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. continue reading »