Final 9th Ave. Park design can't please everyone

Most of the neighbors at the third and final design meeting for the new Ninth Avenue Park were happy with the proposal. But, debate still arose over who the space should be geared toward, especially conflict regarding play equipment versus a P-Patch.

The Seattle Parks Department and Site Workshop presented their final concept, Magic and Mystery, for the park on Ninth Avenue Northwest between Northwest 70th Street and Northwest 73rd Street Jan. 28. It was culled from a mass of neighborhood input during two previous meetings.

The design features a 20-plot P-Patch in the northeast corner.

Directly to the west of that is what Site Workshops' Clayton Beaudoin called a secret garden, which is envisioned as a quiet, contemplative space centered around foundation walls remaining on the property.

The center of the park is dedicated to an open lawn that measures approximately 55 feet by 80 feet.

Next to the open space is a community plaza. Poles in the plaza area could be used to hang material for shelter or a movie screen.

The open space and community plaza is separated from the sidewalk by curved walls that can used by children with skateboards or scooters.

The design maintains a grassy slope already on the property.

"The slope was sacred to the neighborhood," Beaudoin said. "Everybody fell in love with it as a sledding hill."

There is structured play equipment near the southeast corner.

A play channel runs along the southeast corner and the eastern edge of the park. It is envisioned as an informal trail with bridges, boulders and logs for unstructured play.

Beaudoin said they could direct surface drainage into that area to make it wet, muddy and dirty.

"This isn't going to be a clean, sterile kind of area," he said. "It's for a different kind of play."

At the end of the play channel is a council ring for meetings and a possible fire pit.

In the only large departure from the neighborhood's design input, Site Workshop and the Parks Department is recommending leaving the current sidewalk in place instead of tearing it out to build a curving sidewalk.

Beaudoin said a curved sidewalk was heavily desired by neighbors, but the Seattle Department of Transportation isn't excited about tearing out a relatively nice sidewalk. Plus, using the current sidewalk would save a lot of money and be more in line with the sustainable nature of the park, he said.

Bioswales or rain gardens would still be added to the current sidewalk without sacrificing parking, Beaudoin said.

Many meeting attendees complimented the design and said they were impressed by the way Site Workshop crafted their ideas into a cohesive design.

But, there was disagreement over the best use of space in the park with some neighbors arguing that a P-Patch privatizes a portion of the public park.

Each plot of a P-Patch is owned by a local family for their personal gardening. They have control of it for as long as they make use of it.

One attendee said there are already enough gardens attached to homes in the neighborhood. Another said there is a waiting list of 60 people in Ballard for P-Patch plots.

Beaudoin said people want to use P-Patches for the community experience it offers compared to gardening alone in a backyard.

He said Site Workshop wants the P-Patch to be an open space the public can walk through or sit on benches and relax in.

"It is our intention that this be a public space," he said.

A vocal group of meeting attendees called for the addition of swing sets to the park at the expense of the P-Patch or one of the other features.

Beaudoin said the problem with swing sets is the amount of space they take up. An 8-foot-high swing set requires a 16-foot buffer in front of and behind it. Plus, all play equipment needs to be set back 30 feet from the edge of the park.

A set of four swings would basically require them to do away with the entirety of the P-Patch or the open space.

The design includes an arch swing, which requires less space and can be used by multiple children at a time. Beaudoin said they may be able to fit two into the space.

One meeting attendee said a desire to please everyone is detrimental to the space. The nearby Whittier Elementary playground has nothing but swings and children's play equipment, he said.

"The more we pave over everything and put up swings, the more we lose the magic of the space," he said.

Another attendee said people are trying to fit three acres of stuff on a third of an acre.

Beaudoin said the concept presented Jan. 28 is not truly final. It will evolve throughout the process based on what is possible in the space and what they can afford, he said.

"It's really not final," he said. "This is not what is going to end up in the ground. Your input is still valuable in this process."

But, he said the concept represents the big picture they will be moving forward with and taking to the Parks Design Commission for approval Feb. 18.

"I live close by," Beaudoin said. "I'm looking forward to this.

There will be a six to eight-week naming process for the park starting in the near future.

Comments on the park design can be sent to Parks' Kellee Jones at kellee.jones@seattle.gov. Click the photo with this article to see the final concept for the park.