Parks levy should boost city's green infrastructure

The city's Urban Forest Management Plan estimates the tree canopy in Seattle has been reduced from 40 percent to 18 percent and that the city needs a more complete and current tree inventory. The plan calls for planting 600,000 trees over the next 30 years. The levy should include funds to inventory the city's existing trees and plant 50,000 to 100,000 more. Forty percent of the city's land is single-family housing lots. Trees should be made available for private property, and lower-income households should be given priority.

The city's Natural Drainage System report states that natural drainage has many benefits, including drainage control and improved water quality. Increased streetside landscaping beautifies and adds value to neighborhoods, calms traffic and increases community interaction. Funds could go for curb bulbs and landscape swales that are much less costly than new drainage pipes.

Extend pedestrian walkways and trails in neighborhoods so children and families can safely walk to school, shopping and recreation.

Funds should be included for stream, shoreline and habitat restoration projects at the Duwamish River, Pipers Creek, Longfellow Creek, Thornton Creek, Kiwanis Ravine, and other waterways.

Former buildings surplussed by Seattle Public Schools serve as valuable open space and community gathering places and should remain in public hands. The school district is chronically underfunded and has difficulty properly maintaining playgrounds and campuses. With a joint-use agreement, both the school district and the city could focus their limited resources on those public spaces rather than on obtaining new park sites. The school sites already are publicly owned, and with the skyrocketing cost of land, it makes terrific sense to renovate school grounds rather than focus on obtaining new park sites.

In addition, renovate the many dilapidated city playgrounds and include amenities that focus on nature, for instance installing children's P-patches and plants that encourage birds and butterflies.

The previous Pro-Parks Levy included an "opportunity fund" for neighborhood projects so residents can submit proposals for local projects. This fund can supplement the Neighborhood Matching Fund.

Our parks levy can do more than build a few more parks. It could be a model for integrated thinking about urban green infrastructure. It could demonstrate to the cities of the Northwest how a visionary city harnesses the power of nature to create a healthier and more vibrant community.

The council-appointed Parks and Green Spaces Levy Committee is holding public meetings to discuss the pros and cons of putting the parks levy on the November ballot.

Please attend and make your voice heard. Or send comments to parksandgreenspacelevy@seattle.gov