The Freeway Estates Community Orchard is a strip of public land on the west side of I-5, on 6th Ave NE between NE 60th St and NE 63rd St. A group of volunteers has been transforming the space into an orchard and garden for the community since last winter.

Saturday’s event featured free cider and family activities. A design board was set up so that the community could submit ideas and suggestions for the future of the space.

Many thanks to Benjamin Lukoff for sharing the following photos with us:

You can learn more about the Freeway Estates Community Orchard via Ruth Callard (rooth [at] zipcon.net) or by joining the orchard’s Google group.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: building community, gardening, I-5

KIRO 7 is reporting that a man was killed early Sunday morning (October 16, 2011) when the car he was driving flew off I-5′s 85th St exit overpass and landed on its top in the highway’s southbound lanes.

Police at the scene told KIRO 7 that Eric Rouleau, 40, lost control of his vehicle, smashed through a guardrail and landed upside down on the highway.

According to KIRO 7′s report, it isn’t clear whether drugs or alcohol factored in the crash.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: I-5, traffic

The First Annual Cider Fest at Freeway Estates Community Orchard is planned for Saturday, October 29, 2011, 2:00 p.m. – ­ 5:00 p.m.

The event will feature free cider and activities for all ages, including apple carving. There will also be on opportunity to supply orchard design ideas using paper and crayons that will be available at the site.

The Freeway Estates Community Orchard is a strip of public land located on the west side of I-5, on 6th Ave NE between NE 60th St and NE 63rd St. A group of neighbors has been transforming the space into an orchard and garden for the community since last winter.

You can learn more about the project via Ruth Callard (rooth [at] zipcon.net) or by joining the orchard’s Google group.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: building community, gardening, I-5, party

The biggest of the four was built in 1962, under I-5:

Trudy Weckworth reported on the shelter’s construction in the September 13, 1962 edition of North Central Outlook:

200-person fallout shelter to be ready by November 1

A large reinforced concrete fallout shelter is being completed under the Freeway, between NE 68th and NE 69th, at Weedin Place NE.  Built at a cost of $67,300, the 60-foot circular structure has been planned to provide shelter for 200 persons for two weeks.  It will provide kitchen and sleeping facilities, self-contained emergency generating equipement, and filters to scrub radio active dust from the air.  It is expected to be ready by November 1.

The shelter will be stocked with food supplies, water, and other emergency supplies.  There is an artesian well, which will be used in case of emergency only.  Emergency sanitation equipement will include disposable bags, which can be buried.

When the structure is complete, all that will show from the street will be an 18-inch thick entrance door.  The rest will be landscaped.  The walls will be eight inches thick; the roof, 18 inches thick.  The roof will be finished off with several feet of earth and the Freeway roadbed.

In addition to being an emergency shelter, the facility was also used as a driver licensing office. When the Cold War ended, it was converted to a storage space for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Green Lake resident Andrew J Ferguson was in the former shelter recently, on a tour organized by Docomomo WEWA, in coordination with WSDOT. WSDOT Historian Craig Holstine led the tour.

Andrew kindly shared the following photographs with us, which he took during the tour. Thank you, Andrew!

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

Andrew Ferguson / AndrewFerguson.info Blog: AndrewFerguson.net

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: 1960s, historical, I-5

The Bellevue Reporter is reporting that a Bellevue man drove his car off the NE 80th St overpass and landed on southbound I-5 after hitting a tree.

The incident happened at approximately 2 a.m. this morning (Tuesday, April 26, 2011).

The driver of the vehicle may have been surprised by an oncoming vehicle and overreacted, causing the car to plow through a small fence into a grassy embankment, the Bellevue Reporter cites WSP Trooper Julie Startup as saying. ”He came down from the hillside through the grass and was vaulted somewhat, and he basically came back down to earth in lane one,” she said.

The man was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.

You can read more about the crash here.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: I-5, traffic

All are welcome to join in and lend a hand at the Freeway Estates Community Orchard on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 9 a.m. If it rains, the event will be rescheduled to Sunday April 17, 1 p.m.

Projects include clipping blackberries, filling holes with cut grass, clearing a native rose patch, and planting native wildflower seeds.

The Freeway Estates Community Orchard is located on the west side of I-5, near NE 60th St. You can learn more about the project here.

A chestnut tree at FreewayEstates Community Orchard. Photo courtesy Ruth Callard

Thanks for the tip, Susan!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: building community, food, gardening, I-5, trees

The pickup truck, which is filled with plastic bags and empty plastic containers, has been parked next to the freeway’s overpass for at least three months. “Aside from it being a total eye sore,” the resident told us, “there can be between two and five camper vehicles in the area at the same time, and I don’t want to see the area turn into a transient hub.”

A Seattle Parking Ordinance limits the amount of time a vehicle may park on any Seattle street to 72 hours. Enforcement, however, can be sidestepped if the vehicle is moved any distance, even down the block. The loophole, Sgt. Dianne Newsom told us, is “very frustrating for everybody.”

The resident we spoke to says that several of her neighbors have reported the truck to the Seattle Police Department’s Abandoned Vehicle Hotline and multiple 72-hour notices have been placed on the vehicle. However, she reports, ”the City says it can’t do anything and that abandoned vehicles are a low priority.”

“They [the Parking Enforcement Officers that staff the Abandoned Vehicle Hotline] should not have said that we can’t do anything,” Sgt. Newsom told us. However, she said, Parking Enforcement Officers are not authorized to directly interact with vehicle owners.

Sgt. Newsom advises that, in addition to contacting Parking Enforcement via the Abandoned Vehicle Hotline, residents concerned about a vehicle that has not been moved in more than 72 hours should get in touch with Officer Travis Testerman. Officer Testerman, who patrols the greater Green Lake area, can be reached at (206) 233-3984 or at travis.testerman [at] seattle.gov.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: I-5, parking

Photo courtesy Casey McNerthney, seattlepi.com

Hearing helicopters?

At 11:45 a.m. today (Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011), WSDOT reported that a collision was blocking all lanes of southbound I-5 at Lake City Way.

Traffic on SB I-5 at 12:03 p.m. Photo courtesy Casey McNerthney, seattlepi.com.

By 12:05, the left lane was open to traffic, but WSDOT advised that “drivers should still use alternates like I-405 and SR 99.” At 12:30, the seattepi.com’s Casey McNerthney tweeted “if you’re trying to get on southbound I-5, sneak on the 65th onramp,” and WSDOT said that traffic was backed up nearly 3 miles to NE 130th. By 1:42, they reported that only one right lane was blocked , but that backups now extended past 130th.

Finally, at 2:48, SDOT tweeted this update: “Woohoo! All lanes open SB 5 at Lake City Way. Backup about a mile to Northgate.”

“According to police,” reports seattlepi.com, “the crash followed a police chase initiated in Snohomish County.”

Snohomish County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said the suspect was wanted for an assault, according to Casey McNerthney. More details about the police chase can be found on kirotv.com and seattlepi.com.

KOMO 4, KIRO 7, and KING 5 all sent helicopters to the scene to cover the crash. Uncut video shot by KIRO can be seen here.

From KING 5 News: “Video from SkyKING showed a jeep on its side and a minivan facing the wrong way along the embankment.”

Onlookers, 12:19 p.m. Photo courtesy Casey McNerthney, seattlepi.com.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: I-5, traffic

The 12,000 square foot property, newly named the Freeway Estates Community Orchard, is managed by SDOT.  It is located on the west side of I-5, near NE 60th St.

The FreewayEstates Community Orchard, before work began. Photo courtesy Ruth Callard

In the fall of 2010, SDOT granted permission to the Green Lake group to use the land to grow food.

They group has cleared the sidewalk and has reduced the English Ivy and Himalayan blackberries at the site.  Two chestnut trees have been planted, and plans are in the works to add six apple trees, a pear tree, and berry bushes.  In the future, the group hopes to create bird and bee habitats, walkways, and relaxation areas.  There is also the possibility of adding a P-Patch.

A chestnut tree at FreewayEstates Community Orchard. Photo courtesy Ruth Callard

Ruth Callard, co-coordinator of the orchard, told me that the neighbors who are working on the project have become better acquainted.  ”We hope to decrease crime,” she said, “by increasing activity in the area and connections among neighbors.”

All are welcome to join in and lend a hand at the FreewayEstates Community Orchard.  In particular, people with the following skills are needed:

computer and web
grant writing
manual labor
marketing
writing, editing
liaison with governmental and outside organizations
photography
permaculture, pruning, pest control, organic gardening
spraying equipment for compost tea and other pest reducing sprays
design ideas for inclusion of children
bee keeping
lighting systems and solar panels
fiscal sponsorship

You can learn more about the project by joining the orchard’s Google group.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: building community, food, gardening, I-5, trees

The site of the proposed project is an I-5 support wall on 8th Ave NE, between NE 66th St and NE 68th St.

Sarah writes:

Photo courtesy Sarah Schacht

Despite some greenery nicely maintained by WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation), the wall, and its surrounding small strip of land, attract transients, crime, and gang graffiti. Less than a year ago, a body was found in the brush.

The wall is not exactly a neighborhood jewel.

After living down the block from the wall for 8 years, I’d come up with an idea to transform this little space into something, well, fun. So, I wrote to a friend at WSDOT, this letter below:

“…(I’d like to submit a) proposal & get permission for a small art project on a piece of WSDOT property in my neighborhood… I live almost immediately adjacent to I-5. At the end of my block, there’s a small green space with a large, concrete support wall for I-5 Northbound, next to the 65th street park & ride, in Seattle’s Roosevelt Neighborhood. It attracts graffiti and transients, and is an area that WSDOT employees frequently repaint or clean up.

With a few community volunteers and community dollars, I’d like to install an art project on the wall. It’s pretty simple:

I’d like to use 2/3rds of the large wall, paint a large frame on it, and fill the frame with chalkboard paint. A link to a Flicker page for the “Roosevelt Gallery” would be posted, along with a hashtag #RGallery. Artists, community members, graffiti artists, etc. could use chalk to create whatever message or art within the frame, take a photo of it, and post it to Flickr, tweet it, etc. The art would live on, after the rain comes, after the next artist wipes the art away, online and public. It would add character to the neighborhood and, perhaps with the regular foot traffic, keep transient use at bay, and reduce the amount of paint graffiti that WSDOT has to spend money removing. It seems that our local graffiti artists respect public art, but not blank, public walls. I’m pretty confident they wouldn’t vandalize the wall. And even if they did, community members would just spread some chalkboard paint on it.”

WSDOT has approved my proposal and wants to work with me on the project! I’m waiting to hear back on the permit for it, but should be able to start the project soon.

Thank you, Sarah, for spearheading this neighborhood improvement project!

Do you support this idea?  There are a few different ways that you can help Sarah move forward with the project:

1)  Sarah needs to demonstrate community support for her idea.  One venue that she is using is this blog post.  If you support this project, please leave a note in the comments to this post.

2)  Contact Sarah if you have ideas about this project or if you would like to be involved in project planning.  She can be reached via email.

3)  Join Sarah at a community meeting about the project.  A meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at Bus Stop Espresso (800 NE 65th St).

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

Permalink | Comment on this post

Post tags: building community, I-5, public art, roosevelt