May 29, 3:40 PM 2
Neighborhood Parks: Nickels Was Against Them Before He Was For Them
We were happy to see Mayor Nickels send a press release touting a new park for the Belltown neighborhood—a 17,000-square-foot “park boulevard” on Bell Street. As Seattle grows and as more people live in Seattle’s neighborhoods, Seattle needs great parks and green spaces to play, to relax, and to escape. This will be a treasure for the Belltown community.
But it’s odd that Mayor Nickels is suddenly so enthusiastic about it. Just last year, he strongly opposed the Parks and Green Space Levy, which is funding Belltown’s new green space: “It is surprising that the mayor won’t support things that are so important to our neighborhoods,” Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said at the time. In contrast, Michael served as co-chair of the Seattle Parks For All campaign, the citizen-powered movement that passed at the polls. So we’re tremendously excited that not only does Mayor Nickels finally realize the Parks and Green Spaces Levy is a boon for Seattle’s neighborhoods, but also he shares Council President Richard Conlin’s belief that levy projects are a boost to Seattle’s economy.
But Nickels’ sudden passion for parks in Seattle’s neighborhoods isn’t the issue. The question is whether there is a mayoral candidate who understands the challenges that Seattle’s neighborhoods face and is prepared to do the hard work to make Seattle’s neighborhoods safe, healthy, and vibrant.
In 2007, Mayor Nickels and many community leaders had no plan to fund new parks and green spaces. So Michael stepped up. Having served as President of the Greenwood Community Council and Director of Great City, Michael had experience working with people to get results for Seattle’s neighborhoods. Michael co-founded the Green Legacy Coalition, a group that grew to include over 25 community organizations, and the Green Legacy Coalition urged the City Council to put a new parks levy on the ballot in 2008. “We had to fight city hall just to get unsafe playground equipment replaced,” sports field advocate Morgan Ahouse has said. “Fortunately, Michael McGinn was there to rally support for parks and sports fields.”
Michael took on Nickels and won. But Seattle’s neighborhoods shouldn’t need to fight city hall; they should have a mayor who fights for them. The time for governance by press release is over.
let’s suppose dedicating most of a Belltown street is a sound park concept. Should it be Bell Street? Between 3rd and 7th avenues it carries the inbound trips of routes 26-28. Bell Street is the logical path, as it allows the routes to serve the most of the 3rd Avenue transit spine. How about using Bell Street between 1st and 3rd avenues or using a Belltown street without transit service (e.g., Clay Street, Vine Street, or Cedar Street west of 3rd Avenue). Bell Street is used by many cyclists to reach the southbound avenues from 7th Avenue that is connected to the Dexter Avenue bike lanes.
You know what would be some issues I’d get behind?
- Acquiring and protecting public viewing lanes in our city. So many of the nice views are being build over and privatized.
- Starting a program to bury the powerlines, especially ones that impact public views.