The 3.75-mile Queen Anne Boulevard that loops around the top of Queen Anne Hill was the brainchild of the Olmsted brothers in the early 1900s, and it includes strips of park property on either side of the roads in the system.
But armed with half a million dollars in Pro Parks Levy cash, Seattle Parks and Recreation is planning to install new sidewalks and improve existing ones on sections of the boulevard, said project planner David Goldberg. A priority for the improvements is to increase pedestrian safety, he explained.
One stretch is on West McGraw Place between First and Second avenues west, Goldberg said. There were initial concerns that much of the project money would have to be spent on drainage improvements, but Goldberg said he was overly concerned about the problem.
A meeting with Seattle Public Utilities revealed there was no need for a water-detention system, as he had feared, Goldberg said. "We don't have to do that," he added. "So we were able to do quite a lot more sidewalks."
The other new sidewalks, along with improvements made to the existing ones, will be on Bigelow Avenue North between Prospect and Newton streets, according to the plan. But the new sidewalks will only be on one side of both West McGraw and Bigelow, Goldberg said.
"We considered two sides of the streets, but the sidewalks wouldn't be as long," he said. However, that could change sometime in the future. "Ultimately, we would like to have sidewalks on both sides."
Bigelow Avenue North came under close Parks Department scrutiny several years ago when it was discovered that property owners on both sides of the streets were treating the parkland as their own. The uses included landscaping, fences and rockeries that blocked the path for pedestrians.
Efforts to reclaim the park property caused a huge uproar on Bigelow, and trees planted on one side of the southern end of the street at the time were vandalized.
Goldberg said he expects the proposed new improvements will cause the same kinds of reactions. "We know there's going to be contentious issues," he said. "We're going to have to work basically with every property owner."
For example, there could be a problem with trees in the path of the new sidewalks, Goldberg concedes. "We will do everything we can to avoid taking down trees," he said.
Goldberg said he's not sure if felled trees would be replaced elsewhere, but he notes there is a tree plan for Queen Anne. Sidewalks are not the only proposed improvements. "We're hoping to do some sort of boulevard-identity signs," he said. "We're not sure what those will be at this time."
Goldberg said a lot of people are interested in getting new sidewalks, but he admits there are some neighborhood residents who object to the proposed improvements.
Queen Anne Community Council board member Mike Warren is one of the latter. "I'm not thrilled with it myself," he said of the plan. Warren added that some neighborhood residents question whether building new sidewalks is the best use of Pro Parks Levy funds. "What about fixing the bad sidewalks?" he wondered.
Goldberg hopes the Parks Department can allay objections from the Queen Anne residents who think like Warren. "We'll continue to work with them and address their concerns as best as we can," he said.
The Queen Anne Boulevard is a designated landmark, and the Landmarks Preservation board will have to OK any improvements, Goldberg said. The Board of Park Commissioners won't have a role in the decision, but the superintendent of Parks will, he said. "Ultimately, it being a Pro Parks project, Ken (Bounds) has the ultimate say."
The timeline is relatively tight for the project, according to Goldberg. "We would like to be through with the design and be starting work next summer," he said.
Goldberg met with the Queen Anne Community Council last week, and meetings have also been held with the community council's Transportation and Parks committees, along with the Queen Anne Historical Society.
The first of two public meetings is also scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19. It will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Queen Anne Community Center at 1901 First Ave. W.
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.[[In-content Ad]]
