Curb Extensions Project
Last year, our group was awarded $18,000 in cumulative reserve funds from Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to implement improvements on 14th Ave NW that incorporate our vision. Last Spring, our steering committee started working with SDOT on project proposals. Susan Black Associates Landscape Architects also volunteered their expertise in guiding our project along. We went back and forth on many different iterations and in the end, unanimously accepted the proposal that is now on SDOT's schedule for 2008!
This project involves constructing two curb extensions at the intersection of 14th Ave NW and NW 58th on the northeast and northwest corners of the intersection. The curb extensions will calm traffic approaching the intersections similar to traditional curb bulbs. They will also encourage cars to park along the curb. Parked cars along the curb reduce the perceived vehicle right away and have proven to slow vehicle traffic. Instead of installing traditional concrete curb extensions, these extensions will contain soil and plant material. Rainwater that flows down 14th Ave NW into the sewer inlets at NW 58th, will be filtered through these plants before entering the sewer and draining directly into Salmon Bay. The currently faded crosswalk will also be remarked, providing better visibility to oncoming traffic of crossing pedestrians. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has begun the engineering plans. Click on the thumbnails below to see these plans:
 Plans |
 Sections |
 Details |
 Funded Portion (June 23, 2008) (~3Mbytes) |
 Proposed Portion (June 23, 2008) (~3Mbytes) |
Preliminary Plant List for Curb Extension Project.
Cumulative Reserve Fund/Neighborhood Street Funding
Our steering committee submitted an application Feb 2008 for SDOT Cumulative Reserve/Neighborhood Street Funding. Our committee made proposals for 3 possible projects for these funds:
Our proposals were reviewed and selected by the Ballard District Council as number 2 on their top 5 list of recommendations which will be provided SDOT for final approval.
To view the application click here.
To view SDOTs response click here.
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Bridge the Gap Funds
Latest News, Dec 2007: We didn't get the large fund, but we were allocated $40,000 in SDOT funding for an improvement project on 14th Ave NW. Some of this money will probably go toward the curb extension project. Any leftover funds could possibly be used toward similar improvements along the street.
Bridging the Gap Funding Application, May 2007
Our project submitted an application for funding through the "Bridging the Gap" program through the City of Seattle. Click here to view a brief description of our application.
Meeting with Susan Black & Associates (SBA), May 25, 2007
We met with SBA to discuss a proposed layout for a median improvement concept to be submitted as part of a Cumulative Reserve Fund project. SBA provided the following concept sketch for the layout, intended for the intersection of 14th Ave NW and NW 58th St.:
 Median Layout Sketch (click thumbnail for larger image [2.4MB]) |
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Community Kiosk
New Community Kiosk:Come visit Abbey our new community Kiosk on 60th Ave NW! She was first unveiled at the Sustainable Ballard Fair on Sept 28th/29th 2007.
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In The News
Ballard News Tribune Article:
We are very sad to report that Agnes Meserole, a teaching assistant in the preschool program at St. Alphonsus Parish School died after being hit by a car near the intersection of 14th and NW58th this past December. See the Ballard Tribune article .
Our group has been working really hard for the past year with SDOT to improve the safety of this intersection and we're devastated that this accident occurred. We have heightened the awareness of this accident to SDOT and have impressed upon them the urgency to make our street safer.
Ballard News Tribune Article:
Article covering the 14th Ave NW Visioning Project Click here to view the article in PDF. (or here for word format.)
Seattle Channel:
14th Ave NW improvement effort featured in "Seattle Channel". The Neighborhood News segment of the Seattle Channel contains a video about our improvement efforts. Seattle Channel is a city-sponsored video journal about Seattle neighborhoods and community. Click here to go to the Neighborhood News web site. To view the video about 14th Ave NW, click on the link to "Neighborhood News: Ballard 5/17/2006"
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August Night Out
August Night Out 2007
Color Flyer
Black/White Mailer
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Community Meeting Notes
Steering Committee Meeting, 7/2/08
Meeting notes
Steering Committee Meeting, 5/22/08
Meeting notes
Steering Committee Meeting, 3/19/08 Wednesday March 19th
Meeting notes
Steering Committee Meeting, February 20, 2008
- Discussed ideas for CRF/NFS grant proposal. Dawn has submitted the proposal.
- Discussed upcoming events: Earth Day block party, Adopt-a-Street cleanup, next meeting time.
Steering Committee Meeting, October 19, 2006
Click here to view the meeting notes.
Community Meeting, July 13, 2006
Notes from the July 13, 2006 neighborhood meeting. Initial drawings for the concept design were unveiled and feedback from the community was discussed in an open forum. Review the meeting notes here: Community Meeting Notes 2006-07-13
Community Meeting, April 27, 2006
Notes from the April 27, 2006 neighborhood meeting. We broke into three groups and brainstormed ideas both large and small for improving the avenue. This document captures those ideas: Community Meeting Notes 2006-04-27
Steering Committee Meeting, April 11, 2006
Click here to view the meeting notes.
Business Leaders Luncheon, March 8, 2006
This luncheon provided an opportunity for businesses along 14th Ave NW and the surrounding area to learn more about our project and voice their ideas, concerns, and support. We had excellent turnout, with about 30 business and industry owners and operators in attendance. You can download the presentation here. You can see a few photos from the luncheon by following the links below:
BusinessIndustryLunch_001.jpg // BusinessIndustryLunch_002.jpg
BusinessIndustryLunch_003.jpg // BusinessIndustryLunch_004.jpg
Finally, you can view all compiled responses from the Feedback Worksheet by clicking here (raw, unformatted text).
Steering Committee Meeting, February 9, 2006
Click here to view the meeting notes.
Notes from Community Meeting September 20, 2005
Residents and business owners held a neighborhood meeting on September 20, 2005. The meeting was well-attended and was covered in an issue of the Ballard News-Tribune newspaper. At this meeting, an urban planner (Anindita Mitra) discussed a previous project to give the community an idea of the potential for improvement along 14th Ave NW. This meeting offered an opportunity for everybody to provide input about their specific concerns associated with 14th Av NW. The group broke into smaller groups and completed "Idea Worksheets" to capture the ideas and concerns from as much of the community as possible. These Idea Worksheets were captured and they are avaiable for viewing by clicking on this link (size: 4.8MB): NeighborhoodMeeting_2005Sep20.zip.
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Adopt-A-Street
Adopt-A-Street Cleanup, April 26, 2008
We had our bi annual 1 mile Adopt a Street clean up on 14th Ave NW on Saturday April 26th from 10 am to 12:30pm in beautiful sunny weather. We had approximately 20 people participating. The day started off on a bit of a rough note however, because of a mix up with SPU, we didn't have the usual equipment (grabbers, gloves, bags, and orange safety vests). But we didn't let this deter us. Mary Lou went over to Fred Meyer and bought gloves and bags and Linda and Peter brought out their Garden Waste carts and shovels. Fueled by the donated coffee, doughnuts, bananas and juice from Ballard Market, everyone charged off to pick up whatever they could from the high school down to the ship canal. Otis was even treated to a swim.
Linda Frank had also organized with SPU to get the Storm Sewer Stenciling, Adopt a Drain, supplies from SPU and with great help from Cameron (age 10) and Gareth (age 6), managed to clean out and stencil a good number of drains before the paint ran out. Linda will be getting more paint from SPU for future stenciling over the next month. Many drains were completely clogged with leaves and debris and one even had a construction sock on it that blocked it completely. The day ended back at the St. Alphonsos yard with Chili and drinks from Ballard Market and a good sense of accomplishment.
Thanks to Steve (Manager @ Ballard Market) for the great coffee, doughnuts, banannas, juice, water, and chili they donated.
Thanks to Bob Rutledge, Principal at St. Alphonsos and the Sisters for letting us use their lawn to set up the food and sign in table.
Thanks to Holly, Mary Lou, Dawn, Rob and Linda for organizing the event. Thanks to Mary & Ermanno for posting flyers.
And big thanks to Carri, Frank, Justin, Jenny, Megeara, Tracy, Jim & Vicky, Mary & Ermanno, Lea Ann, Ellen, Harriet, Mary Lou, Linda, Steve, Eric, Peter, Cameron and Gareth and others for helping with the clean up.
Click to view some pictures.
Adopt-A-Street Cleanup, November 18, 2006
About 25 people showed up for this cleanup on a dry day in November. Many thanks to Mars Hill for their contingency! Click here to view some pictures.
Adopt-A-Street Cleanup, April 22, 2006
About 25 folks turned out to spruce up the Ave! Click here to view some pictures.
Adopt-A-Street Cleanup, November 5, 2005
The neighborhood rallied on a very wet day to clean up trash and greenery along the avenue. We had a great turnout (25-30 folks), and pictures of the fun can be seen by clicking here.
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Small and Simple Grant
Vision and Action Plan--Final ReportCarlson Architects has generated the following final report that summarizes design and improvement ideas for the 14th Ave NW corridor. The contents of this report are based on many hours of community feedback and involvement from residents, business owners, and other stakeholders along the avenue. If you have any comments, input, or suggestions, please provide feedback to info@14avenw.org.
Initial Concept Sketches
In cooperation with the steering committee, Carlson Architects has generated initial concept sketches for the design of the avenue. Click on the pictures below to see larger images of the design concepts that we are generating.
 North of Market, Cross Section |
 North of Market, Plan View |
 South of Market, Cross Section |
 South of Market, Plan View |
Contractor Selected
The technical committee of the 14th Ave NW Visioning Project has chosen Carlson Architects to be our design consultant. Greg Waddell will be our primary contact at Carlson. In the past, Carlson has worked on the Envision 15th Ave NW project (before the monorail decision put that on hold), designed the Path Building on the corner of Leary and 15th, and worked on the neighborhood plan for the Pike-Pine neighborhood. The Carlson web site is www.carlsonarch.com
Small and Simple Grant, Public RFP
The 14th Ave NW Visioning Project has received a grant from the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) of the City of Seattle to hire an Urban Planner / Design Consultant that will lead the community in identifying issues and opportunities related to the project area along 14th Ave NW. The Steering Committee for our project has made public a Request for Proposals (RFP) to allow interested parties to bid on this project. Click on the links below to view or save these documents:
Project Description (PDF format)
Project Description (HTML format)
Urban Planner RFP (PDF format)
Urban Planner RFP (HTML format)
Small and Simple Grant Award
The Small and Simple Projects Fund is a component of the Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund for projects requesting $15,000 or less and taking 6 months or less to complete. The fund was created to help build stronger neighborhoods by providing a cash award for projects and an opportunity for neighbors to build community by working together. The 14th Ave NW Visioning Project was awarded a Small and Simple grant in early November, 2005. You can download a copy of our application here. The award was officially bestowed by Mayor Nickels at a recent awards ceremony, and here is a photo of some of our steering committee members with the mayor.
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Traffic Information
SpeedWatch Traffic Speed Data, August 16, 2006
Click here to view a spreadsheet of data collected by several residents who captured all traffic speeds along 14th Ave NW using a radar gun borrowed by the City of Seattle Dept. of Transportation as part of the SpeedWatch program.
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Street Data
SUNI Training and Data Collection, Dec 3rd, 2005
A primary goal of the Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods Initiative (SUNI) is to have citizens monitor and measure trends in their communities and then act on what they find. ComNET is the tool used to help achieve this goal. ComNET is a data-collection system that allows specific neighborhood conditions to be correlated to a city agency or organization, and it allows the ability to easily produce reports for analysis in order to help citizens prioritize the findings for action. At the SUNI event on December 3, residents and volunteer students from Ballard High School were trained on the technical use of the ComNET equipment, and they recorded neighborhood conditions. The results of this survey can be viewed by clicking here (PDF document).
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Awards
Ballard District Council "Go, Team, Go!" Award. December 13, 2006
The 14th Ave NW Visioning Project was recognized for bringing a diverse group of people together all along 14th Ave NW to achieve many goals: street cleanups, social events, avenue design workshops, and community meetings. The 14th Ave NW Visioning Project would in turn like to thank: Ballard District Council, Groundswell NW, Sustainable Seattle, Sustainable Ballard, Street Scramble, and a very big thanks to the Department of Neighborhood's Ballard Branch.
- Click here to view the award certificate.
- Click here to view a photo of some 14th Ave NW volunteers at the awards ceremony.
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