(West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Groupfile photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Your role in a vision for Seattle’s largest stretch of remaining forest was the largest topic at this month’s gathering of HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.

Police had updates too during the meeting at Delridge Library, which was facilitated by Kay Kirkpatrick, HPAC co-chair.

RIDGE TO RIVER: While this initiative is being reinvigorated, it’s not new. Paul West, who said he had lived in the area for 25 years, explained that Ridge to River was inaugurated in 2019 “to make more connections between the Longhouse and the nearby neighborhoods,” particularly through the West Duwamish Greenbelt, a “four-mile-long corridor along the Duwamish River,” stretching south to White Center. He summarized, “We’re in the process of introducing people to the greenbelt … our goal is to make people fall in love with the greenbelt …it has a lot of existing .. and future potential.”

That love would be accompanied by community connections, West continued. Ridge to River has in its sights the entire stretch, north to south, especially underserved neighborhoods. And as a centerpiece, it’s the historical home of the Duwamish Tribe. “They don’t just think that their ancestors are in the greenbelt, they KNOW their ancestors are in the greenbelt.” And now is prime time to get more people involved with the land, the trees, the wildlife.

Some are working on that through other groups and initiatives – West and Caroline Borsenik, who also was there for the Ridge to River presentation, are also involved with the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group, a volunteer organization that’s been improving trails in the WDG and leading community hikes through it. The trails-focused group also has produced a map, announced earlier this year.

As for Ridge to River, “We’re just getting up and running,” including their new website, city connections, and a pilot project, the first trail that will connect to the longhouse. West said they expect the first phase to take about two years to roll out. They’re also doing studies, and then next year they’ll ask the community for opinions to refine the draft plan, shaping it into a final version they hope the city will adopt for the area. About a dozen organizations are directly involved.

Borsenik told the HPAC attendees that this year’s focus is “gathering community input” and they really want to know what you love about the West Duwamish Greenbelt – or whether you even know about it. They’ll be launching a community survey in May, open through August 25, and will attend some community events (like the West Seattle Farmers Market on June 1, and the WDGT hikes). Contact info is on their website. But this isn’t just about a plan; after one is finalized, hopefully in 2027, there’ll be another phase to turn it into reality, which she acknowledged will be hard.

What about volunteer opportunities? asked an attendee. “There are groups running volunteer events right now!” said Borsenik; West had noted that the area’s been part of the Green Seattle Partnership efforts for ~20 years.

Who owns the land? another asked. Answer: Primarily multiple city departments, plus adjacent South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).

A variety of issues then bubbled into the discussion – from the long-running kiln-dust contamination in part of the area, to “sketchy people,” to a shipping container that’s long been in the forest for storage (Borsenik said “we’ve been trying to get it out of there”). Kirkpatrick also introduced an attendee she’d invited, owner of a nearby building that’s being revived as an event venue, who had temporarily activated a trail through the greenbelt between his property and the SSC parking lot rented for a recent event.

Regarding trails past and present, West explained, the ones there now were built without a central plan/vision so might not be optimally located, and some areas don’t have access at all.

Overall, “activate it and that’ll get more people interested” was a prevailing sentiment. Watch for opportunities – starting with the survey next month. (We’ll of course publish that announcement here when it’s available.)

The meeting started, as many community-coalition meetings do, with an update from Seattle Police.

POLICE UPDATE: Gunfire is the only category of crime that’s going up; in response to that, they’re doing “emphasis patrols” in North Delridge and High Point, “trying to comb this area to be sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Southwest Precinct Community Liaison Officer German Barreto. (Editor’s note: It’s been quieter in the week since this meeting.) SPD has emphasis patrols continuing in Westwood too. One attendee asked about the encampment along Barton Place; Barreto says he’s brought it forward to the Unified Care Team. The attendee said what they believed to be stolen bikes are a particular concern. Another attendee asked about the issues at 9th and Henderson, and two trucks “constantly bringing in trailers” with suspended licenses. They can’t be removed because they’re occupied, Barreto explained. “If they’re living in their vehicle, that’s their home, and we can’t take it.” But the officer clarified that if there are “no-parking” signs, vehicles can be towed. The attendee engaged with Barreto back and forth about “constant traffic” on the street at all hours. Are you calling 911? Barreto asked. No, said the attendee, but they’re recording security video. You can always call suspicious activity in, Barreto said – get the incident number when you call, and then ask for the outcome. Meantime, he mentioned the RV/trailer that was hit by a driver on Henderson a day earlier; Community Service Officers had talked with its owner/resident afterward.

WHAT’S NEXT: HPAC meets fourth Wednesdays most months – time and location might vary, so check the coalition’s new website, hpaction.org, for updates.