Friends of Street Ends

FRIENDS OF STREET ENDS IS PROUD TO SUMMARIZE OUR 2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS! NEVER, IN OUR 25-YEAR HISTORY HAVE WE HAD THREE NEW SHORELINE STREET END PROJECTS UNDERWAY AT THE SAME TIME—ALL VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN!

East Pine Street is located in the Denny Blaine Neighborhood on the shore of Lake Washington. It was blanketed by blackberries and laurel trees which hid a lovely Lake Washington beach and view of Mt. Rainier. Volunteer Evan Boyd completed a creative design to remove the invasive plants and open the area for public access. Then he and volunteers, with the support of Green Seattle Partnerships, worked on implementation. Most of the work is done but final touches will be completed in 2021.

West Sheridan Street is located in the Magnolia neighborhood, on Puget Sound just west of the Locks. It was covered by weeds and invasive plants. Kira Baum has been leading the project and Karen Kiest completed the design with Marty Oppenheimer helping with permitting. Then neighbors, Groundswell Northwest and Friends of Street Ends contributed financial support. The first implementation phase was completed this fall with plantings to be installed in 2021.

South Massachusetts Street is located in the Mt. Baker neighborhood on the shore of Lake Washington. It had been used as a private garden by adjacent property owners with the beach and shoreline covered in thick blackberries and wisteria. Daniel Collins completed the design and handled all permitting with the help of SDOT’s Omar Akkari. Volunteers worked throughout the Fall to remove the invasive plants and cover the ground with fabric in preparation for a Spring 2021 planting.

In addition, we worked with the City on several large projects.

98th Avenue SW in the South Fauntleroy neighborhood includes a Seattle Public Utility facility which is being rebuilt; we are working with the City to ensure the street end is designed to enhance public access.

24th Avenue NW in the Ballard neighborhood includes a very large Seattle Public Utility facility which is being rebuilt; we are working with the Ballard community and City staff to ensure the street end is designed to enhance public access.

Brooklyn Ave NE aka Sakuma Viewpoint in the University District was renovated thanks to the University of Washington and is now compatible with the adjacent new Portage Bay Park.

E Newton Street aka Terry Pettus Park in the Eastlake Community is being redesigned by Seattle Parks Department. We are working with the Eastlake Community to design this exciting new project.

Two Seattle Public Utility projects located at shoreline street ends are currently under construction and will be completed shortly: 7th Avenue S in South Park and W Cramer St in Magnolia.

And Friends of Street Ends members continued to steward several projects:

East Prospect Street, located in the Madison Park neighborhood, is one of the largest in the City. The project was completed last year but phase 3, which included planting of over 200 additional plants, was completed in 2020. Gene Brandzel continues to lead this project with the help of dozens of volunteers!

S Willow Street in the Seward Park neighborhood continues to be stewarded by Marty Oppenheimer and friends.

S Judkins Street in the Leschi neighborhood received major maintenance thanks to local volunteers.

And we improved our website thanks to volunteers Laura Perry, Zach Stednick and John Feit.

Finally, we worked closely with Seattle Department of Transportation’s Shoreline Street End Manager, Omar Akkari, who throughout this challenging year continued to support community efforts, oversee maintenance work and juggle dozens of projects throughout the City—all with a positive attitude which is greatly appreciated!

It was a very productive year! We are grateful for the support of dozens of volunteers and supporters. Thank you! This next year, we will need funds more than ever to continue to improve Seattle’s unique 142 shoreline street ends!

You can support this effort by sending your donations to Friends of Street Ends, c/o Leschi Community Council, 140 Lakeside Avenue, Suite A #2, Seattle, 98122.

~Karen Daubert