Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 1, January 2003

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Gas Works project seeks to connect park to neighborhood

By JAMES BUSH

Gas Works Park's industrial towers and sweeping views of downtown Seattle have made it an icon but an icon that turns its back on its own neighborhood.

"It is less gracious to the neighborhood than it is to the city," said Jeff Girvin, a principal in The Berger Partnership architectural firm. "How can we make Gas Works Park connect as well to the community as it does to the rest of the city visually?"

The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is taking advantage of the creation of the Wallingford Steps and a $979,000 pot of money provided through the 2000 Pro Parks Levy to better connect the park and the surrounding neighborhood. Also included in the project is the development of the unfinished northwest corner of Gas Works Park.

About 45 people attended a Dec. 12 meeting at Hamilton Middle School to share their visions for improvements to the park. The Berger Partnership, project architects, will prepare three concepts incorporating some of the public comments. These will be presented at a second public meeting in January.

The group's main task was to consider ways to connect the park with the Wallingford Steps, a public staircase built in the Wallingford Avenue right of way above North Northlake Way. The steps were constructed as part of the newly built Regata condominium project.

Currently, a long wall enclosing the park's northwest corner stretches along Northlake Way, directly across the street from the foot of the Wallingford Steps. The former containment wall once surrounded petroleum storage tanks at the gas plant. Since the remainder of the park was developed in the mid-1970s, the area inside the wall has remained undeveloped.

What should the city put there? Passive park uses were at the top of most people's lists. An off-leash dog area was also a popular choice. "It's just a natural use for that space it would require very little modification," said Roosevelt resident Mike Payson.

Inexpensive ideas such as this could also free up money for improvements elsewhere in the park. Mark Johnson, a board member of the Friends of Gas Works Park, favors using any money saved to help renovate the set of fenced-off gas towers in the middle of the park.

Other concepts for the northwest corner included walking paths, a wetland/retention pond, and murals on the inside of the perimeter wall. Many simply want an extension of the existing park's grassy mounds. "Let's put in as much green as we can," said Wallingford resident Michael Parent. "We don't really need any more cement."

The wall itself is included in Gas Works Park's historic landmark designation and is likely to remain. However, many participants supported the concept of removing a small piece of the wall to create a new gateway to the park opposite the Wallingford Steps. Others suggested cutting small gaps in parts of the wall to open up the northwest corner to the rest of the park.

Also popular was the concept of adding a gravel pedestrian path to the former railroad right of way, which separates the parking lot from the main park. The most controversial recommendation was the suggested removal of some of the massive evergreens that line the railroad right of way to open up views over the park from Wallingford Avenue North and other north/south streets above the park. When meeting participants were split into small groups, the removal of trees proved the most contentious issue.

Presenting her group's report, Genevieve Vayda called for the removal of a few evergreens. "I'd like more, but my group was a tree-hugging type," she joked.

Jerry Milligan's group was unable to compromise on the issue. "Opinions ranged from removing the trees to thinning the trees to not touching the trees," he reported.

"Thanks for that direction that helps a lot," deadpanned Guy Michaelsen, a Berger Partnership associate.

Despite Gas Works Park's history of expensive environmental cleanups, the northwest corner probably won't require extensive remediation. John Keeling, an environmental engineer for the state Department of Ecology, says the northwest corner is one of the cleaner parts of the former plant, where coal and oil was once converted into gas. In the northwest corner, the area inside the former containment wall has already been capped with clean soil, a technique used elsewhere in the park.

Even with this good start, don't expect to see quick changes at the park. A final design is expected by the start of 2004, with construction commencing that summer, just after the Fourth of July fireworks.

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For more information on the Gas Works Park project, call Project Manager Tim Motzer at 684-7060.