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Creek Restoration
Yancy Street
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An environmental space for the community
The five acre open space includes projects that helps to improve drainage, restores habitat, increases neighborhood amenities and invites artists to participate in community development.
Phase 1- the drainage and habitat restoration- has been completed.
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Yancy Street Drainage Work
Improvement and maintenance of drainage systems is one of the essential services that Seattle Public Utilities provides.
Longfellow Creek is 1 the 40-plus Seattle creeks that functions as part of the city’s drainage system. Rainwater flows off the surrounding streets and buildings and into the creek, potentially contributing to flooding, erosion, and lowered water quality.
At Yancy Street, Seattle Public Utilities is preventing those problems by creating wetlands that hold extra water and filter out sediments, cleaning sediments out of street runoff in an innovative street drainage cascade, and planting the creekside, or riparian, area with native plants to prevent erosion.
Additional creek work upstream at the West Seattle Golf Course, Webster Street Detention Pond, Brandon Street Site, and WIllow Street Wetland also contribute to improving the Longfellow Creek Watershed drainage system.
Art at Yancy Street
A pavilion shaped like a dragonfly overlooks Longfellow Creek. Trails lead down the hill towards the creek. The trails connect neighbors to the creek and the wildlife it supports. The “wings” of the dragonfly are gardens planted with drought-tolerant and native plants.
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Yancy Street project artist Lorna Jordan chose the theme of dragonflies because their presence indicates a healthy creek.
The element of art ties the drainage, natural and community aspects of the site together. As Jordan says, it seizes the imagination and makes the wonders of nature visible.
Lorna Jordan's participation in the Yancy Street project is made possible through the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and the City of Seattle's 1% for Art program.
Other recent Seattle Public Utilities projects that feature public art funded through the 1% for Art program and SAC include Meadowbrook Pond and the Water Quality Lab.
Yancy Street Habitat Restoration
Before the Seattle area developed into a city, tall trees and clear creeks provided food and shelter for many species of wildlife. As Seattle grew, trees were cut down to build houses and roads. Development contributed to erosion and erratic flows in the creeks. The creekside, or riparian, areas many animals and fish called home were washed away or clouded with silt.
Some of the work being done at Yancy Street will return the creek to its original meandering path, and provide places for fish to live and hide. Native trees and plants will be planted to restore and protect this habitat. Other projects along Longfellow Creek, such as the Webster Street Detention Pond, will help protect these habitat improvements from being swept away during heavy storms.
Neighborhood Amenities
The Delridge Neighborhood Plan defines a vision of a community that is integrated with nature. It includes parks and open spaces that are preserved, connected, well maintained and safe for wildlife, neighbors and school children.
At Yancy Street and throughout the Longfellow Creek Watershed, Seattle Public Utilities and the Department of Parks and Recreation are fulfilling this vision by:
- • Improving the open space for use by the community.
- • Adding trails and access to the creek.
- • Restoring wildlife habitat.
- • Helping to prevent flooding by improving drainage in the watershed.
- • Creating outdoor classrooms for use by local schools.
Visit the Department of Neighborhood's Neighborhood Planning Office for more information about the Delridge Neighborhood Plan.
Related links
Be a Creek Steward
Meadowbrook Pond
Water Quality Laboratory
Links to other sites
Longfellow Creek Organization
Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (formerly the Seattle Arts Commission)
Delridge Neighborhood Plan
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