Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 4, April 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.

Gas Works Park plan debated

Designers working on the $625,000 redevelopment of the northwest corner of Gas Works Park got an earful from Wallingford residents, who at a recent Seattle Parks public meeting, demanded that the improved portion include an off-leash area for dogs.

Current plans for the park do not include an off-leash area in the park's so-called "containment area," a grassy plain along Northlake Way ringed by a high concrete wall.

Tim Motzer, the Parks Department's manager for the project, said despite public support for the idea, the department and the project's designers "were not comfortable" with including an off-leash area.

The plan does include a smaller off-leash area next to Gas Works, but there is currently no funding for its construction, said Sharon LeVine, who brought her own "citizen's alternative" design for the park.

During the March 12 meeting, about half of the 50 people present favored creation of a larger off-leash area at Gas Works. About five people expressed support for Parks' current plan.

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For more information, call Tim Motzer of the Parks Department at 233-3949.