The February meeting of the Fremont Neighborhood Council (FNC) covered a whole spectrum of topics, but our streets, and street-scapes, seemed to be a continuous theme throughout.
Signal Box Art
FNC Board President Matt Gasparich has pursued having a few of the Fremont signal boxes – the large metal boxes located at every traffic signal – painted by Urban ArtWorks. (Read about this project on Fremocentrist.com from June 20, 2012.) Gasparich recently talked with Ken Saunderson and Jessica Vets of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce about funding the painting of three boxes, with the FNC to pay $1,000 for one of them.
The Board considered a motion for this funding, and support to Urban ArtWorks for a grant application to cover related costs, provided the other $2,000 can be found by the Chamber and a private donor. Gasparich agreed that the location of the box funded by the FNC will be voted upon by the Board, and the motion passed unanimously.
Gasparich also spoke with the Chamber representatives about installing a crosswalk in Upper Fremont, on Fremont Avenue at 43rd Street, and he intended to discuss the proposal at the ‘Fremont Summit’ meeting to be held at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, on February 26th. The proposal will be pitched for funding at the Lake Union District Council meeting on March 4th.
Fremont Siphon Replacement
Judy Clarridge reported on the upcoming Open House on the Fremont Siphon Replacement Project on March 26th from 5:30p – 7:30p at the Fremont branch of the Seattle Public Library. She also spoke with the Fremont Arts Council (read the Fremocentrist.com column from February 15, 2013,) to inspire interest in the design of the permanent structure and landscaping to be done as part of this project.
This Open House will present a preliminary design for the property at 1st Ave NW & North 36th Street. This is the design for improvements that will be part of our community for the next 100 years or so.
Solarize Seattle & Other Board Matters
Representatives of Solarize Seattle Northwest came to promote the free workshop on April 6th at Solid Ground. This project is run by Northwest Seed, and funded by the Seattle City Light. They asked for the promotional support of the FNC. Two FNC Board Members have attended previous workshops, and intend to get solar panels on their homes. The Board voted to do promotion on its website and through the membership mailers due to go out in advance of the FNC April General Membership meeting.
The Board also voted Kevin McClain onto the Board. When asked, McClain volunteered that he moved to Fremont in June of 2012 and he works for METRO. He lives near Aurora, and has an interest in transportation and spends some of his free time on the Seattle Subway project (reported in Fremocentrist.com on April 2, 2012.)
Finally, the Board discussed plans for the Annual Meeting on April 22nd. They agreed to do a second e-mail ask for membership renewals, before sending out a mailer to members and potential members about the meeting.
Ballard to Downtown Transit Study
Representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation (Michael James,) the Office of the Mayor (Rebecca Deehr,) and Sound Transit (Karen Waterman and Brooke D. Belman,) came to encourage attendance at the public meeting on March 12th from 5p – 7p at Ballard High School. They need public input on traffic patterns as they study for a streetcar – perhaps a rapid streetcar that has a dedicated lane and operates independent of traffic signals – to run between Ballard and Downtown, and through Fremont, as voted upon in 2008 in the Sound Transit 2 plan.
The representatives were clear that they only have funding at this time for study, not implementation. Further questioning by FNC members revealed that a rapid streetcar would remove either a lane of traffic or one of parking from an arterial street. It will also serve an area of highest ridership – the Fremont/Ballard area. Deehr pointed out that, “moving traffic is one of the Mayor’s priorities.”
Transfer Station Design Plan
Tim Croll came to this meeting with two design options for the remodel of the North Seattle Transfer Station. The FNC, along with a number of residents, was a plaintiff in a lawsuit opposed to this development. The settlement reached included restrictions on the development, and Croll came to request a lifting of some of those restrictions by the FNC for a design many feel would be an improvement.
The design Croll presented would place the administration building along the side of the tipping building (the dumping station.) It would allow for a viewing station, to provide better education on the processes of trash management, and it still would have a green roof. The Board agreed to the design changes, in part because the co-plantiffs have already bought off on them.
For more information about the FNC, and transport matters affecting Fremont, consider attending the next monthly meeting – on Monday, March 25th. The meetings are always held at 7p at Doric Lodge 92, and are always open to the public. Attend, and give your input!
Related Articles
- FNC Highlight Reel: Setting Sights for 2013
- by Kirby Lindsay, February 1, 2013
- Urban ArtWorks Converts A Signal Box Into An Art Canvas
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 20, 2012
- FNC Highlight Reel: Subway & Motions
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 2, 2012
©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.