On behalf of the South Lake Union Community Council and the Department of Neighborhoods, we invite you to a kick-off community meeting for the Micro-Parks of Westlake Avenue North – a project to improve the Westlake streetscape between Denny Way and Lake Union Park in order to create a stronger pedestrian connection between two of the main hubs of the neighborhood.
Background: As South Lake Union continues to grow, two focal points emerge as welcoming gateways to the neighborhood at either end of Westlake Avenue North. The intersection at Westlake and Denny Way marks the southern end – with its high concentration of neighborhood amenities such as groceries, restaurants and retail, and Lake Union Park marks the north – as a citywide destination on the water. The potential for Westlake Avenue to become a great street is critical to the success of the neighborhood, providing the opportunity to connect the two nodes with an engaging pedestrian experience that fosters activity, neighborhood identity, commerce and a sense of security.
Design Goals: Design considerations include (but are not limited to) planting, seating, lighting and other artistic and/or functional elements, with special attention given to the ground plane under the trees that is currently lacking paving or planting, and suffering from the bulging root systems. Solutions will consider pedestrian traffic and use patterns, relationships to adjacent ground level functions, as well as implementation and long-term maintenance. Thematic elements to consider are technology and international culture, as they are among the emerging subjects of conversation as the community grows. The intent of this project is to achieve an improved, consistent pedestrian and retail experience along Westlake Avenue that bridges the two prominent anchors of the neighborhood.
Design Team: We have selected Goodspeed Architecture and Hewitt to lead the design process, and in our first meeting we’ll see initial studies and analysis of the site, and it will be a great opportunity to voice your thoughts and ideas in order to help shape the design, as well as to inform the team from your various perspectives of the positives and negatives of the avenue as it is now.
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