View Parks Opportunity Fund application sites in a larger map
The eight groups presented information about applications they are submitting to the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund for parks in Beacon Hill. Â You can find out more about the Opportunity Fund in their FAQ.
The Opportunity Fund is community-driven. A key aspect of the application is how much community support a project has.  If you would like to share comments, concerns, or enthusiastic support about a proposal, contact Seattle Parks and let them know what you think. Use the comments page or contact Kellee Jones at 206-684-7052  or kellee.jones@seattle.gov, or Susanne Friedman at 206-684-0902 or susanne.friedman@seattle.gov.
Briefly, the eight proposals are:
- Volunteers and community members seeking funding to continue efforts to improve Lewis Park, such as clearing invasive species, planting natives, and restoring the natural areas in the park’s ravines
- Development of a Food Forest in Jefferson Park, including bicycle and walking paths, a community shade structure, and habitat renewal for beneficial insects and birds
- Acquisition of land around the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station to develop a North Beacon Central Park
- Walker Street Park and Orchard proposal to acquire 10 lots on the boundary of the North Beacon Hill and North Rainier Urban Villages
- Beacon Hill Youth Soccer Association efforts to improve the youth soccer field adjacent to Beacon International School so that it can be used year-round, by replacing grass with artificial turf
- El Centro de La Raza seeking to improve their playground and increase access to the public by upgrading play structure; adding landscaping, outdoor meeting space, green features, and cultural aspects; adding ADA accessibility; and improving the basketball court
- Efforts to preserve and renovate the historic reservoir gatehouse building in Jefferson Park
- Development of a viewpoint pocket park at 12th and Hill, including addition of a retaining wall, viewing platform, and seating area
Where did you get this map? Pacific Highway is state route 99, not I-5.
The map is from Google — their logo is in the corner. Pacific Highway is basically SR99 now, but the history of Pacific Highway/Primary State Highway 1/US 99/I-5 is intertwined in some ways — there are many parts of I-5 that are on the old Pacific Highway route.
Google often has old street names along with the new ones — for example, Sunset Highway for I-90. Sunset Highway was the old name for US 10, which predated I-90. Sunset in Renton follows one of the old Sunset Highway routes from before the bridge was built across the lake. No one calls I-90 Sunset Highway anymore, but Google still has the name.
And last year there was some fuss that they had the name Empire Way along with MLK, because they had both the old and the current names for the street.
I kind of like that Google has weird old street and highway names that no one uses anymore—makes it much easier to use their maps for historical research. 🙂 But it can be confusing.