Seattlest: Queen Anne’s Newest Park Feels like a Parking Lot

jmorgan

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:53 -0800

snailcabbage is correct - this park actually isn't finished yet. They are adding colorful tables & chairs as well as the lighting feature on the short wall & etching on the metal bench part. I think the designers did what they could with such a small space. Once the trees grow out it will be much nicer for greenery, but it will take a while!

ckesegi

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:28:32 -0800

The only aspect that elevates the Counterbalance Park one step beyond that of the status owned by suburban backyard decks is it's location in an urban setting... A notably greater ratio of green coupled with some sort of waterflow would have made this a veritable centerpiece for the LQA urban cluster for all of those in it's vicinity to take pride in and enjoy.

ronaldholden

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:01:11 -0800

Worth noting, too, that the photo "illustrating" the post has nothing to do with this particular park. My sense is, like commenter #9, that it's like a plaza.

jwhieger

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:38:55 -0800

A miracle? I still think they could have added something to do, like swing sets or a b-ball court. It looks like a deck and I just think they shouldn't have stopped there. (Grabage cans aren't going to sway me) I agree with the comment above about the grafitti, it could breath some life into this thing.

snailcabbage

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:53:55 -0800

I'm a landscape architect. LAs design parks. I live two blocks directly up the hill from the park. When it comes down to it, I may have designed some things differently, but it’s a small, urban park. It's more like a plaza. There’s only so much you can do with an urban space that small, and I think it follows good European precedents in its nature, where space is tight. Paris has many tiny parks that are trees and benches sitting on hard surfaces. It takes a while for a park to become all that it can be. People need to start using it, things need to grow. I may have picked different trees, but once the Ginkgos get bigger it will feel different. Ginkgos, and not many of them, were probably picked because the space doesn't get much light and that specific tree has an open canopy. Grass would not be appropriate there, it wouldn’t establish due to people cutting across and the shadiness. A lot of it isn’t actually there yet or completely installed yet- an artist has designed a feature that will splash the big retaining walls below the buildings to the north and east that aren’t operational yet. I think that the design of the site revolves around this light feature that hasn't been put on-line yet. And I’d guess that chairs and tables might be a part of the design that aren’t in yet. They don’t even have garbage cans, so it’s a little premature to judge the space, in my opinion. To an earlier question, yes, it's very difficult to design public spaces. Throw in the heavy community process in this city- wealthy people wanting to design out the homeless, condo owners not wanting restricted views, and government entities like the DOT that have setbacks and visibility stipulations, on top of the indivitual reviews and requirements of Seattle Parks, City of Seattle, DOT, Public Utilities.... There are a lot of things that restrict that site- the bus lines overhead, the DOT's guidelines for the intersection, the powerlines that prevent larger trees along the street, its shadiness makes growing some things tricky.... Fountains are expensive and oftentimes controversial due to sanitation/public health/safety issues, and they're oftentimes ugly when they're broken or drained for the winter. I’m sure that the QA community didn’t want somewhere homeless could sleep like the park due northwest of it, so much planting, trees, or grass was eliminated that way, too. I heard that that was once the site of a gas station; if so, there are probably soil issues limiting the amount of excavation that could be done. I think it’s a miracle they pulled off a new park in this location at all, in some ways.

jwhieger

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:16:43 -0800

I think the politicians are going out of their way to disappoint us.

Taylor Hain

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:23:48 -0800

I was walking by there the other day. What total and utter shit. I saw a couple there attempting to somehow 'cuddle' on one of those benches. Suffice to say, they failed.

TroyJMorris

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:35:08 -0800

I noticed them doing something over there during an extended walk. Now I'm disappointed. I'm actually more fond of the gravel that was there. At least that could be interactive. Are there any park designers in the room? Is designing parks like... super duper difficult?

jessejb

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:02:20 -0800

A public space that will make people want to leave after 5 minutes? Sounds like something Queen Anne would do.

bconnolly

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:45:06 -0800

I foresee a lot of skateboarding going on in this park.

ChrisB

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:10:18 -0800

It's only a marginal improvement over what was there before. I really hope that they do something extravagant in the future like, I don't know, add some color? It's kind of sad that I look at it and find that I can't wait to see what the graffiti artists bring to the space.

jrickard

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:42:16 -0800

I live close by. I would agree. A fountain would have been nice, the flow of water to drown out the sound of the city could have created a place of tranquility.

rakka

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:59:42 -0800

for what it's worth, at the opening of the park, it was stated that it (the park) hadn't been completed yet.