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Ballard District Council Meeting Wednesday, September 9th

Kendra — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:01:59 +0000

Homelessness to housing, parks and transit improvements are all on the agenda for the Ballard District Council meeting next week.

AGENDA

Proposed Ballard Mixed Use Development by Seattle Compass Center, Greg
Elkerton – Common Ground and M.J. Kiser – Program Director, Compass
Center
Compass Center plans to construct an 80-unit residential facility at
1753 NW 56 Street which will provide affordable housing for persons
transiting from homelessness.

Update on 2008 Seattle Parks Green Space Levy & Opportunity to Develop
a New Park in Ballard, Lise Ward – Seattle Parks Dept Property
Management

Market/45th Street Transit Corridor Improvements, Bill Bryant, Seattle
DOT
This recently initiated effort will address east west transit
efficiency between Ballard and U District.

2009/2010 Ballard DC Election of Officers, Mary Hurley – Chair,
Nominating Committee
A slate of four candidates will be presented. The election of officers
will occur at the October 14 council meeting. DC member organization
reps are eligible to serve in one of the four officer positions.

Executive Committee
1. Application for Ballard DC membership by Ballard Rotary Club,
Catherine Weatbrook
2. Volunteers are needed to serve on a district level committee to
review work related to the Deep Bored Tunnel/SR 99 project, Steve Cohn
3. October 5th Candidates Forum, Andy MacDonald
BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM

Community Forum on Monday on the Alaskan Way Bored Tunnel

Kendra — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:52:29 +0000

Were you angry when you read that Mayor Nickels and the governor ignored voters and decided to proceed with the Bored Tunnel option? As a Ballard resident were you concerned when you read that there would not be a Ballard exit along the tunnel?

The Ballard District Council, Queen Anne District Council, and BINMIC Action Committee are co-sponsoring a community forum to consider how the Deep Bored Tunnel option to replace our viaduct can best serve Seattle neighborhoods. Take the opportunity to sort through the facts and make your ideas and opinions known on how to best serve the interest of our community in the face of a project we didn’t want. Panelists members include: reps from WSDOT, City of Seattle, King County, and noted experts in the field of tunnel construction, economics, and traffic engineering. Points to be covered in the forum are:

How will we access south end destinations as well as downtown Seattle?
What kind of access will we have to the northern entrance of the tunnel?
Will trucks be able to use the tunnel or will they use surface streets?
How will travel times through the corridor be affected?
Why is an economic impact study so important to decisions affecting the Alaskan Way Viaduct?

Monday, March 23rd

7 – 9 PM

Ballard High School Auditorium

For more information on this forum contact Rob Mattson at 684-4051 or rob.mattson@seattle.gov

To brush up on information about the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct before the meeting visit:

http://www.alaskanwayviaduct.org/

Ballard District Council Meeting includes Rapid Ride and Richard Conlin

Kendra — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:53:24 +0000

If you missed the recent Open House at Whittier Elementary last month and want to hear updates on the Rapid Ride program, attend the Ballard District Council meeting this Wednesday. Or if you are a parent with children in the Seattle school system, maybe you want to ask a few questions of Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell. Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin would be a good person to ask about recent decisions by the City Council such as expanded trolley systems, funding for the Mercer Corridor, etc. Attending these meetings gives you the opportunity to participate in your community.

Chairperson: Steve Cohn
AGENDA

7 PM Short Announcements by member organization representatives
Please hold announcements to not more than one minute.

7:15 Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell

7:40 Update – Ballard / Downtown Rapid Ride, Craig Benjamin,
Sustainable Ballard, Member – Ballard Rapid Ride Advisory Panel

7:50 Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin

8:10 Introduction – New Ballard District Web Site

8:20 2009 Neighborhood Projects Fund Proposals and Update on 2008
Projects, Rob Mattson

8:25 Report – Executive Committee, Steve Cohn

8:30 Adjourn

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM

Police to Begin Enforcing Traffic Laws on 15th Avenue

Cameron — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:59:19 +0000

The Seattle Police Department reports that it will now begin to ticket drivers violating the use of Business Access/Transit Lanes on 15th Avenue and Elliot Way.

The Transit lanes run each direction down 15th avenue to accommodate bicyclists and the increased number of buses during peak hours of traffic from 4-6pm. Other drivers can only use the curb lanes for making right hand turns during restricted hours, and during non-peak hours it is available for parking and/or cruising.

Insider tip: don’t try to continuously cruise with your right turn signal on… it doesn’t work.

Sustainable Fun

Cameron — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:34:47 +0000

The 5th Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival is coming up this weekend (September 27th and 28th at Ballard Commons Park), brought to us for free by Sustainable Ballard, a local non-profit organization developing a grassroots vision of sustainability for the community of Ballard (www.sustainableballard.org).

From Saturday to Sunday (11-5pm), the Festival will feature a variety of progressive organizations who are at the forefront of discovering and implementing sustainable, green solutions, such as Seattle Electric Vehicle Association and the Sunyata Group. The festival will include various lectures and workshops from eco-gurus and authors on ways to incorporate sustainable living through alternative (but affordable!) transportation, gardening, eating, home/decor remodeling, art and products and the local business where you can find them. They also have fun art projects, puppet shows and “baby oragami” for kids.

Insider tip– Mainstage Festival Sponsor, Earthues (www.earthues.com), a Ballard fair-trade, women-owned textile and eco-friendly natural dye workroom, will host a demo on dying with indigo powders onto fabrics from 10-5pm on Saturday. Seriously, when else would you ever get to do this? Call Weaving Works to reserve your space 206-524-1221.

Come early to the Sustainable Ballard Festival either day and you could be one of the first 200 people that receive a free copy of Chinook Book, full of local event and shopping savings of up to $3,000!

Metro Just Doesn't Get It

Kendra — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:34:35 +0000

Last week I wrote a post about the fact that the Ballard bus lines, already dealing with increased ridership due to the “Ballard Boom” is also being hit with the double whammy of the influx of students with the start of the school year. Adults have been left standing at bus stops unable to board the bus in either direction when commuting due to the overcrowding. Excited to see the headline in today’s Sunday Seattle Times, “Region’s buses overflow, squeezing riders, system” I was fully expecting to see Ballard commutes sited in the article, particularly in a sidebar called “Where riders get passed by.” However, Ballard routes #15 and #18 failed to nab a place in the Hall of Shame. Has anyone from Metro ever ridden these routes at rush hour? Do the good folks at Metro not pull reports, which can be produced by the swiping of bus passes, which would detail the ridership woes from these routes?

The only time Ballard’s bus routes were mentioned in the article was in the following statement, “But it’s not clear if Metro can provide everything it promised voters in Transit Now, including new bus rapid transit lines serving Overlake, West Seattle, Ballard, Aurora and Federal Way by the early 2010′s.” Does this mean when I purchase something I will get a refund of the portion of my sales tax that goes to Transit Now if they will not be fulfilling the transit needs promised?

It’s interesting that this week’s Ballard District Council Meeting includes a representative of Ballard Rapid Ride, Paul Roybal, Project Manager for King County Metro, along with Jonathan Dong, Project Manager, for Seattle DOT. The agenda states “the Ballard Rapid Ride corridor is next up for planning and design.” Really? After what the Seattle Times just printed? Their talk at the meeting will also include discussion on the ‘potential benefits.’ Wow, I think anyone who rides a bus in Ballard could easily give a presentation on that.

As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Please attend this week’s meeting to speak out on behalf of Ballard bus commuters.

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM