Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 9, September 2003
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Seattle Sun news briefs
Haller Lake business fair, Sept. 4
The Haller Lake Community Club will hold a "Meet Your Business Neighbors" event on Thursday, Sept. 4, beginning at 7 p.m., in which area businesses are invited to set up tables and hand out fliers and talk with local residents.
Businesses located between Aurora Ave. N., Northgate Way, 15th Ave. NE, and 145th Street may participate. Individuals who work out of their homes or live in the neighborhood, but own businesses elsewhere are also invited.
Coffee and refreshments will be provided. The free event, which is open to the public, will be held at the Haller Lake Community Club building, located at 12579 Densmore Ave. N. Business people interested in participating should call Susan Park at 440-9149 ext. 4 to register no later than Sept. 3.
5th Ave NE picked as Northgate 'Main Street'
The Seattle City Council voted Aug. 11 to approve wider sidewalks, landscaped medians, and textured street crossings to up the pedestrian potential of a 12-block stretch of 5th Avenue Northeast near Northgate Mall.
The community-supported design will also create a pedestrian promenade leading into the mall and create double-left turn lanes from Northgate Way onto 5th Avenue in both directions to eliminate traffic bottlenecks.
"Transforming 5th Avenue into a Main Street for Northgate has long been the neighborhood's dream," says Councilmember Richard Conlin, sponsor of the legislation.
The community vision for these changes was established in the 1993 Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan. It has since been reiterated through two 2000 community planning workshops held in April 2000 and other city planning documents.
The council also approved passed legislation to allow libraries and parks as permitted street level uses along major pedestrian streets. This clears the way for a planned branch library, community center and 1.67-acre park on the site of the Goodyear store at 10050 5th Ave. NE and an nearby commercial property.
Shilshole renovation funded
The Port of Seattle Commission granted preliminary approval to $78.5 million in funding to rebuild the Shilshole Bay recreational marina on Aug. 12. Some 22 docks and piers will be replaced over the next five years, with dry boat moorage on land expanded, and six service buildings (containing restrooms, laundry, and shower facilities) replaced. The project also calls for the construction of an office/restaurant on the site of the current administration building, along with new public areas and improved landscaping. The renovation will change the mixture of slip sizes, due to changes in the recreational boating industry in the 40 years since the facility was originally built. Some 1,000 creosote wood pilings will be replaced with steel pilings. Utility replacement will begin next year with dock reconstruction kicking off in the fall of 2005. A new marina building will be built that same year.
Monorail draft EIS released
The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Seattle Monorail Project is now available for review. The document gauges the environmental effects of the proposed 14-mile Ballard-to-West Seattle Green Line, while examining alternatives for station and track placement. The deadline for written comments on the Monorail EIS is Oct. 14. A public hearing and open house to take verbal comments on the EIS will be held on Monday, Sept. 29 in the Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, 305 Harrison St. The open house will last from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. with public comment being taken from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Copies of the EIS in CD-ROM format are available free of charge, but paper copies of the five volume document will cost $95. The entire document can also be viewed on the monorail Web site at www.elevated.org.