THE READER
From the Office of Mayor Mike McGinn
News, Updates, and Information
Click here to receive The Reader via email.

FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013

Read and Rise
Mayor McGinn announced a new program that will help students in our community reach the goal of literacy by third grade. The program, Read and Rise, will offer training workshops designed to help parents better support their students as they learn to read. The program will also provide reading materials and training curricula for parents to take home.

“We know from research that students who are not reading at grade level by the third grade are much more likely to drop out of school,” said Mayor McGinn. “This new program will help give parents the skills they need to support their kids as they reach this critical milestone.”

Read and Rise workshops will be conducted in partnership with schools and community-based organizations; identifying those schools and organizations will be a competitive process scheduled to be completed in July. The program will focus on communities and schools with a high proportion of children who are low-income and who may not have the language, cognitive and early literacy skills necessary for kindergarten readiness and third grade reading success.

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More locations for School Zone Speed Cameras
This week, Mayor McGinn announced five new locations for future school zone speed cameras across Seattle. The existing school zone cameras have led to a combined 16 percent reduction in citations for speeding across the four schools.

“The public has been clear that we need to do more to protect children as they travel to and from school,” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “The data shows that the existing cameras are helping improve safety near schools by reducing travel speed and cameras should be installed at additional schools.”

“Increasing safety in our school zone and beyond continues to be a high priority for me and for our school community,” said Sherri Kokx, principal of Nathan Eckstein Middle School, a potential location for future school zone traffic cameras. “School zone cameras are one more tool that can help increase safety.”

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Mayor McGinn to reappoint police oversight auditor
Mayor McGinn is reappointing retired Judge Anne Levinson to a second term as the Civilian Auditor for the Office of Professional Accountability, to help oversee investigations of allegations of police misconduct. The OPA Auditor is an outside consultant with legal expertise who provides oversight to help ensure that all complaints of possible misconduct are appropriately addressed and all investigations that are conducted are objective and thorough. The OPA Auditor also makes recommendations to the Mayor, Council, City Attorney and the Police Department for systemic reforms and suggests ways to improve performance through changes to policies, procedures and training.

First appointed in July 2010, Levinson has issued several reports highlighting, among other things, needed changes in supervision, training, stops, de-escalation of minor incidents, interacting with those with mental illness and with juveniles, use of force, and in-car video, as well as improvements to the internal investigations system.

“Judge Levinson’s oversight and recommendations have highlighted the significance of a strong police accountability system,” said Mayor McGinn. “Her work has been particularly helpful as we have implemented a range of important reforms that will address some long-standing community concerns. I am very appreciative of her willingness to continue to serve in this important position.”

“As the Mayor said when he first asked me to serve in this role, he knows I will raise whatever issues need to be addressed that will help rebuild trust and mutual respect between the community and the Police Department as well as improve the ability of officers to successfully address whatever challenges they may face day-to-day,” Levinson said. “The complexity and long-standing nature of some of these issues mean that they won’t be solved overnight, but a lot of good work is well underway.”

“Judge Levinson has been a superb OPA Auditor with excellent recommendations for the betterment of OPA investigations and procedures. Working alongside Pierce Murphy, she will help improve the relations between Seattle’s diverse communities and OPA,” said court-appointed police monitor Merrick Bobb.

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Winter shelter beds extended through summer
Mayor McGinn formally announced that shelter locations providing beds for 115 individuals slated to close on June 15 will remain open through the summer, offering a safe place for men and women needing overnight emergency shelter.

“I am pleased that we will be able to offer shelter for people who need a safe, clean place to stay for the night,” said Mayor McGinn. “We remain committed to finding long-term solutions to help people find the housing and services they need to end the cycle of homelessness.”

Earlier this year, the shelters were extended through June 15, 2013 with funding approved by the Seattle City Council.

“I am extremely glad to see the City of Seattle continue these core survival services” said Alison Eisinger, Director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness. “Men and women have been sleeping safely in these 115 shelter beds every night since the doors opened last fall. Being homeless outside is an emergency situation in any season, and keeping the shelters open makes every kind of sense.”

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Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
June 15, 1:00 p.m. – Cool City Pets, Seattle Animal Shelter (2061 15th Ave W)

June 18, 9:30 a.m. – Freight Advisory Board, Seattle City Hall (600 4th Ave)

June 19, 4:00 p.m. – Seattle Public Utilities Water System Advisory Committee, Seattle Municipal Tower 5965 (700 5th Ave)

June 19, 6:00 p.m. – Greater Duwamish District Council, Georgetown City Hall (6202 13th Ave S)

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What we’re reading:
Students to Regents: UW should rid itself of oil, coal stocks

A public library on a bicycle? Seattle has one

New report says Chris Hansen in talks with NBA for expansion team

In California Cities, Drivers Want More Bike Lanes. Here’s Why.

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Posted by: Nathaniel Merrill

Today Mayor McGinn announced a new program that will help students in our community reach the goal of literacy by third grade. The new program, Read and Rise, will offer training workshops designed to help parents better support their students as they learn to read. The program will also provide reading materials and training curricula for parents to take home.

“We know from research that students who are not reading at grade level by the third grade are much more likely to drop out of school,” said Mayor McGinn. “This new program will help give parents the skills they need to support their kids as they reach this critical milestone.”

Read and Rise workshops will be conducted in partnership with schools and community-based organizations; identifying those schools and organizations will be a competitive process scheduled to be completed in July. The program will focus on communities and schools with a high proportion of children who are low-income and who may not have the language, cognitive and early literacy skills necessary for kindergarten readiness and third grade reading success.

“Parents are their children’s ‘first teachers,’” said Office for Education Director Holly Miller. “Many of the skills that kids need to develop early in order to reach that critical third grade reading milestone are skills they learn at home, from their parents who are their first teachers. Read and Rise will help us to ensure that all parents have the tools they need to support their kids as they learn to read.”

The family training workshops are to be held in the evenings or on weekends, with literacy instructors working with children while family support worker provide training for adults. Training modules cover five key components of literacy development:

• oral language
• vocabulary
• phonological awareness
• awareness of print conventions
• alphabet knowledge.

Read and Rise will begin in the fall of the 2013 school year, and results will be closely monitored to determine whether this investment is having an impact on the success of local students. The program is based on a successful model from Houston, also called Read and Rise. Houston has seen positive results from their investment in Read and Rise, with the graduation rate in the Houston Independent School District at an all-time district high. This two-year pilot program will help determine if the Read and Rise program will help Seattle parents improve in their role as first teacher, changes literacy behaviors of families and students, and improve student reading achievement.

Words: April Thomas; Pictures: Jen Nance

Posted by: Sam Johnston

For the first time, an electric utility is testing a 20-year model to purchase metered energy efficiency savings. The agreement between Seattle City Light and the Bullitt Foundation is designed to make deep energy efficiency in new and existing commercial buildings economically feasible.

The pilot program builds on 100 years of leadership and innovation at Seattle City Light, which has long led the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

“This is a great partnership between the City and the private sector to encourage energy efficiency,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “I hope this project can serve as a model for others to save money, reduce energy usage, and cut our carbon emissions.”

“This is one of the most innovative solutions I’ve seen,” said Jorge Carrasco, Superintendent of Seattle City Light. ”We want to try it because we think the approach could help harvest deep energy efficiency in buildings and do it in a way in which everyone wins.  Ratepayers get more comfortable buildings, investors see a positive return, and the utility delays new power plants and reduces its carbon emissions,” he added.

Very few building owners now make the large, long-term investments needed to achieve “deep” savings of 35 to 50 percent. Yet the rates of return on such investments would be attractive to utilities and other investors that have access to cheap, long-term capital. The new pilot program aims to overcome this obstacle.

“We often hear that building owners want to make their buildings more efficient, but getting the right return on investment, in the right timeframe, can be difficult. This innovative new approach to financing energy efficiency could help spur the type of investments in deep green buildings that we need to meet the carbon reduction goals outlined in our Climate Action Plan,” said City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee. “With a utility only paying for efficiencies that actually materialize and investors getting a reliable return, we are excited by the possibilities that this financing model creates,” he added.

The Bullitt Center was chosen to test this new model based on its participation in the City of Seattle’s Living Building Pilot Program, which was designed in part to encourage ultra-efficient green buildings.

There are two keys to the model: An energy efficiency meter to objectively measure real-time energy savings and a 20-year contract between a utility and energy efficiency investors.

The energy efficiency meter measures the energy savings and allows it to be sold as it occurs. This meter was developed by EnergyRM, with support from OR BEST and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), a non-profit that works with regional utilities to prove out new, energy-efficient technologies.

“Partnering with Seattle City Light, NEEA and others on this project will create better integration of information between industry, utilities, building owners and investors,” stated Rob Harmon, CEO of EnergyRM.

A 20-year contract with a utility allows an investor to profitably invest in energy efficiency upgrades with longer payback times, squeezing more efficiency out of the building. And because the contract is with a utility, the opportunity is appealing to long-term investors who are not necessarily the owners of the building. This means outside capital can be profitably invested in efficiency without relying on a building owner’s ability to secure a loan.

“If adopted nationally, this could be a trillion dollar game changer,” said Denis Hayes, President of the Bullitt Foundation. “By separating the efficiency investor from the building owner, just as we separate the wind farm developer from the rancher whose property the turbines are on, we can reduce the energy use in most existing buildings by more than 40 percent. I know lots of investors who would be delighted to get a safe, consistent return for 20 years while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he added.

While the pilot program is testing this new model in one building – the Bullitt Center – it could be scaled to work for any utility.

Posted by: Aaron Pickus, Spokesperson

Today Mayor Mike McGinn announced five new locations for future school zone speed cameras at locations across Seattle. The existing school zone cameras have led to a combined 16 percent reduction in citations for speeding across the four schools.

Seattle Police Captain Mike Nolan

“The public has been clear that we need to do more to protect children as they travel to and from school,” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “The data shows that the existing cameras are helping improve safety near schools by reducing travel speed and cameras should be installed at additional schools.”

“Increasing safety in our school zone and beyond continues to be a high priority for me and for our school community,” said Sherri Kokx, principal of Nathan Eckstein Middle School, a potential location for future school zone traffic cameras. “School zone cameras are one more tool that can help increase safety.”

Last fall, the City installed school zone speed cameras in four locations – Broadview-Thomson K-8, Olympic View, Gatewood, and Thurgood Marshall Elementary Schools – in an effort to reduce speeding in school zones. The four existing school zone camera locations have seen an average reduction of 16 percent in citations for speeding, from the week of December 10 to the week of April 22. This downward trend is expected to continue, though it is still too early to project what reduction we will see over time. 96 percent of those who received a citation and paid it did not get another citation.

The City identified future locations for cameras at five schools based on an analysis of documented speeding problems that showed these schools would receive the greatest speed reduction and safety benefit from automated speed enforcement. These new cameras would be funded by revenues from the four existing camera locations and would be installed in early 2014, pending City Council approval of funding:

• Bailey Gatzert Elementary, on East Yesler Way (Westbound only)
• Dearborn Park Elementary on South Orcas St
• Nathan Eckstein Middle School on Northeast 75th Street
• Roxhill Elementary on Southwest Roxbury
• Holy Family Parish School on Southwest Roxbury

“Speed enforcement cameras are an effective way to reduce speeding and further safeguard our children, especially in and around schools,” said Seattle Police Chief Pugel.

“School zone speed cameras are making it safer to walk to and from school,” said SDOT Director Peter Hahn. “Additional cameras will help Seattle directly address the ongoing problem of speeding near schools.”

Studies in other Washington jurisdictions with results over a longer time period would lead us to expect that the number of citations will continue to decrease. Reductions in citations seen in Lynnwood, Federal Way, and Lake Forest Park over the period of a year showed a range in reductions between 52 to 74 percent. The use of automated enforcement is supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which cites numerous studies that have reported decreases in injury crashes and speed related crashes following implementation of speed cameras.

Speeding contributes to one out of every three collisions in Seattle and was a factor in 42 percent of fatal collisions between 2006 and 2010. Additionally, a pedestrian hit by a vehicle going 30 miles per hour has a 55 percent chance of surviving, while 95 percent of pedestrians hit at 20 miles per hour are likely to survive. The school zone speed limit of 20 miles per hour allows drivers more time to recognize students and reduces the time and distance it takes a driver to bring his or her vehicle to a stop.

This fall, the School Road Safety Initiative will include a School Road Safety Plan, which, among other efforts, will include a plan for expanding the school zone speed camera programs to more schools in the future. Revenues from the five proposed new camera locations will fund projects identified in the School Road Safety Plan. The School Road Safety Initiative is part of the Road Safety Action Plan launched in August of 2012.

Posted by: Words: April Thomas, Pictures: Jen Nance

Today the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) began the Northeast 125th Street and Sand Point Way Northeast paving project, its second major road improvement project for 2013. Through repaving/rebuilding work on Northeast 125th Street, Roosevelt Way Northeast and Sandpoint Way Northeast, SDOT will make significant improvements to nearly five miles of road stretching from I-5 to near Magnuson Park.

Local business owner Annette Heide-Jessen

The project includes improvements for drivers, transit riders, freight and cyclists. To improve the pedestrian experience and meet current accessibility standards, 85 curb ramps will also be updated or installed through the work. Two new bus shelters will be constructed and three bio-retention structures will be added to help with stormwater management. The $3 million project is funded primarily by the Bridging the Gap transportation levy approved by Seattle voters in November 2006, along with $1 million in federal funds secured by SDOT.

“Repaving neighborhood arterials is a key part of protecting and enhancing Seattle’s transportation infrastructure,” said SDOT Director Peter Hahn. “Thanks to the voter-approved Bridging the Gap levy, we will complete nearly five miles of needed street work on Roosevelt Way, Northeast 125th Street and Sandpoint Way.”

The project will be segmented into zones to minimize construction impacts to nearby communities and work in each zone is expected to last about six weeks. Construction will take place on both Northeast 125th Street and Sand Point Way simultaneously. Construction on Northeast 125th Street will occur in two phases and on Sand Point Way in three. Traffic will be limited on Northeast 125th Street to one travel lane in each direction through the active work area. Southbound traffic on Sand Point Way will be detoured around the work area using 35th Avenue Northeast. Northbound traffic will not be affected. SDOT expects to substantially complete the work before the end of the year.

“This project will provide residents and visitors with a smoother, safer trip to Lake City and Magnuson Park,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.

As part of its 2013 work, SDOT currently is repaving Delridge Way Southwest in West Seattle and will soon commence work on North 105th Street and North/Northeast Northgate Way from Greenwood Avenue North to Lake City Way Northeast. This follows on the heels of major repaving completed over the past year on North/Northwest 85th Street, Greenwood Avenue North, and Northeast Ravenna Boulevard.

For further information, visit the project website at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_ne125.htm.

Posted by: Words: April Thomas, Pictures: Jen Nance

THE READER
From the Office of Mayor Mike McGinn
News, Updates, and Information
Click here to receive The Reader via email.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013

Center City Streetcar Plans Move Forward
Mayor Mike McGinn announced this week that a streetcar has been selected as the preferred mode for a Center City Connector, and that two potential alignments have been selected for further study: 1st Avenue and a 4th/5th Avenue couplet. The Center City Connector will provide a new high capacity transit service to connect major destinations in downtown Seattle and nearby neighborhoods.

SDOT Strategic Advisor Tony Mazzella speaks about the upcoming plans for the Center City Streetcar (photo by Jen Nance)

This route was identified as one of four priority corridors in the Transit Master Plan unanimously adopted by the City Council in April 2012. The Transit Master Plan prioritized these four corridors based on their ridership potential and need for higher capacity transit service. Each corridor will provide for a faster and more reliable transit network that adequately addresses the highest demand corridors in the City.

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Announcing New Families and Education Levy Award for Dental Health
The 2011 Families and Education Levy contained funding for the first time for dental health services for Seattle students. Providing dental care in schools can improve students’ dental health and is an opportunity to reduce barriers to learning. During planning for renewal of the Levy in 2011, PHSKC proposed funding a pilot program to bring dental health services into schools.

After extensive review by a panel that included community dental health experts, Neighborcare Health was selected as the provider and awarded $274,680. Including Neighborcare Health’s required matching resources, the total dental health investment for next school year will be $390,971.

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Summer Youth Arts Employment
This week Mayor Mike McGinn announced a new program that provides work opportunities for at-risk youth in collaboration with arts organizations and the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI). Work Readiness Arts is a program providing out-of-school programming that links arts learning and work experiences for up to 70 Seattle youth ages 14 to 18. Arts organizations interested in participating in this program are encouraged to submit proposals by June 28.

This is in addition to summer work opportunities targeting at-risk kids offered by SYVPI, the Seattle Parks Department, and the Human Services Department. The mayor’s 2013-14 budget funds 450 new slots in the SYVPI program, 225 of which will be filled this year.

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Smith Cove Park Expansion
With Mount Rainier and Downtown Seattle as their backdrop, residents of Magnolia, Interbay, and Queen Anne joined representatives of King County, the city of Seattle, and the Port of Seattle in celebrating a plan that will expand Smith Cove Park and improve water quality in Elliot Bay.

The expanded park, which will include waterfront space along Elliott Bay, is the culmination of a two-decade effort by the Magnolia and Interbay neighborhoods to develop Smith Cove into public open space along Elliot Bay with access to Puget Sound.

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Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
June 8, 10:00 a.m. – Padiriwang Festival, Seattle Center (305 Harrison St)

June 8, 10:00 a.m. – Science Expo Day, Seattle Center (305 Harrison St)

June 13, 11:30 a.m. – Aging in Community Conversation with Mayor McGinn, Wallingford Community Senior Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave N)

June 14, 5:30 p.m. – Seattle Greendrinks Turns 10!, SustainableWorks Warehouse (4000 Airport Way S)

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Video highlights (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/photos/videos.htm):

Center City Streetcar	Dental Health Services for Seattle Students
Pride Flag Flown at City Hall	Smith Cove Park Expansion

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What we’re reading:
Airport, cruise ships are high points for port of Seattle

More than 2,400 gay couples have married in Washington State

What we can learn about a city by mapping it’s parks

USA’s first offshore wind turbine installed in Maine

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To subscribe to The Reader via email, click here.

Posted by: Sam Johnston

Mayor Mike McGinn, Odessa Brown Clinical Director Dr. Ben Danielson, Neighborcare Health Dental Director Dr. Martin Lieberman, Seattle Public School staff and staff of Public Health Seattle/King County gathered at Madison Middle School today to announce the award of new Families and Education Levy investments for student’s dental health.

A Madison student takes advantage of the new dental clinic

The 2011 Families and Education Levy contained funding for the first time for dental health services for Seattle students. Dental health is an important part of overall health and affects children’s ability to succeed academically.  Tooth decay is a common chronic childhood disease and is experienced more often by youth of color and youth in low-income families. Untreated dental disease can interfere with students’ learning.  Providing dental care in schools can improve students’ dental health and is an opportunity to reduce barriers to learning. During planning for renewal of the Levy in 2011, PHSKC proposed funding a pilot program to bring dental health services into schools.

After extensive review by a panel that included community dental health experts, Neighborcare Health was selected as the provider and awarded $274,680.  Including Neighborcare Health’s required matching resources, the total dental health investment for next school year will be $390,971.

“This new investment builds on the successful health programs that have been part of the Families and Education Levy since its inception in 1990,” said McGinn. “The Planning Committee that recommended the Levy renewal considered how we should fill additional health needs of our students.  I want to thank them for recognizing the important role of dental health in making sure our children are free of pain and can take advantage of the educational opportunities available to them.”

Dr. Lieberman added “Dental health is an essential part of school success. You can’t learn if you’re in pain. With school screenings we can identify the students who need care and connect them with a dental home or provide the care right in the school.”

Neighborcare Health will continue to receive Levy funds through summer 2019 contingent on meeting targets related to student access to dental health services.

Posted by: Words: April Thomas, Pictures: Jen Nance

Mayor Mike McGinn joined community members and Patches Pals in Fremont on Saturday, June 1 to give the honorary name of “J.P. Patches Place” to North 34th Street between Fremont Avenue North and Troll Avenue North. Members of the public requested the renaming in honor of Chris Wedes, the Seattle actor who played the role of J.P. Patches, the beloved clown and star of the J.P. Patches Show. Wedes died on July 22, 2012 after a long battle with multiple myeloma.

Christina Frost, granddaughter of Chris Wedes, unveils the new street sign

“When Chris Wedes passed away last year, we received letters and e-mails from residents all over the region asking us to rename this street in honor of Seattle’s favorite clown,” said McGinn. “Today I am proud to join our community in giving this honor as a way to thank Wedes for all the joy, friendship, and laughter that he brought us over the years.”

On television from 1958 to 1981, Chris Wedes entertained generations of Seattle-area children and adults with his unrehearsed show, broadcasted live and often twice a day. J.P. Patches delighted audiences with an improvised style and charm that was as unique as it was hilarious, enlisting the help of a vast array of zany characters, most of them played by his friend and co-star Bob Newman.

The honor does not change the legal name of North 34th Street, nor does it change the official addresses on the street. The honorary name change designates “J.P. Patches Place” as the secondary name for North 34th Street between Fremont Avenue North and Troll Avenue North.

This stretch of North 34th Street is the location of the J.P. Patches statue, “Late for the Interurban.” North 34th Street also leads to the North Transfer Station, where Seattle Public Utilities will name a new education center after J.P. Patches, who was the “Mayor of the City Dump.”

Posted by: Robert Cruickshank

Mayor Mike McGinn announced today that a streetcar has been selected as the preferred mode for a Center City Connector, and that two potential alignments have been selected for further study: 1st Avenue and a 4th/5th Avenue couplet. The Center City Connector will provide a new high capacity transit service to connect major destinations in downtown Seattle and nearby neighborhoods.

“More jobs, housing, and businesses are coming to downtown Seattle, and we need more high capacity transit to meet those needs,” said McGinn. “The Center City Connector is another important step forward in building a rail network that connects our neighborhoods to each other.”

The Center City Connector project seeks to improve north-south transit mobility and link the First Hill and South Lake Union streetcars through downtown. This route was identified as one of four priority corridors in the Transit Master Plan unanimously adopted by the City Council in April 2012. The Transit Master Plan prioritized these four corridors based on their ridership potential and need for higher capacity transit service. Each corridor will provide for a faster and more reliable transit network that adequately addresses the highest demand corridors in the City.

Analysis done by the Seattle Department of Transportation indicated that a streetcar was the best mode of transit for this project. Estimates show that by 2030 transit will need to carry an additional 8,000 people per hour into and within the Center City during the morning peak. This is equivalent to approximately 150 additional buses per hour on downtown streets and would require the equivalent of two new bus-only lanes. Alternatively, if this demand was met using rail vehicles, 20 two-car or 10 four-car trains would be required (assuming 160 passengers per car). Since a train can carry more passengers than a bus, the labor costs for operating trains are lower than for buses. This analysis also took into account future Sound Transit rail operations in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.

Analysis also showed that two alignments, one along 1st Avenue and one using 4th and 5th Avenues (in the same direction as traffic), should be carried forward for further study. Both alignments provide a connection to the Westlake transit hub and serve the key project purpose of connecting the South Lake Union and First Hill streetcars. Each alignment also serves important destinations in the Center City. An alignment on 1st Avenue beyond Stewart Street to serve Uptown will be evaluated for a potential future phase of the project.

In addition to the two remaining route alignments, further analysis will be conducted on options for how a streetcar could operate on each street (in mixed traffic or in a dedicated lane). In November, a locally preferred alternative will be identified with a final alignment, and will be followed by creation of an implementation plan as well as a finance plan.

Planning continues on the other high capacity transit routes identified in the Transit Master Plan. The Ballard to Downtown Transit Expansion Study, a partnership between the City of Seattle and Sound Transit looking at rail, is under way. A Madison Street Bus Rapid Transit Study is being planned, as is a high capacity transit study of a University District to South Lake Union corridor. A study to extend the route of the First Hill Streetcar north on Broadway is also underway.

Additional details of the Center City Connector can be viewed by the public at an open house on Thursday, June 6^th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the South Lake Union Discovery Center located at 101 Westlake Ave North. The public will see details on the two alignments and have an opportunity to share feedback, ask questions, and learn more about the project.

Posted by: April Thomas

With Mount Rainier and Downtown Seattle as their backdrop, residents of Magnolia, Interbay, and Queen Anne joined representatives of King County, the city of Seattle, and the Port of Seattle in celebrating the plan that will expand Smith Cove Park and improve water quality in Elliot Bay.

“The expanded Smith Cove Park is the culmination of two decades of community advocacy to create a waterfront gateway to Magnolia and the region,” said King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who represents the Magnolia and Interbay neighborhoods on the County Council. “I applaud the Port, City, and County for listening to the community and coming together to expand waterfront parkland andimprove water quality. Smith Cove Park will be a testament to cooperation and persistence, and will be a treasured community asset for generations to come.”

“By partnering with the Port and the City, we are able to transform this underused property into a tranquil public place along one of Seattle’s most scenic shorelines,” said County Executive Dow Constantine. “This project shows how much we can accomplish by working together.”

“The community has worked hard for many years to make the expansion of Smith Cove Park a reality,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “Through regional collaboration, we can improve public access to the waterfront and breathe new life into this space. Thank you to our partners at King County and the Port of Seattle for working with us to make this possible.”

The expanded park, which will include waterfront space along Elliott Bay, is the

culmination of a two-decade effort by the Magnolia and Interbay neighborhoods to develop Smith Cove into public open space along Elliot Bay with access to Puget Sound.

“Our goal at the port is to be an engine for economic growth while reducing our environmental footprint,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Tom Albro. “We’re working with the city and county to build a future where our kids have good jobs and a healthy Puget Sound.”

“Congratulations to Smith Cove neighborhood! Thanks to coordinated leadership with active neighbors, the Port, the County and the City, we have the opportunity to convert an area now surrounded by a rusting chain link fence and blackberries to a waterfront park open to everyone,” said Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. “We’re leveraging resources to improve water quality at the same time. It’s a true testament to steadfast regional cooperation.”

“Now we can celebrate more public park land to protect our waterfront for generations to come,” said state Representative Gael Tarleton, a former Port Commissioner. “It’s the best gift we can give to current and future citizens of Seattle.”

Just west of Pier 91 on Elliott Bay, the 7-acre park will grow by an additional four acres because of an agreement between the City, County and Port of Seattle to construct new park space and build a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facility.

The area was used by the Navy as a supply depot during WWII and the Korean War. In 1992, residents of Magnolia and Interbay urged the Navy to transfer the property to the city of Seattle for use as a park. In 2003, funds from a voter-approved Seattle parks levy, as well as funds secured by Councilmember Phillips to mitigate expansion of the West Point Sewage Treatment Plan, were used to purchase a portion of the property for use as a park.

This year, the City, County and Port reached an agreement that includes the Port selling the property to serve a dual purpose for the City and County.

Posted by: Words: April Thomas, Pictures: Jen Nance