Seattle Mayor, City Council, and Parks Department called upon to fund the Colonnade Skatespot
Urgently NOW (in October 2021), everyone in the skateboarding community is asked to contact the Seattle Mayor, City Council, and Parks Department, urging them to fund a skatespot in the I-5 Colonnade Open Space (a unit of the Seattle parks system that is often simply called “Colonnade”). Click here for the the Colonnade Skatespot design, which was donated by architect Sean Kelly and civil engineer Micah Shapiro, both longtime members of the Seattle and worldwide skateboarding community. It would be the first skatepark in the Seattle Park system which is protected from rain (sheltered by the I-5 viaduct above it).
The I-5 Colonnade Open Space was founded in 2005 under and next to Interstate 5 south of E. Newton Street on land owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation, and leased to the City of Seattle. Colonnade (click here for location map) is very close to the geographic center and population center of Seattle–between Downtown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, the University District, and Capitol Hill. It is ranked by the internationally regarded CityLab web site as among the world’s nine “cool parks under freeway overpasses.”
The Colonnade Skatespot design was developed as part of a 2015-2016 public and inter-agency planning process for comprehensive improvements to the I-5 Colonnade Open Space. The Colonnade skatespot design is conceptual and preliminary. It can and will be changed as a result of further public and interagency process. For plans, reports and background on the public involvement and interagency review process, click here].
The 2015-2016 Colonnade planning process received City and private funds and was conducted under an agreement between the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and the Eastlake Community Council. It was led by the distinguished landscape architecture firm of J.A. Brennan Associates. The planning process involved close collaboration with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Washington State Department of Transportation, and other agencies.
Background
[adapted from the section on Skateboarding, pp. 31-33 in the 2016 Final Report of the Colonnade planning study.]
Skateboarding continues to grow in popularity. Although young skateboarders and their parents helped in the successful effort to include Colonnade into the 2000 parks levy, the 2005 Colonnade opening design lacked any features specifically designed for skateboarding.
In 2007 with the help of consultants and a volunteer task force, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation adopted a Citywide Skatepark Plan (click here) that called for a skate feature close to Eastlake, north Capitol Hill, and South Lake Union. Nine years later, the park system still lacks a skate feature in the vicinity, with the closest being a skate park at Woodland Park (about five miles from Colonnade) and a skatespot at Judkins Park (about seven miles from Colonnade). Seattle Center also has a skate park, about 3.5 miles from Colonnade. [Distances are as the crow flies, and would be considerably more by ground transport.]
The Citywide Skatepark Plan considered Colonnade as a possible site, but the plan’s Appendix J erroneously stated that Colonnade was fully programmed and did not have room for a skate feature. The present Colonnade planning and design study’s schematic long-range plan designates several previously unprogrammed spaces for new uses, with one being for skateboards.
In previously un-programmed sloped terrain next to Lakeview Blvd. at the north end of Colonnade, there is room for a skatespot. Using the size criteria in the Citywide Skatepark Plan that define a “regional” facility as being 30,000 square feet or more, the roughly 9,000 square foot Colonnade skate feature would be called a skatespot rather than a skate park. Although the Citywide plan states that a facility of this size would be of only “district” scope, this facility is likely to be a regional draw because of its central location, protection from the rain, and lighting at night.
Early in the planning and design process, the Colonnade Steering Committee and consultants agreed on this location for the skatespot, and it is in the 2016 schematic long-range plan. A design (available on the Colonnade web page, http://eastlakeseattle.org/?page=colonnade) was donated by two Steering Committee members (architect Sean Kelly and civil engineer Micah Shapiro) who have extensive experience with designing skate features.
The skatespot will have two bowls, two ledges, a hip (two ramps at a 90-degree angle from each other rising to a shared deck), a “manny pad” (a long low platform allowing skateboarders to make small jumps where the level changes), and what the skateboarders understandably call “flatground.” The skatespot would have handrails to avoid passersby falling in; and places from which to watch the action, whether the spectator is standing or sitting. Some benches would be designed to be skated upon. Lights would be recessed beneath the stairs and benches to create a striated appearance (similar to the freeway I-beams above).
The design has joint benefits beyond skateboarding. It creates a new entry from the half-block of Lakeview Blvd. underpass where the topography currently denies any access into Colonnade. As currently planned, the entry would use stairs to reach the diagonal pathway in Colonnade’s north interior. Further study will see if an ADA-accessible pathway could also be included. The design also takes advantage of how the southwest wall drops off down the hillside, including on its bouldering/climbing features.
The public comments about this design were numerous and uniformly enthusiastic. Here are three:
• “My GREATEST wish—a dream come true actually, among all features considered is to have a multi-depth (3 foot/5 foot/8 foot/10 foot) multi-bowl skate pool. … I would just love to walk three minutes down the stairs to a world-class skate pool 24 hours.”
• “I fully support this proposal. We currently have no covered skateparks in Seattle, which limits skateboarding during the often-rainy days. We also only have one lit skatepark (Jefferson Skatepark), which limits skateboarding to weekends for many 9-5pm employed workers during the many dark months.”
• “We are very interested in a safe, well lit, sheltered skate park with up-to-date features, rails, seating areas, etc. SUPER IMPORTANT!!!”
Skate features could be scattered elsewhere in Colonnade to diversify the skateboard experience. The new paved pathways would certainly benefit skateboards. Even just a flat dry space of smooth concrete is usable by skaters. Benches should be designed to be durable enough to weather use by skateboards.
Funding issues
As a part of its land-range conceptual plan for the I-5 Colonnade Open Space, J.A. Brennan Associates in 2016 estimated the cost of the various proposed projects. The estimated total cost of the proposed Colonnade Skatespot is $1,300,000. Part of that cost will come from donations by businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals. However, the Colonnade Skatespot will not occur without funding from the City of Seattle and other public entities such as the King County Government.
The Eastlake Community Council submitted in 2016 and again in 2018 to the Seattle Park District Major Projects Challenge Fund applications for funding of the Colonnade Skatespot. Unfortunately, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation either downgraded or disqualified (it was not made clear which) the 2016 Colonnade skate spot application, asserting that the funds could only be spent on parks that are on City-owned land.
In a March 2018 letter (click here), ECC submitted a new application for the skatespot in the 2018 cycle of the Major Projects Challenge Fund. The letter was also addressed to the Mayor, City Councilmembers and Park Superintendent, and asked for the project to be funded “whatever the source of City funds.” Unfortunately, the 2018 application was again turned down, again on the grounds that Colonnade is not owned by the City, but rather leased from the State.
Although the I-5 Colonnade Open Space is on WSDOT land that is leased to the City, it was built in 2005 with Seattle Parks Department funds, including $1.75 million from the 2000 Parks levy. There is nothing in the charter of the Seattle Park District that would restrict its funding of City parks only to those that are on land owned by the City of Seattle.
For all of Seattle (not just at Colonnade), restricting the Seattle Park District Major Projects Challenge Fund only to land that is owned by the City poses a serious issue of inequity against valuable projects that are in dense neighborhoods lacking much City-owned parkland and where leased land is the most feasible alternative. The Mayor, City Council and Parks Department leadership should rethink this unfortunate policy that is unfairly disadvantaging the quest to fund the Colonnade Skatespot and other worthy projects.
Whatever your views, it is important to exercise your rights as a citizen by communicating with your elected officials. Below is contact information for the Seattle officials who have the power to fund the Colonnade Skatespot, but who as of yet have not taken action to do so. Urgently, please write to them asking for their support and tangible actions to make the Skatespot a reality.
Importance of commenting to the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
The Seattle Parks Department’s 2007 Citywide Skatepark Plan called for a skate facility in this general vicinity under I-5. The Department needs to be more proactive in devoting funding, planning and engineering to the Colonnade Skatespot, which emerged from a planning process in which the Department participated. E-mails and letters will be important in catching the attention of the following entities.
Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation: Appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Jesús Aguirre is in overall charge of the Department. His U.S. mail address is 100 Dexter Ave N., Seattle, WA, 98109. His e-mail address is jesus.aguirre@seattle.gov.
Seattle Parks District: The voting members of the the Seattle Park District are members of the Seattle City Council, but the City Councilmembers rarely act in that separate capacity. In order to remind the City Councilmembers of their dual role as the government boardmembers of the Seattle Parks District, it it helpful when you write to a City Councilmember about a parks-related topic, to address them in both their role as a City Councilmember and as a voting member of the Seattle Park District board. The City Councilmembers’ names and addresses are listed below.
Seattle Parks District Oversight Committee: This Committee provides independent oversight over and advice to the Seattle Parks District. Messages addressed to the members of the Seattle Parks District Oversight Committee as a whole can be sent by U.S. mail to 100 Dexter Ave N., Seattle, WA, 98109. E-mail messages addressed to the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners as a whole can be sent to the board c/o Shanyanika.Mcelroy@seattle.gov.
Seattle Board of Parks Commissioners is a City of Seattle entity that provides independent oversight over and advice to the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. Messages addressed to the members of the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners as a whole can be sent by U.S. mail to 100 Dexter Ave N., Seattle, WA, 98109. E-mail messages addressed to the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners as a whole can be sent to the board c/o Rachel.Acosta@seattle.gov.
Whenever you write to a City official on a matter of public concern, please consider sending a cc or bcc of your message to the Eastlake Community Council (info@eastlakeseattle.org) and to EastlakeInfo (info@eastlakeinfo.net], to facilitate coalitional efforts, and so that they can contact you when issues arise which are related to your interest.
How to comment on the annual Seattle City Budget
The Seattle City Council is now deliberating about the proposed annual City budget which it received on Sept. 27, 2021 from the Mayor. As outlined on the City Council’s budget page (click here), you can provide written and oral comments on what you believe the Council’s budget decisions should be. An e-mail or letter is a good way to express your views; see the next section for contact information for the public officials who need to hear from you. In addition, you can comment by telephone in various City Council Budget Committee meetings, including two public hearings devoted entirely to citizen testimony.
This year the City Council’s Select Budget Committee is holding three public hearings. The first was held on Oct. 12. The remaining ones are on Nov. 10 (5:30 p.m.), and Nov. 18 (9:30 a.m.). Anyone can testify, and all testimony is oral and by telephone (because of COVID, no one will be testifying in person in City Hall’s City Council Chambers). Public comment is usually limited to one minute per person, and so it is important to practice so that you can best use the time, and end before being cut off by the committee chair.
To present telephone public testimony at oneof the two remaining public hearings on the budget, or in the comment period at the beginning of other meetings of the City Council’s Budget Committee, you need to register. Electronic registration opens two hours before the hearing or meeting is to begin–for example, 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, and 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 18. Once registered, you will be assigned a number for the order in which you will be called upon, among those who have also registered. Many people register immediately upon the opening of registration and thus earn the right to speak early in the meeting when more City Councilmembers are present and attentive. Those who register later may not have a chance to speak, or may speak so late that most City Councilmembers have left for the day. To register, click here.
The Council also accepts oral public comment at some of the other committee meetings at which it considers the City budget. The schedule of all meetings of the Select Budget Committee can be found on the committee’s web site link above or by clicking here.
How to reach the Seattle Mayor
Mayor Jenny Durkan: Mayor Durkan accepts comments from the public by e-mail at jenny.durkan@seattle.gov. You can also leave a comment on-line at http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor (the system will reject any message of more than about 500 words). You can also reach Mayor Durkan by letter (which can be longer!) at 600 Fourth Avenue, 7th floor, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124-4749, or by fax at 206-684-5360. The Mayor’s reception phone is 206-684-4000.
How to reach the Seattle City Council members
You can reach all nine City Councilmembers with this single e-mail address: council@seattle.gov. However, an e-mail is more likely to be effective if it is addressed to a single Councilmember (that is, if you wish to write to all Councilmembers, you are wise to take the time to send nine separately addressed e-mails). The individual City Councilmember e-mail addresses are as follows:
lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov
lisa.herbold@seattle.gov
debora.juarez@seattle.gov
andrew.lewis@seattle.gov
tammy.morales@seattle.gov
teresa.mosqueda@seattle.gov
alex.pedersen@seattle.gov
kshama.sawant@seattle.gov
dan.strauss@seattle.gov
The U.S. mail address for all City Councilmembers is: 600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd floor, P.O. Box 34025, Seattle, WA 98124-4025. It was long thought that a typed or handwritten U.S. mailed letter is more likely to be noticed in a City Council or Mayoral office than is an e-mail. However, in recent years, it is not clear whether U.S. mail is receiving as much attention, given growing concern that it could be deliberately or unintentionally contaminated with poison or an infection.