How do parks, trails, natural drainage and gathering places create a livable Lake Forest Park?
Ask the experts: those who live and work in the city and are looking 100 years into the future for the best ways to ensure Lake Forest Park’s green infrastructure.
“I like having input,” Derek Brown of Lake Forest Park said. “I would like to see better transportation by alternative means in the city.”
Brown and his son, Arthur, who said he hopes the number of trees in the city don’t decrease in the future, were among a crowd of people who circulated through four stations set up in Third Place Commons from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Green Infrastructure Festival on June 23.
By the city’s definition, green infrastructure is a “comprehensive network of parks, civic spaces, streets, trails, shorelines, creeks, natural drainage features and urban forests that will bind neighborhoods to one another, create ecological conduits from the city’s boundaries to its shorelines, and ensure a wealth of green spaces for all of its citizens to enjoy.”
Residents learned how to define green infrastructure by playing “Green Infrastructure Bingo,” wrote wishes and goals for the city’s future on green paper leaves and hung them on a small tree, and wrote notes on large maps depicting where various wildlife, water ways and trails are located in the city. At another station, residents discussed and mapped where they would like to see changes throughout their city.
“We’re trying to preserve the heritage of Lake Forest Park so in 100 years there will be some green trees left and perhaps some salmon,” member of the Lake Forest Park Legacy Force Jim Halliday said. “By doing this we find out what exists, correct where all the wetlands are and find out where the bird and wildlife habitats are.”
The Lake Forest Park Legacy Task Force consists of 13 community members and two city staff members who are working with the consulting firm, Jones &Jones and members of the public to create a 100-year plan for the city green spaces to be presented publicly by the end of the year.
Suggestions from those who stopped by the event included wishes for the city landscape to stay natural and forested, for a more unified watershed management and new trails. They also included thoughts about more family-oriented places, a place for bus commuters to park their vehicles and fixing a light fixture at 170th Street and Bothell Way.
“Anything is possible in 100 years if you set your mind to it,” Nancy Rottle, University of Washington landscape architecture professor said. “You may veer off but if you don’t set a destination and pack your bags you’ll never get there.”
Rottle and several university students who are connected with the UW Green Futures Lab attended the event. A consultant on the Jones &Jones team herself, Rottle also directed the process for Open Space Seattle 2100, a process that occurred in 2006 to design and plan for Seattle’s comprehensive open space green network.
“The most interesting thing is that people know their neighborhood very well,” Bill Leon, a member of the Lake Forest Park Legacy Task Force said. “People have solid recommendations on what should be done.”
The next public event will be in the form of a 100-year vision charrette or public design workshop and will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sept. 8 at Third Place Commons. An online survey is available for people to comment who are unable to make the workshop at www.landvizmedia.net/LFP/.
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