Welcome to our FOLKpark blog!

2/18/10

Early Look at Conceptual Plans

"Conceptual", "draft", "preliminary" . . . how many qualifiers must we use to tell you that the plans we have posted are "works in progress" and "subject to change" . . . but please take a look here so that when you come to our meeting on February 25th you can ask questions and tell us what you think.  We will be going over them in detail . . .have lots of time for discussion . . . .and are also showing them the Parks Department and the Landmark Preservation Board for their comments.  We know that in the end the best ideas will come together!

 

 

2/16/10

Survey results are in!

88 people responded to the survey we posted as a follow up to our public meeting. Strong consensus . . .More . . .

 

 

1.26.10

You Were Missed or Wish I Had Said . . .
Please take this survey! This is our way of continuing the discussion with you if you were at our community meeting or a chance to express yourself if you could not be there. So many wonderful ideas were expressed. Now the hard work of setting priorities begins. I am hoping that we get the 100 response maximum allowed on Survey Monkey! (as of 1.25.10 we have 51 responses - yeah!)

 

 

Capturing our dreams Capturing our dreams

1.25.10

Visually Capturing the Discussion

One of just over 200 strategic illustrators in the world, FOLKpark graciously accepted Patti Dobrowolski's offer to graphically capture the discussion at the Jan. 14th community meeting. Patti uses strategic visuals and processes to accelerate change and for 2 ½ hours she listened about trails, entrances, lighting, tennis courts and urban forests. This beautiful mural hangs spotlighted in the conference room of HBB and is an inspiration and reminder to the landscape architects as they develop the park's conceptual plan. In case you are wondering, this was not an entirely random event - Patti and I went to high school together. Learn more about Patti and graphic recording here.

 

 

Gathering ideas Gathering ideas

1.25.10

The Small Group is the Unit of Transformation.

At our first community meeting on January 14th, over 40 neighbors gathered around tables in small groups and talked to each other. Asked about how they use the park, they wrote and drew their ideas on large maps in the center of the table, or if the conversation became crowded, wrote them down on yellow stickies that then got pasted onto the maps. Watch a video of the meeting here.

 

The transformation of lower Kinnear Park began in earnest this night.

 

 

 

 

Keep the urban forest Keep the urban forest

1.25.10

Bullish Investors Support "Walk in the Park"

Today, I heard on the radio about a new way you can invest on the affects of weather in the stock market. After all, weather affects all kinds of industries from the obvious of farming to the less obvious of miniature baby booms. Allison Hazen and Phil Prahst, FOLKpark's organizers of our "Walk in the Park" on Jan. 9th, definitely qualify as bullish investors. After torrential rains all night and into the early morning, the sun shone as neighbors gathered around hot coffee from the Starbucks on Elliott Ave W.

 

Over 30 neighbors introduced themselves to the newly hired landscape architects, Dean Koontz and Scott Luoma of HBB and gave them a user's perspective of the park. The overwhelming message was . . . trails . . . . trails . . . trails . . . how they use them, how to improve them, where to expand them.

 

1.11.2010

The Extreme Makeover of Lower Kinnear Park

 

Queen Anne's Lower Kinnear Park has recently ignited a firestorm of passion and metropolitan utilitarianism from our local community. That's why FOLKpark is hosting three community meetings to elicit ideas from as many different perspectives as possible. Are you a park neighbor, business owner or property agent who has an active stake in the future of Lower Kinnear Park? Now is your chance to give this project a gentle nudge in the right direction. FOLKpark is now reinforced by the design muscle of HBB Landscape Architecture; they just need YOU to breathe life into the conceptual design plan through an ongoing, progressive discussion for new ideas regarding the park's joys, opportunities and challenges. Their objective is to transform Lower Kinnear Park into a dynamic, all-inclusive expanse of interconnected beauty whose future will be determined through the commitment and accountability of its community.

"The future of Lower Kinnear Park is here now," say Debi Frausto, FOLKpark chair. "This is not a wait and see project. It has begun and is gaining momentum with every idea exchanged between neighbors and business owners. My biggest surprise was how so many people are already invested in the park. We had neighbors who don't play tennis but enjoy watching others swing their racket on the court; Audubon bird watchers who count the raptors; employees who cut through the park on their way to work everyday and walkers who haven't used the trails in over a year but would like to start again. Each person has a unique story about their investment to the park. Now is time to leverage the energy and combine the stories."

Here's the meeting schedule:

 

Thursday, January 14, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00pm
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00pm
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00pm

 

All meetings will be held at Bayview Retirement Community, 11 W. Aloha Street (Map).

On Saturday, January 09, FOLKpark hosted a community walk through Lower Kinnear Park with designers from HBB Landscape Architecture to introduce them to the park's beauty and features from a park-user perspective. FOLKpark had a strong showing of more than 30 people, including members of both the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and the Seattle Parks Department.

 

FOLKpark is also on Facebook. To become a fan and keep up to date on all of FOLKpark's news, activities, photos and events, click here.

12.10.2009

FOLKpark Reviewing RFQ's for Consultant Services

 

Thirteen landscape architecture firms responded to FOLKpark's RFQ to work with the community in the preparation of a conceptual design plan for Lower Kinnear Park. The FOLKpark steering committee is reviewing proposals and will interview finalists and select a firm in the next few weeks. Services will include conceptual design, participation in public meetings, preparation of a cost estimate and coordination with FOLKpark and the Seattle Departments of Parks and Neighborhoods.

 

"We are delighted with the number and quality of the applicants," said Debi Frausto, FOLKpark steering committee chair. "This is an exciting next step made possible by the $15,000 Small and Simple Grant we received from Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods."

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!


In preparation for the planning process, FOLKpark has set three public meetings. The first will seek community input for the use of Lower Kinnear Park, the second will present a draft plan, and the final meeting will concern the final plan and next steps.


Here's the meeting schedule:


Thursday January 14, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 6:30 - 9:00 pm

 

All meetings will be held at Bayview Retirement Community, 11 W. Aloha Street (Map).

 

11.4.2009

If you have ever walked your dog, jogged up the steps or sat quietly on the park bench overlooking the Sound, you know what a wonderful urban gem Lower Kinnear Park is in our neighborhood.

 

So when community organizations like ours form, it is usually because a momentum in the community has a desire to change something. In our case, in the summer of 2008 many of us were not sure whether our park was any longer a safe place to do those things we loved to do. As more people showed up at each community meeting, ideas began to stick, a call went out to organize a steering committee and now we have not only this website but with your help we have a safe park and have received two grants from the City of Seattle to start our community on the path of creating a sustainable vision for Lower Kinnear Park. We are on our way!

 

This website and blog is a place where you can share ideas, participate in community visioning and swap stories and pictures of what you cherish in this neighborhood urban forest. Using the money we have raised from the City we will hire a landscape architect and hold a series of three community meetings beginning in January 2010. During those meetings, we hope you will join us to explore how to get more people in the park, sustain this natural environment with 100 year-old trees and celebrate a long history where once over 2,000 neighbors gathered for community events.

  

Please join us! Visit our Support FOLKpark page and see how you can donate your time, expertise or contribute money to our success. And let us know what you think of this new website! Please contact us!