Participatory Budgeting: an interesting idea to explore

City Money for Park and Street Improvement Projects

(Full details here)

As you may be aware, the 2015 Adopted and 2016 Endorsed Budget adds additional funding to the Neighborhood Parks and Street Fund in 2015 and 2016. The City’s intent is to implement more of the projects that have been or will be (for 2016) identified, vetted, and recommended by neighbors and District Councils through the NPSF selection process.

What this means for 2015 projects

This past summer, District Councils prioritized nearly $2 million in project requests to be considered for implementation in 2015. As typical, each District was awarded at least one project – generally the highest priority project as determined by the District Council.

To decide how to allocate the additional $1 million in 2015 funding, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) met in December to review the 2015 prioritized projects that did not receive funding in the original review. These projects had been approved by SDOT and received a cost estimate, but did not go forward in the process (or were not fully funded) because the original NPSF budget ($1.2 million) was fully allocated. With additional funds, these projects can be funded and/or some of the projects already approved for 2015 can receive additional funding. Any funds not allocated for 2015 projects will automatically carry over into the 2016 NPSF budget.

For 2016 NPSF projects<http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npsf/default.htm>, DON will begin taking new applications on January 1, 2015 for approximately $2.2 million in funding (up from $1.2 million).  The application deadline for 2016 NPSF is Monday, February 9, 2015.

If you have any questions please discuss with your Neighborhood District Coordinator (tim.durkan@seattle.gov)  or contact me directly at James.Bush@Seattle.Gov or via telephone at 206.233.5044.

Community Solar program thanks to Capitol Hill Housing

Hi Neighbors!

I have an update on a really exciting neighborhood project to share with you! The Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, which is a neighborhood sustainability initiative led by Capitol Hill Housing, has recently launched a new Community Solar program in partnership with Seattle City Light.

Community Solar is a way for residents to participate and receive the benefits of solar without having their own solar arrays on their roof—and in this case also supports a great cause! Anyone who pays a City Light bill can now buy-in to our fully built (and running!) “shared” Community Solar array, which is located atop one of Capitol Hill Housing’s affordable housing properties at 10^th and E. John St., the Holiday Apartment building. They will then earn their money back via credits on their City Light bills based on the solar energy generated. When the program ends in 2020, participants are expected to have earned back their entire investment, plus a little extra! The solar array will then be donated to Capitol Hill Housing to continue to support affordable housing. Basically it’s a win-win-win for everyone!

So to recap:

1.     Buy Solar Units: Any City Light customer can sign up, starting at $150

2.     Get Paid Back: Earn your investment back via credits on your bill until 2020

3.     Feel Good: This project produces clean energy, supports the regional economy (all of the system components and labor are locally sourced!), and reduces the long-term operating costs of affordable housing.

Sign up today! http://www.seattle.gov/light/solarenergy/commsolarcurrent.asp

If you’re interested in learning more about our work, check out our website http://capitolhillecodistrict.org/ and follow us on facebook or twitter!

You can also reach the EcoDistrict Outreach Coordinator, Arielle Lawson (me!) at alawson@capitolhillhousing.com

SDOT’s School Road Safety Action Plan WikiMap

Welcome to SDOT’s School Road Safety Action Plan WikiMap! Please use this tool to note specific locations where there are improvements needed to make walking and biking to your school safer and more comfortable. The information you and your neighbors provide will be used to help prioritize locations for engineering improvements or possibly other interventions. For more information about the Seattle School Road Safety Action Plan please visit:

http://www.seattle.gov/be-super-safe/school-road-safety.

Link to map:
http://wikimapping.net/wikimap/SeattleSchoolRoadSafety.html

Free Naturopathic Clinic at Aegis on Madison

I wanted to share that we have a great benefit in conjunction with Bastyr University as they offer a Naturopathic Clinic free of charge to anyone in the community here every Friday afternoon.  Sign-ups are first come and first serve.  Would love to get the word out to the neighbors.  People would need to call our Concierge at 206-325-1600 to set things up.

All the best,

Rob

Rob Liebreich

Aegis on Madison

Assisted Living and Memory Support, Come Visit!

Located at 2200 E. Madison Street

Seattle, WA  98112

206-325-1600

More Madison Bus Rapid Transit meetings

YES these meetings are again mostly during the day and hence unavailable for most working people. I emphasized this issue to the SDOT staff at the last meeting. Andrew Taylor

For questions about the Madison BRT Design Workshops please visit the planning study website, email madisonbrt@seattle.gov, or call Sara Walton, Senior Planner, 206-386-4645.

Greetings – Thank you for your interest in the Madison Corridor BRT Study.  SDOT is excited to announce four upcoming design workshops – three neighborhood workshops and a corridor-wide workshop and open house.  Please keep reading to learn more.

Neighborhood Design Workshops

On November 19 and 20, SDOT will host a series of three interactive, neighborhood-focused, and site-specific workshops to develop design ideas for the Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study. Each workshop will focus on one or two key locations in each of the three corridor neighborhoods - Downtown, First Hill, and Capitol Hill/Central Area.

The goal of these intensive workshops is to develop design ideas that reflect the needs, opportunities, and desires of the local community. These ideas will serve as the foundation for the corridor-wide alternatives to be evaluated in the Madison Corridor BRT Study. We’ll present these ideas at a corridor-wide workshop and open house on November 20, 5 – 7 PM, at the Silver Cloud Hotel, for broader community review and refinement.

Neighborhood Design Workshops

Capitol Hill/Central Area:              November 19, 9 AM - Noon

Downtown:                                        November 19, 2:30 – 5:30 PM

First Hill:                                               November 20, 1 - 4 PM

Each event will last three hours and will include a site visit and facilitated design exercise. SDOT is seeking participation from a broad cross-section of community interests, including property owners, employers, community leaders, and individual members of the community.  To allow for an interactive dialogue among participants and thorough development of design ideas, these workshops are designed for 25 participants. Participants are requested to commit to the full three-hour event and be willing to focus on the development of design ideas for key locations.

If you’re interested in attending a design workshop in your neighborhood, RSVP to madisonbrt@seattle.gov.
 Please let us know what workshop you are interested in and whether you need any interpretation services or accommodations.  We will provide a confirmation and location details one week prior to the design workshops.

If you are unable to attend, but have ideas or questions, please attend the Open House (info below), send an email to madisonbrt@seattle.gov, or call Sara Walton, Senior Planner, 206-386-4645.

Corridor Design Workshop and Open House

Thursday, November 20, 5-7pm, Silver Cloud Hotel  
[Silver Cloud at 1100 Broadway, I presume. That's where the last one was. Andrew]

Please join SDOT to develop design ideas for the Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study. 

This community workshop will be organized around interactive design stations focused on each neighborhood in the corridor - Downtown, First Hill, and Capitol Hill/Central Area.  At each station, we’ll present community-developed design ideas that focus on key intersections or a potential station location within each area. Each station will be staffed with engineers, planners, and urban designers to allow for an interactive conversation and sketching of design ideas to capture community ideas and feedback. 

Please be part of the community process to refine design ideas developed in preceding neighborhood-based design workshops and develop additional ideas.  These ideas will serve as the foundation for developing corridor-wide bus rapid transit alternatives to be evaluated in the Madison Corridor BRT Study. 

For questions about the Madison BRT Design Workshops please visit the planning study website, email madisonbrt@seattle.gov, or call Sara Walton, Senior Planner, 206-386-4645. 

Maria Koengeter

Transit Strategic Advisor, Policy and Planning Division

City of Seattle Department of Transportation

O: 206.733.9865| F: 206.684.3238 | maria.koengeter@seattle.gov

Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Study - Upcoming Community Events

Hello – I am writing to let you know about two upcoming community events related to the Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project Definition Study:

Friday, September 19^th, 9am – 3pm:  The Madison Corridor BRT Study team will host a Park(ing) Day 2014 parking-spot event in order to talk with corridor users and share information about the Madison Corridor BRT Project Definition Study.  We will be located in a parking space along the south side of Madison, just east of Boren, past the existing Metro bus stop, near GNC.  We will have a comfortable place to sit (bus seats!), a bike rack to practice loading your bike on the bus, and study information.  Please stop by to visit with SDOT staff, share your experiences with the Madison corridor and learn more about the study. 

Tuesday, September 30^th, 5-7pm:  Please join us for the first Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Project Definition Study Open House.  This open house is the kick-off to a year-long study of bus rapid transit along Madison from Colman Dock to 23^rd Avenue East. Come to learn more about the study, bus rapid transit, and to share your knowledge of the corridor with the project team. We want to hear from you about how transit can be improved along Madison, as well as about key opportunities for pedestrian and bike connections and streetscape improvements.

Tuesday, September 30^th, 5-7pm

Brief Presentation at 5:30

Silver Cloud Hotel

1100 Broadway, Seattle 98122

For more information about the Study, please visit the website at:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/MadisonBRT.htm

Note: You’ve received this email because you have expressed interest in the Madison Corridor BRT Study.  If you would like to be removed from future emails on this topic, please reply with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Sincerley,

Maria

Maria Koengeter

Transit Strategic Advisor, Policy and Planning Division

City of Seattle Department of Transportation

O: 206.733.9865| F: 206.684.3238 | maria.koengeter@seattle.go