Roadside raingarden meeting tonight

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Designs for the proposed roadside raingardens are almost complete.

Seattle Public Utilities is holding a community meeting tonight to discuss the plans, which will affect an area of Ballard. The boundary for the project is 31st Ave NW to 29th Ave NW and NW 85th St to NW 75th St. Also 28th Ave NW between NW 65th St and NW 67th St (where NW 67th St enters from the east) and NW 70th St to NW 73rd St (where NW 73rd St enters from the west).

At tonight’s meeting, Tracy Tackett with SPU will update the community about the plans, Claire Gibson will discuss groundwater monitoring and a representative from SDOT will discuss plant selection. After the speakers, the group will break up by block to give everyone the opportunity to ask questions and express concerns. Construction on the raingardens is expected to start April of next year. Tonight’s meeting is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Sunset Hill Community Center (3003 NW 66th). Here is background on the project.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

4 thoughts to “Roadside raingarden meeting tonight”

  2. I realize the the storm drains need help. But there are side-effects. My first concern was possible removal of all the trees that have we've planted in the parking strips over the years, which also offer many ecological benefits. Also, the ditches are wide and deep, and on some blocks filled with dense thorny plantings, creating formidable barriers. You couldn't just pull up and step out of your car, carrying groceries, tools etc.
    Won't they silt up in time, anyway? A lot of the runoff we have is from the old impervious sod. If that were removed, the soil improved and planted with low maintenance drought resistant shrubs and trees, would that make a difference? What about making the sidewalks and parking lots out of that permeable paving?
    The parking on many blocks is barely adequate now. Many houses have no driveways. What's left of the properly values would be further diminished without street parking. As our population ages, there are other practical issues to be raised.
    I'm glad you're covering this. I planned to go to that meeting, and just lost track of the date. Hope to read more about it on My Ballard tomorrow.

  3. audreyl, what you fail to consider is the War On Drivers.

    You raise a number of good points, but specifically about reducing available parking: the city doesn't care if they reduce parking – in fact, that's actually what they want. The city's goal is to make life as miserable as possible for anyone who owns or uses a car. They will eliminate parking whenever they get the opportunity – just one more chance to stick it to the hated car owners. Get used to it – this is the New Seattle.

  4. It was a very informative and well-attended meeting. You should contact Karen York. They are very willing to work with homeowners. They also had two people who were part of a much larger scale project near Carkeek Park (107th – 110th on 2nd Ave NW) who spoke about the process and were very pleased with the results and the process.
    – the swales will have a below grade (sidewalk/curb) depth of 6″ to 12″ (and this would be good for you to confirm–but in many of these cases, they are digging down in the “glacial till” soil and then backfilling with new soil that will absorb the water better.
    – where access from the road to sidewalk is needed, the can install burms and there are some hardscape options available for the burm.
    – The run off doesn't come from the sod. Where the swales are installed, they have an “open and exit” point. Water from the street is diverted into the swale and any excess water exits, runs down the street, and then goes in and out of other swales.
    – a landscape architect reviewed the “planting palette” and there were no thorny items included.
    – one of the main reasons this area of Ballard was selected was that north of 65th, the sewer and water systems are “fully combined” meaning rain and sewage mix. So, in heavy rain times, there is sewage overflow into the Ship Canal, and then out to Puget Sound.

    Place to view drainage swales in action:
    – on the east side of the Ballard Commons Park
    – the new Corners Park
    – on 14th near Ballard Market (a curb bulb)
    – the Carkeek Project on 2nd Ave NW between 107th & 110th

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