Neighborhood groups look forward to continuing 2014’s successes

2014 was a big year for the neighborhood community councils in East-Central Seattle, and many are already ramping up for a big year in 2015.

Madison Valley

The Greater Madison Valley Community Council is looking to switch from its current style to a board in the new year, due to decreased interest. The group currently has four officers and sometimes have a few other participants who come and go. The council’s bylaws require the group to have a quorum of 10 to make decisions, which is a problem, said secretary Catherine Nunneley.

The council plans to revisit its bylaws to keep the four positions but go to a board style that will allow its members to make decisions as a small group. From there, it plans to have a big annual meeting for the whole neighborhood. Those decisions will likely be considered at the January meeting.

One major project that will continue through 2015 is the Triangle Restoration Project, at 28th Avenue East and East Madison Street. The council recently learned that it must keep the large tree in the center of the triangle, which means its designs must change a bit. After that, construction is probably a year and a half out, said president Lindy Wishard.

Nunnelly has continued her work on the Harrison Greenbelt throughout 2014, along with some help from students at the nearby Bush School. There’s not much left to plant, she said. After a string of bad weather in early December, she did have concerns about the retaining wall and its stability. Working on the greenbelt will be “a lifetime thing,” she said.

In 2015, the neighborhood greenways group is expected to make the 29th Avenue East crosswalk more prominent with flashing lights, Wishard said. There is one sidewalk improvement expected on Madison Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way East (MLK) and 29th Avenue.

The council is also working on becoming a business improvement area, which would give it a stronger voice when asking the city for improvements, Wishard said. Madison Valley is also being considered for a possible pedestrian zone. Any new business would need to “comply with pedestrian overlay,” she said.

Getting people to participate and volunteer continues to be a struggle, so Wishard wants to focus on more fun events for people to attend. “No one really enjoys coming to a meeting,” she said. “But we still need to get the work done.”

The neighborhood had two new Sip and Dine events in 2014 and has plans for more in 2015.

Madrona

2014 in Madrona was very productive, said Madrona Community Council president Holly Smith. The neighborhood had its first summer concert series; while it was only two concerts, they went really well, he said. Its annual Madrona Mayfair event, with its kids-themed events, continued to be successful too, he said.

The neighborhood assisted the city in its Tree & Sidewalks Operations plan, Smith said; soon, they’ll have a report that the city will use as a blueprint for tree replacement.

One problem spot in the neighborhood is the traffic and speeding at the intersection of MLK and East Union Street. While the council wants to get a turn signal installed there, there are no plans.

“We haven’t contacted the city for a remedy,” Smith said. “It’s possible in 2015 if we get more citizen initiative.”

The city also declined to do a traffic study on the restricted parking zone at Union and 34th Avenue, because the area is too small, Smith said.

The council plans to recruit more membership in 2015. Paul Gomez will become treasurer, but all other current board members will stay in their position for another year.

The Madrona Mayfair will also continue in “all its improved glory,” Smith said, and there’s also renewed interest in a garden tour, but that hasn’t been set yet. The council is also looking at partnering with Madrona K-8 School for an author series with some of the published authors from the neighborhood.

Leschi

In 2014, the Leschi Community Council celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Flo Ware Park renovation. It also had its art walk in June and continued its public stairway cleanup effort. The group helped with the children’s garden at Leschi Elementary and hosted its yearly book sale, with proceeds going to Seattle Music Partners.

At its annual Christmas party, the group asked community members what the council should focus on in 2015; the most popular ideas were bringing back Bus No. 27 (which may be restored in June), removing invasive ivy from parks and more music events.

Efforts to clean up stairways continued through 2014, although the commitment to clean a stairway every month was somewhat inhibited by the rain, said co-president Diane Snell. As they continue, Snell would like the community to point out areas where they want to see repairs.

One of the remaining things on the Leschi council’s to-do list is adding a living wall to the retaining wall in the area. Adding concrete designs — another decor option — would cost about $10,000, so the living wall’s cost of about $1,000 feels much more manageable, she said.

One of the council’s goals is to increase pedestrian safety and walkability, especially on roads like Lake Washington Boulevard. At the November Leschi council meeting, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) traffic planner Dongho Chang explained that Leschi simply doesn’t have the volume of traffic or pedestrians for SDOT to consider it dangerous and worth fixing, Snell said.

Snell does have a dream to add more benches on the hillier roads. “There’s always something to make the neighborhood more livable,” she said.

The shootings and other violence continue to be a concern in Leschi and in the adjacent Central Area. Snell isn’t sure how the council can improve that beyond getting brighter streetlights.

Snell doesn’t anticipate the council changing much in 2015, but many terms are up in May 2016.

Madison Park

Maurice Cooper took over as president last summer, for his 11th term leading the Madison Park Community Council.

The Dorffel Drive study caused a bit of a ruckus in the neighborhood, Cooper said, but it proved that the problem in the area was speeding and not the volume of traffic.

The state Route 520 bridge was a bit of an annoying neighbor for Madison Park. The pile driving caused cracks in many neighborhood homes and condos.

Moving forward, Cooper expects shoreline residents to be more impacted by boat traffic as the vessels need to aim more toward the shore before turning. He also expects there to be more visual intrusion and noise since the roadway has been lifted.

The neighborhood recently received $90,000 to do a traffic study on the Madison Street and McGilvra Boulevard intersection. It won’t be an easy solution, Cooper said, because residents want a design that’s efficient and safe, without being annoying to people driving through. “We’re determined to make it safer,” he said.

Madison Park opened its first greenway in 2014, and Cooper hopes to continue encouraging bicycling on flat, quiet roads.

In 2015, Cooper would like to focus his efforts to change parking at the end of Madison Street near the bathhouse. He would like to create angled, back-in parking spots, which would replace the existing spots one-for-one and free up the park space.

The Extraordinary Neighbors program is expected to continue, Cooper said, noting Madison Park has a high number of prominent residents. The tree walks will also continue, although Cooper wasn’t sure whether they’ll continue the less-attended fall walk or just do two walks in the early summer.

Enthusiasm was the neighborhood’s biggest gain in 2014. “There’s a positive feeling out there,” Cooper said. “You can almost feel it coming through your fingertips.”

In 2015, the council will also continue with the Safe Sidewalks program, which has about 70-percent participation right now; Cooper would like to get to 90-percent participation overall.

The council changes every year and will do so again in 2015. Of the 19 board members, about six will be up for reelection for a three-year term.

Cooper stressed that a resident doesn’t need to be involved with the council or board to join a committee: “It’s surprising how much power we have as a council. We really can get things done.”

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