-park with canine companion Rascal when we visited:
They were awaiting assistance to get some games going in the space. And back in The Junction, the display outside Red Cup Espresso is a simple one – tricycles and flowers:
If you’re spending the day outside West Seattle, there might be a mini-park near you somewhere, with almost four dozen around the city – see SDOT’s citywide map in our preview from last night.
ADDED 1:06 PM: Red Cup Espresso has a face-painter on site until 4 pm!
Parking seems to be today’s theme – this is the third story involving it. Tomorrow is PARK(ing) Day, the day each September when temporary “parklets” pop up in parking spaces around the city. Above is this year’s map from SDOT, which put out the call for participation over the summer. Of the 47 one-day parklets planned around the city, three will be in West Seattle – outside Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village, which participates every year, and outside Fleurt in The Junction (4536 California SW). Fleurt proprietor Sam Crowley says, “We are installing a 12-foot floral tepee out front. We will be set up by 10:30 am and plan to have it up until 6:30 tomorrow night.” They’re also planning cupcakes and deals. Plus, we see via the map that Red Cup Espresso in The Junction (4451 California SW) is participating too.
Two notes about this Thursday (September 14th):
COMMUNITY CENTERS CLOSED: Citywide, Seattle Parks‘ community centers will all be closed this Thursday. The note on the Parks website:
All our Community Centers will be closed Thursday, September 14th for a division retreat. School Age Care programs will be open as normal.
(Added – we verified with Parks that Southwest Teen Life Center will be part of the day-long closure, too.)
DELRIDGE BUSINESS-SURVEY MEETING POSTPONED: The event to release results of the Delridge Business Survey, originally announced for this Thursday, has to be postponed due to a key participant’s illness. No new date yet; we’ll publish an update when one is announced.
Story and photos by Marika Lee
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Inside the lodge at Camp Long today, a group of Camp Momentia attendees got to their feet and danced with students from the University of Washington’s Musical Theater program.
The campers later sang along about the importance of hugs and took part in nature-inspired craftmaking and storytelling tailored for people with dementia/memory loss.
Camp Momentia is an annual event that has been growing in attendance since it started four years ago. About 70 people attended the two-day camp this year.
“Momentia as a movement is really about lifting up people living with memory loss as the experts of their own experience and looking to them for what they want to have happen in the community and what is important to them,” explained Cayce Cheairs (above right), who coordinated the camp as a Dementia-friendly Recreation Specialist for Seattle Parks.
The UW students researched and met with an advisory board of people with memory loss and caregivers to determine what to include in their musical revue, titled “Just a Moment.”
Cheairs said Camp Momentia is the container for everything Momentia does in the community to empower and ensure people with dementia/memory loss remain connected and engaged in their communities. She said the camp definitely saw the impact of the recently created West Seattle “Momentia in My Neighborhood” group.
“There are a lot of folks here from West Seattle. In previous years, we really didn’t have many folks from West Seattle coming to the camp. It feels like that process has really spread the movement and who is now participating and involved,” Cheairs said, adding that Providence Mount St. Vincent’s involvement in the group has also helped.
West Seattle resident Kathy Daley got involved by taking her mother to talent shows that featured her artwork.
“Everyone gets to be a person here. There isn’t just one thing that works,” Cheairs said.
Mary Firebaugh of West Seattle said she has been around with city-wide Momentia since the beginning. “It has always been fun. Even the word ‘Momentia’ was to make dementia and memory loss sound more exciting and positive, which is a sort of a questionable goal. But there is no reason we can’t get together and celebrate life and do things.”
She and Daley are working on other Momentia events in West Seattle, such as musical performances and park walks.
(Camp Momentia participants working on a dreamcatcher)
In addition to the proven health benefits for bringing people with memory loss into nature, Cheairs said Momentia presents events such as the camp to combat the narrative that people with memory loss should be hidden away.
“People with dementia have things to teach the rest of us about living in the moment and being creative and being engaged,” Cheairs said.
Momentia is a regional movement, with events and programs listed here. Find out more about Seattle Parks’ Dementia-Friendly Recreation programs here.
12:01 PM: At the south end of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, until 2 pm, it’s the Seattle Parks “open house” for the future two-thirds-of-an-acre park that’ll be three blocks away, in the 4700 block of 40th SW [map]. Stop by and you’ll get the chance to “vote” on which of more than 30 “design elements” you’d like to see at the park – they’re on paper ballots being handed out, and on one of the easels:
That’s project manager Karimah Edwards at left in the photo above. The “design elements” aren’t on the project website yet, but we’re told they will be soon. The park site was purchased for $1.4 million in 2012 and “landbanked”; until recently, it was home to temporary Fire Station 32 while the new station was under construction. Almost $2 million for design and development was set aside from the Park District levy; the park is to be designed next year, and built in 2019.
ADDED 2:20 PM: Your next chance to talk about the future park will be at the Junction Neighborhood Organization‘s upcoming meeting, 6:30 pm September 19th at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon) – Parks’ project team is scheduled to be there.
Reminder that tomorrow (Sunday, September 10th), the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is more than a farmers’ market – it’s also your chance to give feedback on the future park on 40th SW between SW Alaska and SW Edmunds. As first noted here last month, the city is having an “open house” at/during the market (10 am-2 pm). Until a few weeks ago, the “landbanked” park site served as temporary quarters for Fire Station 32, but now that the new station is open and firefighters have moved in, Seattle Parks is moving toward designing and developing the park site as what it’s meant to be. So look for their booth/table at the market tomorrow. And if you haven’t already, answer the short survey on the project page. Five years have passed since the city bought the two-thirds-of-an-acre site for $1.4 million.
P.S. If you’re not a regular Farmers’ Market visitor, note that the address on the city flyer above is incorrect – that’s the market’s old address – it’s on California between Oregon and Alaska.
Thanks to everyone who noticed, and asked about, the film crew at Lincoln Park, with trailers and equipment visible in the north parking lot. Here’s what we found out by visiting the park: West Seattle-based Anvil Productions will be there for at least three days shooting “Chaldea.” The project’s website describes “Chaldea” as “an adult-themed epic fantasy, steeped heavily in classic mythology, featuring elves, dwarves, and orcs, Egyptian and Norse gods, heroes and villains, high adventure, planetary politics and war … all clashing in the wake of a failing empire.” You can see behind-the-scenes photos here.
9:49 AM: Seattle Parks says Southwest Pool is temporarily closed because of pump-repair work. It’s the only city-run indoor pool in our area. We’ll update when we get word of reopening plans.
10:50 AM: Texter tells us the pool should be open by 11:30 or so.
At Lincoln Park, the removal of ~91 trees and trimming of ~170 more is under way. (We took the photo above along Fauntleroy Way this morning.)
This is the work we first told you about back in June after touring the area with a group of nature and park advocates.
At the time, Seattle Parks said the work – to remove trees and limbs that are dead or in danger of dying – was imminent, despite the fact that public outreach had been scant. Read More
(WSB photos by Leda Costa @ Arts in Nature Festival today)
3:13 PM: It’s a festival in the forest … and the meadow … and the lodge … and the cabins. Day 1 of the Arts in Nature Festival, presented by Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association/Nature Consortium, is in its fifth hour at Camp Long, the spectacular park you can enter at 5200 35th SW in West Seattle. It’s on until 9 pm tonight – an evening highlight will be Clinton Fearon and the Boogie Brown Band, headline performance at 6 pm on the Nancy Stage. You can see the schedules for today and tomorrow by going here.
ADDED 9:31 PM: More scenes from the festival’s first afternoon, photographed by Leda Costa for WSB:
West Seattle artist David Johansson and Jade Wilkinson made those signs for the weekend; he’s live-painting Camp Long during the festival, at his booth.
Meantime, more music – Castletown was onstage early this afternoon:
Artists are in residence throughout the weekend – Lisa Parsons is at Cabin 3 with her installation, “Green River Gorge: The Power of Place.”
Outside her cabin, festivalgoers are invited to paint the river. (See the full list of cabins/installations here.) Interactivity also happens in the form of something as simple as writing messages of gratitude and tying them to a railing:
But the Arts in Nature Festival is not all low-tech:
That’s 7-year-old Reari Spurgin exploring Virtual Reality at Immersive Square‘s booth. Might be hard for that to compete, however, with the splendor of this installation:
That’s “Dream Hatching,” by Constance Mears. You can help build the next by adding elements to it and by creating an egg – write down your dream, and wrap the paper around a pinecone. Cecile Kummerer and Silas Hjelmstad contributed to the nest, while service dog Tali kept a watchful eye:
So much of the festival is ongoing – you just have to wander around and discover it – but for the outdoor Nancy Stage, the indoor Lodge, and the outdoor Pond performances, here’s the Sunday schedule; ticket info is toward the bottom of the festival website’s main page. See you at Camp Long!
(WSB file photo from past Arts in Nature Festival)
Only one of this weekend’s major events is happening both days – the Arts in Nature Festival presented by Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association/Nature Consortium at Camp Long! Art, music, participatory activities, food, fun … at a West Seattle park that is an attraction all its own. You can decide when you want to go on Saturday and/or Sunday by checking the schedule here – most of the festival is outdoors but don’t miss what’s happening in Camp Long’s historic lodge, or in its rustic cabins, where artists are in residence for the weekend. Don’t worry about getting hungry or thirsty – there’s a beer garden and food trucks. WSB is proud to be among the Arts in Nature Festival sponsors this year! Festival hours are 11 am-9 pm Saturday, 11 am-6 pm Sunday, and you can get your ticket in advance online. (Camp Long is at 5200 35th SW.)
Two weeks after our last update on the track resurfacing at West Seattle Stadium, we have new views courtesy of Mark, who says the project reached a milestone this week – the new track’s being laid down.
Parks says the $950,000 project should be complete in “early September.”
Now that the new Fire Station 32 is open, the city is moving ahead with plans for the future city park at the site that held the temporary station. Thanks to Justin at Sound and Fog for the photo and first word of a poster up at the site (4723-4731 40th SW, which is right next to his shop); we have since received the city postcard with the announcement. An “open house” is planned during the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sunday, September 10th, 10 am-2 pm, “to show site options and hear what you like the most for your new park.” The project’s page on the Seattle Parks website also includes a link to this quick (one page) survey. The city bought the two-thirds-of-an-acre site for $1.4 million in 2012 and has almost $2 million budgeted for park development; it’s one of three “landbanked” future park sites in West Seattle, along with 48th/Charlestown and the Morgan Junction Park expansion site.
(WSB photo)
3:59 PM: Police are investigating a bizarre crash right now – a Seattle Parks pickup truck into the side of the restroom building at Roxhill Park, with one person hurt before he could get out of the way. Police tell us they’re trying to find out whether the driver had fallen asleep in the truck or hit the accelerator without realizing it was in “drive,” but whatever the case, the truck hit a man who suffered an arm injury, and then hit the building’s brick wall before stopping. Along with that man, the Parks driver is being evaluated, as is a child, our photographer reports. The building damage does not appear major, but we’ll check with Parks tomorrow.
SUNDAY NIGHT: A commenter says her husband and 2-year-old child are the ones injured at Roxhill Park and that both are seriously hurt, with her child being transferred to Harborview with a skull fracture.
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: SPD tells us the report isn’t available in its system yet; meantime, here’s the statement Parks sent us when we asked several questions about the incident, the driver’s status, and the building’s condition:
On Sunday, August 20, at approximately 3:20 pm, a Seattle Parks and Recreation vehicle, driven by an SPR staff member, unintentionally collided with the Roxhill Park restroom. In process, two citizens were injured.
The Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Police Department responded to scene, and a 2-year old child and a 47-year old man were transported to the hospital in stable condition.
Currently, the Seattle Parks and Recreation safety staff are conducting an investigation.
At this time, we believe that the injured child has been transferred to Harborview and that the injured adult is still in recovery as well. We are wishing a speedy recovery to those injured in this incident.
The men’s-restroom side of the building, where this happened, was closed off when we went by to look earlier today.
As previewed in our West Seattle Sunday list, local author Linnea Westerlind is signing copies of her new guidebook “Discovering Seattle Parks” right now at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. She’s there until 3 pm, and it’s the first of four West Seattle events for her this month. This Wednesday (August 16th) at 11 am, she’s leading a free “kid-friendly park walk” at Jack Block Park – “stroller-friendly and about one mile round trip.” Details, including where to meet, are in our calendar listing. Also on Wednesday, at 6 pm, she’s presenting a talk and slideshow at Kenyon Hall – free admission – and selling her book. Then on Saturday, August 26th, starting at the north parking lot in Lincoln Park, she’ll lead a free guided walk through several local parks, about 4 miles round trip, lasting up to two hours.
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