Leschi
The Leschi Community Council invites you to join us for a look at Seattle’s early history as David B. Williams talks about his book, “Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping the Seattle Landscape.”
Since settlers first arrived in Seattle, the city’s citizens have altered the landscape with an unrivaled zeal. We have regraded hills, reengineered tideflats and replumbed lakes to provide better locations for business and easier ways to move through the challenging topography.
And we are still at it, though now we also understand that earthquakes and rising sea levels have the potential to change us as much as we have changed the land.
This talk will take place at our next meeting, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. at the Central Area Senior Center (500 30th Ave. S.).
— Diane Snell, co-president
Madison Park Community Council
Most people with a declared interest in the progress of the state Route 520 bridge construction project, including the Madison Park Community Council (MPCC), have, by now, been invited to the grand opening celebrations scheduled for April 2 and 3. MPCC extends that invitation to everyone in the community council’s area of representation, i.e. to all the households between Lake Washington Boulevard and the lake itself.
Talking of the bridge, we have now all adapted reasonably well to the new westbound exit from SR 520 to Lake Washington Boulevard and thence to Madison Park. However, it is worth repeating that when the next phase of construction is completed and barring any change in the Washington State Department of Transportation’s current plans, the access from Lake Washington Boulevard to SR 520 eastbound will certainly create chaos in our community, by necessitating a crossing of Montlake Boulevard. MPCC has been unsuccessful in negotiating to get a better eastbound access to SR 520 into the design. However, we have not given up!
Back in the Park, there are a couple of projects that MPCC is preparing to tackle in the beach park itself: Just before Christmas, the largest tree (by girth) in our area blew down. Fortunately no one was hurt, and only one car suffered some “re-design.” This unfortunate event, however, offers a unique opportunity to adopt Steve Lorton’s suggestion, as detailed in last month’s Madison Park Times, to plant a giant sequoia in the same location. (Steve is MPCC’s spring tree-walk leader.) Of course, such a tree would take many generations before it took on the appearance of being a centerpiece in the park, but from little acorns….
Secondly, we are slowly but surely being forced to do something about the geese poop problem because the grass in the park is rapidly deteriorating. MPCC last tackled this problem two decades ago, so we haven’t done too badly.
Snow in the mountains continues to accumulate at a remarkable rate this season, which is a reminder to us and to you that we still have in place our Snow Brigade. So if, or when, things turn a little snowy down here in the flatlands and you need something and can’t get around, our volunteers with four-wheel-drive vehicles are here to help.
MPCC continues to monitor the situation with respect to the dilapidated building on Madison Street. We are now wondering if it is any longer structurally sound and, hence, a public hazard, rather than just an eyesore.
We are pleased to report that we have just received a SPARK grant of $1,000 to reimburse us for the monies already expended for our new emergency HUB container immediately north of and adjacent to the tennis court fence. A photo of the box was in last month’s Madison Park Times.
— Maurice Cooper, president