New park, somewhere in Westwood? Speak out on Saturday

April 25, 2011 at 7:28 pm | In West Seattle news, West Seattle parks, Westwood | 17 Comments

In West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood, the Parks and Green Spaces Levy is already paying for a new P-Patch – but there’s also the potential for a new park somewhere in the area. This Saturday at 1 pm, the Westwood Neighborhood Council invites you to Southwest Community Center to talk about that possibility. The levy passed by voters in 2008 includes money for acquiring new park land in “underserved neighborhoods” – and Westwood is one of the neighborhoods identified as “underserved.” Parks’ Chip Nevins will be there – not just to talk, but to listen – so if you have an idea about what might make a good park, and/or where, be there on Saturday.

17 Comments

  1. It would be great if the parks department would pick a few special purposes and address them with this park. Rather than a vanilla park that no one really cares for, they could include a spray park, a frisbee golf course, a maze made out of grass mounds, a small kids fishing pond, or something else that would draw people in.

    Comment by vortex2.71 — 8:04 pm April 25, 2011 #

  2. How ’bout a pistol range? It’s a long drive to the nearest one, and I need to keep my survival skills honed for the mean streets of Westwood!

    Comment by rockyraccoon — 8:21 pm April 25, 2011 #

  3. Only a couple miles, Rocky… http://wssc.me/range/roger-dahl-range/

    Comment by WSB — 8:33 pm April 25, 2011 #

  4. Interesting, I had no idea that was there. But with the .22 caliber limit and all, it looks more geared to target shooting competition than self-defense.

    Comment by rockyraccoon — 9:06 pm April 25, 2011 #

  5. Too bad Hole Foods isn’t a park

    Comment by Rhonda Porter — 9:15 pm April 25, 2011 #

  6. Seattle always needs more off leash dog parks. The Westwood area already has the beloved Westcrest Park, but the north end of West Seattle could use off-leash space somewhere.

    Comment by Noelle — 9:45 pm April 25, 2011 #

  7. I would love to see a tot lot. Kirkland has this awesome tot lot that would be a great model for it. I find a lot of the parks don’t have the greatest set up for the younger set of kids.

    Comment by nighthawk — 10:04 pm April 25, 2011 #

  8. @%& darn stupid idiots, WAKE UP!!!!! this freakin economy, city departments cutting budgets, laying off employees, taking pay cuts and we’re out planning on NEW FREAKIN’ PARKS!!!!! Morons… find other places to distribute OUR tax dollars! This is B.S.

    Comment by Dan — 10:24 pm April 25, 2011 #

  9. Dan, this is Parks and Green Spaces Levy money, approved by voters for this purpose only – acquiring and building new parks. They cannot move the money around, the city and other knowledgeable parties (the chair of the levy’s oversight committee, for example, is Pete Spalding of West Seattle), have reiterated over and over again. If you think they should find a way, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw is the head of the Parks Committee – her contact info and all the other councilmembers’ can be found at http://seattle.gov/council – TR

    Comment by WSB — 10:30 pm April 25, 2011 #

  10. WSB, the Dahl range is for airguns and .22LR caliber only. Very few people trust in .22 for self-defense. Naw, we need a real indoor pistol/rifle/shotgun range here in West Seattle. And I don’t think the Parks people should be running it… A private business would be much better.

    Comment by Cascadianone — 12:46 am April 26, 2011 #

  11. Whatever is done, I, I say keep it small. Use the excess ca$h to buy, and plant more trees/plants. It’s US younger folk who will be living into the future with; ,more air pollution, overall pollution, overpopulation. Enough with the specialized/niche parks of those who only care about their here and now. Let us all empathize for the future, and see that nature trumps our mortal WANTS, not NEEDS!!

    Comment by JakeS — 2:24 am April 26, 2011 #

  12. T, what constitutes the “Westwood” area? I’m just west of 35th and north of Barton, and the two (only) nearest parks for us are Roxhill and Lincoln Park.
    .
    Roxhill isn’t always the safest playground for the under 6 age group, too many bigger kids climbing all over the equipment and not paying attention to the little ones. And by bigger kids I mean middle school & highschool. These same kids don’t listen to adult warnings very well either. So I’ve always avoided this playground and headed to EC Hughes or Myrtle Reservoir Park instead.
    .
    Lincoln Park is great, but not easily accessible from the road & on sunny/warm days, parking can be a nightmare when you also have a load of strollers, toys, picnic, etc. I typically only go there when I have an extra set of hands to manage all the extra gear.
    .
    And that’s it for us at this end. Arbor Heights has no parks with playgrounds at all, unless you count the elementary school (which I do not). Fauntlee Hills, Marine View, and much of the area from Morgan to Thistle are also lacking in small, but easily accessible playgrounds or parks. If you have little kids & live at the south end of WS, you are more likely going to have to drive at *least* to Myrtle or EC Hughes, or head to points further north. Not UN-doable certainly, but not exactly the most ideal either.
    .
    The problem is residential density. Where would this Westwood area park actually GO? I can’t think of any open spaces in this area, except maybe Fauntleroy Creek Park (not an option for a playground, even though it’s a gorgeous park). Does the city already have some locations in mind? That didn’t seem clear from their site maps.
    .
    Thanks for the info, hopefully it’ll happen sooner rather than later. We have really enjoyed the new playground at Myrtle Reservoir Park. The only “complaint” being there are no bathrooms, which with a little kid makes visits there VERY short. :)

    Comment by Jasperblu — 4:18 am April 26, 2011 #

  13. tot lot! tot lot! or a playground similar to the new Jefferson Park playground on Beacon Hill, lots of activities for kids of all ages (and really fun to play on as an adult. when i was over there recently saw from ages 2 up through teens playing on it. it is awesome and worth the drive over the bridge to see

    Comment by lina rose — 7:13 am April 26, 2011 #

  14. Not really related to the park issue, but I heard yesterday that Westwood Town Center was sold. Wonder if that will bring any changes to the neighborhood? Think it sold for $78 Million.

    Comment by Debbie — 7:33 am April 26, 2011 #

  15. Debbie, we reported that a month ago. I have no idea why the PSBJ just got around to it yesterday; the DJC broke the story in late March and we reported it here:
    http://westseattleblog.com/2011/03/west-seattles-westwood-village-reportedly-getting-a-new-owner

    Comment by WSB — 8:10 am April 26, 2011 #

  16. When Denny Middle School gets demolished, they are building (what looks like) a really nice park. Would it be feasible to put that money towards that new park? Maybe make something really grand and usable there – ie vortex’s suggestions?

    Maybe they can upgrade Roxhill – add a tot lot to that park? Maybe add lights along the paths in Roxhill? We have some great parks in Westwood area, just need to make them safer.

    Comment by Amanda — 9:34 am April 26, 2011 #

  17. Ronda I’m with you only with a twist. Put in an under ground park an ride and then on the top floor or the roof put in a urban park complete with tennis courts, vollyball and b ball and maybe a dodge ball court. With all the apartments going in I’m sure this place would be heavly used. Maybe bring dodgeball tournaments.

    Comment by foy boy — 1:58 pm April 26, 2011 #

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