September 15, 2002

Whittier Heights Community Council’s 15^th Ave Improvement Project grew out of the realization that 15^th Ave NW between NW 65^th Street and Holman Road would never change unless residents from surrounding neighborhoods and business and property owners began to work together to ask for something better.

To lobby for change and an end to the public and private neglect of the street, our committee applied for and received a Small and Simple Grant from the Department of Neighborhoods in spring 2002. The grant is paying for the services of Carlson Architects (www.carlsonarch.com) to identify immediate and long-term goals for improving the pedestrian and business environment on the arterial between NW 65^th Street and Holman Road.

The final outcome of our project will be a document that identifies and prioritizes goals for improving 15^th Ave NW. We hope that some of the improvements can be incorporated into Seattle Transportation’s Elliot Ave W/15^th Ave W-NW Multi-modal Improvement Project, which is now in its early design stages. We also hope to use the plan to update the Crown Hill/Ballard Neighborhood Plan to better reflect the interests of businesses and residents in the North Ballard and Crown Hill communities. In addition, the document will serve as a tool to help to lobby the city for much needed improvements such as repairs to sidewalks and curbs. We strongly believe that improving the infrastructure on 15^th Ave will spur private investment and help upgrade the quality of the street.

For questions, please e-mail improve15thNW@earthlink.net