(City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen at the meeting Wednesday night; DPD’s Susan McLain is at right)
They’ve talked about parking, streetscapes, and more … and Wednesday night, the West Seattle Triangle Advisory Group, assembled and convened by the city this spring, was to take on land use, though the meeting ultimately sprawled across broader ground.

The process has sparked side meetings – some public, some not – to look at issues ranging from businesses’ concerns, to the Triangle’s relationship to neighboring public parklands. Early in Wednesday night’s meeting, city planner Robert Scully mentioned the gathering two nights earlier that had focused on the latter – a walk-and-talk discussion of the Seattle Parks properties adjacent to The Triangle (including the West Seattle Golf Course, Camp Long, and Rotary Viewpoint Park):

Scully led the tour with Susanne Friedman of Parks; only two people showed up (besides our rep), advisory group member Josh Sutton from the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) and Sean Sykes from Harbor Properties, which is building Link in The Triangle (and built Mural in The Junction). Much of the talk that night focused on the upcoming work at the golf course – particularly the future driving range.

No dearth of attendance last night, however: Between board members, city reps and observers, more than 30 people were on hand at the Senior Center of West Seattle.

The question city planner Susan McLain asked them early on: Who are the true stakeholders in The Triangle? Answers included current businesses and residents, those who live in nearby Fairmount (to the south), Metro Transit, YMCA members, emergency workers (like the firefighters and medics at Fire Station 32 in The Triangle), those who commute through the area.

Next: What would advisory group members want to see?

Kandie Jennings from Tom’s Automotive spoke on behalf of the Triangle Business Group, which has been having side meetings. Their wish list focused on a lot of the status quo: Retaining the existing zoning, making sure the current businesses continue existing, keep existing buildings, protect existing commercial use for the neighborhood’s benefit, phase in any major change, make sure streets focus on easy-to-access parking and pedestrian safety,

Right now, she added, they’re trying to compile a list of the existing Triangle businesses and their hours of operation. The idea won acclaim, as well as suggestions from members including Junction Neighborhood Organization president and Southwest District Council co-chair Erika Karlovits that it would be nice to have some businesses open after dark, after the industrial/commercial properties’ workday ends. There also was support for the idea of some open space where people could gather – a pleasant place to pass the time if you’re, say, waiting for your car to get service at an automotive business.

Is this a case of cool vs. useful? someone wondered. They’re not mutually exclusive, it was suggested. And that’s when Fairmount Community Association president Sharonn Meeks mentioned the need for a community gathering place. The closed Fairmount Park Elementary was mentioned as one possibility. Also a concern: How will The Triangle look, if it is developed piece by piece? Holding common aesthetic values for future redevelopment might help, Karlovits suggested.

The group’s work is far from done, but its next meeting won’t be till fall.

PREVIOUSLY – THE PARKING MEETING: May 20th, there was a public meeting on parking in The Triangle, described as “the 500-pound gorilla” during the advisory group’s first meeting. But there were no revelations or promises; much of the discussion focused on the Junction parking review that concluded last fall – with some Triangle-area residents/businesspeople surprised to see that its findings were being applied further east, and disagreeing with its conclusion that the east-of-Triangle neighborhoods did not have a parking crunch. And there was really only one reassurance that SDOT’s Casey Hildreth could offer to those concerned about current plans for “parking removal” as part of changes that will accompany RapidRide bus service’s arrival in two years: He said he’s continuing to advocate that SW Alaska retain some street parking, as businesses had pleaded for during an earlier advisory-group meeting – as it stands now, RapidRide is scheduled to result in the removal of all street parking along the Triangle stretch of Alaska. But the city is a partner with the county in the process, and he stressed that he can’t make any commitments.

To see some of the graphics the group has viewed over the course of 2 months of meetings, go here.