Denny Substation Project Design Open House--November 20, 2014

Mark your calendars to attend a design open house concerning the Denny Substation Project. Learn about the latest project updates. Here's a great opportunity to ask questions, share your views, and connect with project planners and staff. When: Thursday, November 20,  5 - 7 P.M.

Where: Cascade People's Center, 309 Pontius Ave North, Seattle, WA 98109

For more information on the Denny Substation Project, visit the project website:

New Denny Substation To Be Built

Seattle's next major infrastructure project is about to get underway in SLU's Cascade neighborhood. Here Seattle City Light (SCL) plans to build its largest substation, the first in 30 years, at John Street and Pontius Avenue North, designed by NBBJ. Necessitated by recent and anticipated growth primarily in South Lake Union, the Denny Triangle and downtown, the Denny substation will connect to a new network of distribution and transmission lines, spreading north, south and west from the substation. SCL's preferred equipment configuration will require expanding the site to Minor Avenue North by vacating Pontius between Denny and John streets, an action that requires approval by SDOT and the Seattle City Council in exchange for a package of public benefits. For this purpose, SCL has proposed on-site amenities consisting of open space featuring a pocket park and an off-leash area for dogs, street level and elevated walkways across the site, and two interior shell spaces to house an energy education center on Denny and provide community meeting space on the west facade. Off-site, two new pedestrian crossings and a bus shelter on Denny Way have been proposed plus right-of-way enhancements on Denny, John and Pontius.

The Final EIS will be issued in January. If SCL receives approval from the Seattle Design Commission and City Council by March, construction of Phase 1 of the distribution lines will begin in the third quarter of 2015, the substation itself in the first quarter of 2016 and the transmission lines in 2019 at the earliest. The substation is expected to be energized by the third quarter of 2017.

A task force comprised of SLUCC board members and other neighborhood stakeholders has been working with SCL over the past year to provide recommendations about the substation's area of greatest impact, the Cascade neighborhood. Our input to SCL include ways to communicate and mitigate construction impacts, ways to activate the shell community space, and feedback on the package of public benefits. This is Seattle's first substation to be built in such a dense residential neighborhood, with 36 multi-family apartment buildings, including over 80% of South Lake Union's low income and social service housing in the vicinity. SCL also meets periodically with a larger Community Forum it assembled to keep stakeholders in affected areas informed of the project’s progress. For details about the Denny Substation, go to www.seattle.gov/light/dennysub.

Access Seattle: Working for South Lake Union Mobility

If you've visited Seattle's unique South Lake Union neighborhood lately, you've likely seen not only the many attractions in this booming community but also the significant construction. In fact, South Lake Union is one of the neighborhoods identified by SDOT as a construction hub, or area experiencing multiple, simultaneous construction projects in close proximity and with considerable cumulative impacts. Those impacts often hamper mobility. That's one of the reasons the Access Seattle Initiative came to be, to better serve the city through its growth and development surge. Access Seattle is an initiative launched in 2013 to keep Seattle moving during unprecedented pressure on our transportation system: from increasing population density; new employment centers; and, a significant construction surge. In the South Lake Union area, all three of these factors come into play, creating daily travel challenges for residents and businesses.

A major Access Seattle goal is to proactively plan and manage the city's transportation system to move people and goods more effectively. The South Lake Union community has a similar goal, of sorts, as part of the South Lake Union/Uptown Triangle Mobility Plan. That plan lays out the community's vision for all travel modes, to accommodate growth that, "…demands a paradigm shift in how people travel…" The integrated and interconnected neighborhood vision calls for partnerships; the Access Seattle team is working to be one of those partners.

To learn more about Seattle Department of Transportation initiatives read the SDOT Blog.

Safer Dexter Ave. Presented by SDOT to SLU Community Council

As most South Lake Union residents are probably aware, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is completing their utility work on Dexter Ave N for the north portal of the SR 99 tunnel. During the Sept. 2 SLU Community Council meeting Kyle Rowe of SDOT presented its proposed work to leverage restoration work along this corridor with the aim of making Dexter Avenue North safer for its users.

After analyzing the traffic data, SDOT is proposing to rechannelize the street from four lanes to three, with a center two-way left turn lane and right turn pockets. Additionally, the bicycle facility will be next to the curb, buffered from moving traffic by the parking lane.

If you would like more information about the project, or would like to email your comments, please visit the project website here: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/dexter.htm

Photo:  Courtesy SeattlePI.com

September 19 Outdoor Movie in Cascade Park Presents "Frozen"

State Rep. Gael Tarleton To Speak At SLU Community Council Meeting

Be sure to join the South Lake Union Community Council for its September 2 meeting with Washington State Representative Gael Tarleton (D-36th).  The regular monthly community meeting gets underway at 4 p.m at the Museum of History and Industry at Lake Union Park.  South Lake Union includes both the 36th Legislative District along with the 43rd Legislative District represented by Brady Walkinshaw (D-43rd).  Walkinshaw spoke to a joint meeting of the South Lake Union Community Council and South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce in May.   Rep. Tarleton is a member of the Transportation, Technology and Economic Development, Rules and Hire Education Committees.  Click here to view the meeting agenda.

What:  South Lake Union Community Council September Meeting When: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 (4 – 6 p.m.) Where:  http://www.mohai.org at Lake Union Park Who:  State Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-36th)

Kids and Color Abound at South Lake Union's Art Walk

With playful sidewalk chalk in hand, kids from the South Lake Union and Cascade neighborhoods kicked off the second of three neighborhood art walks, August 1, with color and style taking turns decorating Republican Street as their contribution to this community event.

The inspiration of South Lake Union Community Council board member and longtime patron of the Seattle arts community, Dena Lee, along with co-chair Andrea Florissi and nine other organizing committee members, the South Lake Union Art Walk brought some 30 artists to venues across the South Lake Union and Cascade neighborhoods.

With several hundred residents, visitors and the after-work crowd meandering through the neighborhood taking in exhibits from woven geometrical landscapes adorning fencing surrounding a vacant lot under the direction of local artist Carolina Wallin to PEMCO's eight-foot sculptured grizzly bear by roadside chainsaw woodcarver George Kenny, the community led event brought South Lake Union neighbors and visitors together on one of the warmest evenings of the summer.

"I loved sharing and collaborating on the show with the other organizations there," Art Walk volunteer Katy Sutta of Mary's Place said.  "It was fantastic to be able to tell visitors about all we do separately and then how we all fit together to serve the community."

Other installations included a multimedia exhibit of Lake Union Sailboats by 48 Degrees North Photographer Jan Anderson at Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub on Thomas Street, interactive block prints featuring artist Theresa Ninenas at The Y at Cascade People's Center, art work by the children of the Minor Avenue Children's House and Mirabella's NW artists' collection from The Junior League of Seattle.

To learn more about the South Lake Union Art Walk or to get involved in the December Art Walk, visit and LIKE the South Lake Union Art Walk Facebook Page.