West Seattle Trails Alliance: 2 more steps toward WS walkability

It’s been more than a year in the making now, and the West Seattle Trails Alliance continues marching ahead, with a focus now on kiosks around the area to point out walking routes and their highlights. The flyer above is for the first of the “next steps,” a Fauntleroy gathering next week described by Chas Redmond at westseattlewalks.org:

The three kiosks to be sited in the general Fauntleroy area are the first to be designed and located for the 10 kiosks which are part of this project. The three kiosks are associated with up to 20 on-street wayfinding markers (think street pole and sign but for trails rather than roads).

One of the locations suggested in previous charrettes is in front of Lincoln Park – but exactly where and on which side of the street is undecided. Another recommended location is near the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, but again the specifics are to be determined by the community. The last of the three kiosks in the Fauntleroy area is to be sited somewhere in the vicinity of Endolyne – by the bakery or by the church or by the school – again, where is to be determined.

The meeting at Fauntleroy Church will be the kick-off event for the design and determining the exact location of the three Fauntleroy-area kiosks. Each of the on-street markers must also be addressed – where and what should the marker blades say is one question. Thinking of the three kiosks as wayfinding beacons, the on-street markers are the guides from beacon to beacon. Where are these on-street guides and what do the blades actually say? As an example, the on-street markers between the Ferry location and Lincoln Park can point out shortcuts up Gatewood Hill to the Myrtle Street Reservoir – the highest point in the city. Other ideas are both sought and welcome at the charrette.

The Fauntleroy-area kiosks are the first in this series and will be followed by design and location charrettes for kiosks located in the Alki and Admiral areas later this Spring.

Second “step forward”: Chas also tells WSB that after 10 months of distributing the printed West Seattle Trails map (last year, WSB readers got a chance to comment on early versions), 19,000 copies – almost the entire 20K print run – are out there, placed in 64 locations (listed here), “almost one for every two households.” He adds, “We’re compiling changes and recommendations and are anticipating printing a new version by the end of this year” — once the final kiosks in the first round are up; a second city matching-funds grant is being pursued for the second round of kiosks, on the eastern half of the West Seattle peninsula.

1 Reply to "West Seattle Trails Alliance: 2 more steps toward WS walkability"

  • carraig na splinkeen February 3, 2009 (5:12 pm)

    All for walkability—so, any updates on the western end of Alki Ave SW “missing link” sidewalk project?

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