Traffic, Transportation, Walkability

Rapid Ride Line D is coming

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King County Metro will be replacing the current 15 and 15 Express buses which serve Crown Hill with Rapid Ride D Line by the end of 2012. As shown on KC Metro’s graphic (at the end of this article), both the Northern and Southern end of the line details have yet to be firmed up (see below for proposed route). Rapid Ride Line D will serve the route between Crown Hill and Downtown Seattle via Queen Anne.

General information on Rapid Ride is available from Metro’s Rapid Ride web page. Rapid Ride offers many improvements over the current bus service. Some of the improvements include:

  • Faster boarding via three doors rather than the current single point of entry
  • You won’t need a timetable. Service as frequent as every 10 minutes during the commute periods and into a larger portion of the non-commute day. 15 minute interval at other times during the day, and the same interval as the 15 for the wee morning and late evening hours
  • Pre-paid boarding. Pay at the kiosk, and walk on.
  • Fewer stops speed transit up with the tradeoff of having to walk a little more
  • Improved amenities at stops, including improved lighting, and stop request signals to notify bus drivers of waiting riders

Of interest to many in Crown Hill, Blueridge and Olympic Manor will be how the bus is routed on the northern terminus. The current routing of the 15 turns around using a loop comprised of the residential streets 14th Ave NW, NW 105th St, 13th Ave NW, NW 103rd St, and 14th Ave NW.  According to Paul Roybal of Metro, Line D is proposed to use a loop comprised of Holman Rd, 7th Ave NW, NW 100th, 100th Place, 3rd Ave NW, and Holman Road. Stops have not been determined, as yet. This will be music to the ears of many living on the current terminal loop, as articulated buses will no longer be driving on the residential streets adjacent to their homes at all hours. However that also means a longer walk to reach the new bus from many areas in Crown Hill, Blueridge and parts of Olympic Manor. Additionally, this will force a pedestrian crossing of Holman Road for those riders residing North and South of Holman to either board or alight from the bus. The changes will mean easier connections to the 75, 28 and 5 routes running respectively along Holman, 3rd and 8th Aves, and Greenwood Avenue.


View 15/Line D changes in Crown Hill in a larger map

Below is the full route map published by Metro. This is available as a PDF from the Line D information page at Metro.

Continue reading Rapid Ride Line D is coming →

History, Parks & Greenspace, Volunteers

Crown Hill Natural Area gets TLC

It was a wonderful convergence of a beautiful day and a hearty group of volunteers at the Crown Hill Natural Area on December 4.  Fourteen members of the UW National Honor Society came out to refurbish the ADA walkway, clear the trails of debris, cutwork party volunteers from UW back overgrown shrubs, and pick up litter in the natural area at the end of 19th Avenue NW at NW 89th Street.  Joyce Ford and Nancy Gruber have been the stalwart neighbors leading periodic work parties to take care of this little haven for birds, wildlife, and people enjoying a moment with nature.

Joyce Ford
Joyce Ford, one of the primary leaders in caring for this area.

The Crown Hill Natural Area was acquired by Seattle Parks in 1998. For a bit of history of this former Victory Garden, read this article from the Ballard News-Tribune of March 18, 1998.

Announcements, Crown Hill Neighbors

Holiday gift ideas from CHNA

T shirt in stockingAs the year winds to an end, and holiday gift shopping reaches a fevered pace, your Crown Hill Neighbors have great ideas for stocking stuffers or gifts which help you enrich your community while putting something nice under the tree for family and friends.
We’ve lowered prices to fit tight budgets, and hope you’ll find these deals irresistible.

Crown Hill T-shirts: Identify your community with pride on a high-quality, cotton blend t-shirt.  Originally $20, we’ve reduced the price to $15 for this holiday sale.  This is a wonderful stocking stuffer or perfect present for a friend or good neighbor.  Quantities and sizes are limited.  Some are in brown with blue logo and some are in white with red logo. Email Deb Jaquith at deb@crownhillneighbors.org to check on availability and purchase these one-of-a-kind tees that you can’t get anywhere else!

Crown Hill Neighborhood Association Annual (CHNA) Membership: This tax-deductible membership provides your neighborhood association with the funding to advocate on your behalf for better community services , as well as to host and participate in a variety of community events.  We’re knocking $5 off our $25/year annual membership fee through December 31, 2010.  That’s right, for only $20 you can make a real difference in the Crown Hill community—whether it’s successfully advocating for our new Crown Hill Park, which is slated to be completed in 2011, or helping secure our Crown Hill School Community Center—your membership dollars are spent on making your community a better place to live.

Already a member? You can take advantage of the discount by extending your membership for another year.  Want to buy more than one year at the discounted price?  Absolutely.  Sign up today at the Membership link that is in the left column under the heading “Information”.
If you’d like to give a gift membership, send an email to deb@crownhillneighbors.org.  She’ll handle the invoicing and send you a membership certificate to use as a stocking stuffer or present.

Gardening, Sustainability, Walkability

Tree Walk enjoyed by many

On September 11, 2010  over 50 people  participated in a 90 minute walking tour of some of  Crown Hill’s landmark trees. Attendees were primarily from the Crown Hill neighborhood, but also included residents from nearby neighborhoods and some from Maple Valley and Bellevue. The tour featured remnants of an old orchard sprawled across what are now multiple single family lots, trees that rank among Seattle’s largest for their species, including a few recorded no where else in the City, and many other significant neighborhood trees. The tour was led by Arthur Lee Jacobson, a wry wit and a renowned local horticulturalist who is the author of Trees of Seattle and Wild Plants of Greater Seattle.

You can take the walking tour yourself with this Tree walk map, albeit without the expert and humorous commentary of Mr. Jacobson. Some corrections need to be made to a couple of tree designations and an updated version will be posted as it becomes available.

Over the next few months, the Neighborhood Association will post other self-guided walking tours of trees in other sections of Crown Hill.