The first step was taken last week in an ambitious plan to design landscaping for parking strips that would capture and clean storm-water runoff along the 34th Avenue West corridor, and extending from Salmon Bay to the north and Elliott Bay to the south.
The Sept. 28 community leader meeting involved a number of community activists, Seattle Public Utilities, the University of Washington's landscape architecture program and Jennifer Carlson, a community liaison who has been involved in numerous neighborhood projects.
In a sense, the effort seeks to recapture the past, when Wolfe Creek ran the length of Magnolia in the days before it was diverted into pipes until it reached Kiwanis Ravine. "So we're talking about the whole length," Carlson said. "We're taking it as a metaphoric river.
"We may not be able to fully daylight Wolfe Creek," she added. But the project will show how plantings can capture runoff and slow the migration of water before it reaches the Kiwanis Ravine, she explained.
Liz Fikejs, from Seattle Public Utilities, said the idea of landscaping parking strips came up earlier this year in discussions with Mayor Greg Nickels. Fikejs added that she'd already met Carlson, who was involved in landscaping four Magnolia bus stops.
"So we all started thinking of parking strips," Fikejs added. The landscaped strips would be maintained by individuals, and there is the potential for changing the landscaping on a block-by-block basis, she said.
Fifteen landscape architecture graduate students from the UW are involved in the project, which will have citywide implications, according to Fikejs.
"So we're looking at Magnolia as a place to start," she said. "But one of the design challenges is how you can come up with scenarios ... that are doable."
The city has come up with money for a study, but paying for the actual plantings will require grants and grassroots implementation, Fikejs said.
"One heads up, it's a fast process," she said of the UW grad students being on a quarterly class schedule. "We've got 11 weeks to look through this and see how it might be applicable."
Some of the groundwork has already been done, according Nancy Rottle, a landscape architect professor working with the grad students on the project. "Last year, I organized with a partner a citywide (design workshop) over what a green Seattle would look like," she said.
The result was a bound report for a 20-year plan that combined Magnolia, Queen Anne and Interbay in one section. "But one student worked specifically on Magnolia," Rottle said.
Magnolia was selected as the first follow-up area for the students, and the project along 34th Avenue West corridor can act as a template for the rest of the city, she said.
The landscape architecture department is committed to the project, and the grad students in the program are excited about the prospects, Rottle added. But she cautioned that everyone would need to "hit the ground running" because of the tight timeline.
There are still a lot of details to work out, and Magnolian Steve Erickson brought up another point. "What about individuals who don't want to go along, even if they're responsible for the property?" he wondered. "How do you handle that viewpoint?"
"Well, it's entirely voluntary," Fikejs said, "so it's not like we could force the entire block to do it."
But Carlson ventured that some people might want to see results before they take part in the project. "I think it will evolve over time." Besides, the grad students' landscape designs will be based on public comments at later meetings, she said. "It may change every other block."
Public workshops are scheduled for Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 11 at 10 a.m., followed by a public presentation on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. All meeting will be held at the Magnolia Community Center.
However, the next event connected to the project is a tour of the planning area on Saturday, Oct. 14. It will start at the fish ladder. Call Carlson at 283-9102 to reserve a spot.[[In-content Ad]]
