Bell Street gets a make-over
Park boulevard to add natural amenities to urban setting

SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels today announced a proposal to transform four blocks of Bell Street from First to Fifth Avenues into a "park boulevard" with improved landscaping, better lighting, and more open space. The project converts one traffic lane and reconfigures parking to create a park-like corridor through the heart of Belltown.

Nickels will ask City Council next week to spend $2.5 million of the 2008 voter approved Parks and Green Spaces Levy for the project. To be completed in 2010, the project would create 17,000 square feet of new green space.

"In urban areas, land is scarce and it's hard to create new green places. This project makes the best use of what's already there to build a wonderful new park to serve Belltown," said Nickels. "The Bell Street park boulevard will improve the quality of life for the neighborhood, improve public safety and become a great asset to the city."

The project was first proposed in the 1998 Belltown Neighborhood Plan, and has been endorsed by a range of community organizations. The city of Seattle Comprehensive Plan calls for "green streets" to meet open space needs in urban neighborhoods.

"Belltown is Seattle's densest neighborhood and it doesn't have enough parks. This new park boulevard will provide much needed green space and a great community gathering place," said John Pehrson, former chair of the Belltown Housing and Land Use Committee. "Belltown has been asking for this for years and we're excited that Seattle Parks, City Light and the Department of Transportation are working together to make it happen."

Sidewalks on the north side will be widened to nearly 30 feet with landscaping, lighting and space for children's play areas and other recreational activities. Natural landscaping and swales - vegetation in the right-of-way that collects and cleans rainwater - will be added.

Well-lit sidewalks and open sightlines will discourage anti-social behavior. The Parks Department's park rangers and West Precinct police officers will be able to issue park exclusions and conduct emphasis patrols.

The project will cut costs by building on a current Seattle City Light project to replace utilities along Bell Street from Second to Fifth Avenues, which includes replacing the existing sidewalks on the south side.

The city will host an open house on June 4 from 4 to 7 p.m. on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Bell Street and Second Avenue.

Details of the design will be developed in collaboration with neighbors and property owners this fall.

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Office of the Mayor