The small crowd that gathered last night to hear the final concept design of the new Maple Leaf Play Area had few complaints about the features proposed for the Family Terrace.
The 4-acre area in the new Maple Leaf Reservoir Park is slated to include a “built area” including typical playground features such as climbing toys, slides and swings; a “children’s garden” that includes an area where kids can get dirty; and the “adventure play” area, with such features as caves and climbing walls.
With input from a community meeting a month ago, Maple Leaf Reservoir Park designers The Berger Partnership presented two concept ideas for the new play area, which will take the place of the current Maple Leaf Playground at 1020 N.E. 82nd St.
Both concepts seemed popular with the two-dozen or so attendees, who picked and chose aspects of each they’d like to see when the Family Terrace is completed.
Attendees broke up into two groups to discuss features they liked and didn’t like. Among the more popular features:
- An 80- to 90-foot zip line adjacent to the path heading east from Roosevelt Way Northeast toward the restrooms.
- Keeping access to the “ball wall,” which is a current Seattle Public Utilities building located on the south end of the playground. Option 2 had proposed hiding the building with wispy Palouse-like grasses.
- Swings for all ages.
- A mix of playground equipment that is both modern and natural-looking. One group was opposed to actually using natural wood because it tends to get wet and stay wet, but both groups still were in favor of keeping a natural feel and using natural colors.
If you missed the meeting, you still have a couple of weeks to give your feedback on the design concepts, which will be on display at Café Javasti, 8410 Fifth Ave. N.E.; Cloud City Coffee, 8801 Roosevelt Way N.E.; and Blue Saucer, 9127 Roosevelt Way N.E; as well as at the Maple Leaf Summer Social, from 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, where you also can provide feedback.
More information on the project also is available via the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s project information site and the Maple Leaf Community Council site. You can also watch video of last night’s meeting on the Maple Leaf Community Council’s YouTube channel.
If you’d like to add your 2 cents about the concept designs, send your comments to Seattle Parks Project Manager Kim Baldwin at kim.baldwin@seattle.gov.
AFTER whacking the 1hr 13m video into 8 pieces to meet YouTube’s 15-minute limit, we discovered YouTube waived our 15-minute limit (doh!).
Overnight, we re-cut the original into one video and uploaded it. You can now watch the whole thing via only one click instead of having to access 8 different videos.
You can find it on MLCC’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/MapleLeafCommunity
We’ve left the 8 segments up there for people who want quick access to specific parts of the video.
If people are emailing comments to Kim Baldwin, please take a moment and CC the Maple Leaf Community Council at reservoirpark@MapleLeafCommunity.org
We will also be at the Summer Social in two weeks with the display boards to collect comments on comment forms.
Zip line = awesome. There’s a smaller one at one of the playgrounds in Ballard that even this adult likes to hop on. I’d love one in our neighborhood.