
Montlake Elementary

Traffic Calming is being explored for Montlake, and not just for our main street—24th Ave East. It’s equally important for safety and livability on all the streets of our neighborhood.
Developed in Europe in the 70’s, traffic calming is a system of street design strategies aimed to balance movement of traffic with other human interests, like walking, playing, shopping, working—you know, life. Over the years, a number of calming measures have been added to our neighborhood side streets. When you take a walk around Montlake, you can find traffic circles, speed bumps and cushions, pedestrian-controlled crossing lights, marked crosswalks, roadway striping and painting, curb bulbs and good old signage. In other Seattle neighborhoods you can also see chicanes, raised crosswalks, textured “rumble strips,” diverters, and chokers. Some have calmed traffic; some, not so much.
Now to Montlake comes even more traffic on 24th Ave E. and seemingly endless Hwy. 520 construction. We’re feeling spill-over headaches as impatient drivers look for shortcuts and faster routes along our residential streets. It sure seems like we need more of the traffic calming methods in additional locations. Jim Curtin, SDOT’s Senior Traffic Planner & leader of Seattle’s Vision Zero road safety initiative knows the whole traffic calming toolbox—and he’s not afraid to use those tools if doing so makes life safer and more pleasant on our streets—all our streets.
At the November MCC Board Meeting, Curtin explained that SDOT is still evaluating “a slew of options” for the 23rd /24th Traffic Corridor Improvement Project Phase 3. He stressed that entire “neighborhood traffic calming is a priority, no matter what design is ultimately selected” for 24th Ave E. The other day, he reiterated this whole-neighborhood concern after reviewing reader responses to the November 23, 2016 Flyer article. All along, Jim has also said that for the best solutions to be found, SDOT planners need to learn from the community about specific problems in particular locations. Your observations and experiences can then be crafted into accounts to share with SDOT decision makers. Bottom line: The better SDOT’s understanding of particulars, the more likely their fixes will work for us.
So, Montlakers, let’s do our part. We can start by naming specific neighborhood locations and the particular traffic problems observed and experienced there. Write these in the comment section following this article or send them to the Montlake Community Club Board (Board@montlake.net). Montlake Community meetings on Phase 3 will also be coming up in early 2017. Attend those meetings to be informed and to offer your specifics and particulars there. Let’s give SDOT the information they need to provide us with workable traffic calming solutions to our Montlake street safety and livability issues.
Want to know more about Traffic Calming? Here are some online resources:
On Friday, October 14th at 9:30am, the Seattle City Council is meeting to consider the ordinance that would permit camping on 167 miles of sidewalks and nearly 5,200 acres of Seattle parks and greenbelts. King5 and Seattle Times have shared maps prepared by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle Parks and Recreation that present the parks and sidewalks that could be used by homeless campers if the ordinance is approved.
Many parks in Seattle would be approved locations, such as Greenlake, Discovery and Lincoln Park. Approved locations in and around Montlake include:
Full text of the proposal may be found here.
If you have feedback, questions, or concerns about this proposal, contact the Seattle City Council & Mayor Murray (contact information below) before the vote on Friday, October 14th.
Additionally, an online petition opposing this ordinance was created on October 9th.
Contact Information:
Ed Murray
206-684-4000
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor
Sally Bagshaw
206-684-8801
sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov
Tim Burgess
206-684-8806
tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Lorena Gonzales
206-684-8802
lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov
Bruce Harrell
206-684-8804
bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Lisa Herbold
206-684-8803
lisa.herbold@seattle.gov
Rob Johnson
206-684-8808
rob.johnson@seattle.gov
Debora Juarez
206-684-8805
debora.juarez@seattle.gov
Mike O’Brien
206-684-8800
mike.obrien@seattle.gov
Kshama Sawant
206-684-8016
kshama.sawant@seattle.gov
Boyer Children’s Clinic is thrilled to announce the opening of a second location in the Magnuson Park neighborhood! Families are invited to celebrate on Thursday, July 14th from 5:30-7pm for a fun afternoon including:
This milestone in Boyer’s long history would not be possible without the time, energy and philanthropic support of many incredible individuals, private foundations and corporations.
Join Boyer to tour the new space, as well as celebrate the summer with Boyer staff, families and community supporters! If you have questions, please email specialevents@boyercc.org
Address:
7821 62nd Ave NE #202
Seattle, WA 98115
Looking for a fun and creative summer program for your child? Check out Boyer’s Summer 3-5 Preschool Program!
Children will participate in activities such as art, music, problem-solving/listening activities, and playtime in the gym. The Preschool will meet for 2.5 hours four times a week. This year we’re offering five individual week sessions, running from July 11 – August 11. Cost is $200/week, and parents are welcome to sign up for one or multiple sessions.
Space is limited! If you are interested in having your 3-5 year old participate, please contact Denise Swanson at 206-325-8477 or denise.swanson@boyercc.org.
Celebrate the coming of spring with an egg hunt. Be sure to bring your bag or basket and make sure you are early because the hunt starts right at 10am ! Parents can visit with friends and family at our coffee and pastries table. Meet in the community center multi-purpose room before the hunt.
When: Saturday, March 26th 2016 (Rain or Shine!)
Time: 10 a.m. SHARP! Ages 12 & under
Sierra Club Photo: Montlake Elementary Rain Garden 2009
4th and 5th grade students on the Montlake Elementary’s Green Team wants you. The Green Team is working to restore the Montlake Elementary rain garden, the first for Seattle public schools, and is seeking out Montlake neighbors with rain gardens. They would like to to know what worked and didn’t when creating your rain garden. Additionally, the team hopes to create a map of all Montlake rain gardens and requests neighbors share their addresses. You may send replies to montlakegreenteam@gmail.com or submit comments via the form below.
The Montlake Elementary community invites you to purchase your holiday season trees and wreaths from us and support your local school while decorating for the season. All proceeds from this fun community event go directly to the Montlake PTA and our students.
We once again have three choices of trees:
• Sheared Douglas Fir
• Natural Noble, and
• Natural Grand Fir … all in several sizes!
We also have Noble Fir wreaths and swags, and Cedar garlands. These make excellent gifts that last well into the New Year. They look festive and smell great!
To order, please pick up an order form from one of Montlake’s local businesses (or print it from this link –http://tinyurl.com/EvergreenSale) and send it with your payment to:
Montlake Elementary School PTA
2409 – 22nd Ave. E., Seattle WA 98112
Trees are first-come, first-serve. Trunk trimming and car roof tie-up will be provided with complimentary refreshments and good cheer! Sorry, unclaimed goods will be sold or donated.
Order forms must be received by Friday, November 20th at 3pm.
All trees and decorations are pre-sold only. To pick up your order, please join us on Saturday, December 5th between 11am and 2pm at Montlake Elementary School: 2409 22nd Ave. E.
Order Form – Click to Access PDF for Printing
Montlake Elementary and Cheri Bloom have partnered with Farmraiser to raise funds for the annual 5th grad trip to Islandwood. Every year, Montlake 5th graders spend 4 nights and 3 days at Islandwood, an outdoor learning center on Bainbridge Island. This trip is the culmination of the carefully designed science curriculum that starts in Kindergarten for Montlake students.
Purchase gift bags of delicious, locally produced food and support the annual 5th grade trip to Islandwood. again to connect with local farmers who provide the food for sale. This year, we are offering just one gift bag: One 5 oz jar of wildflower honey from Ballard Bee Company, one package of Seastack Cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery, and 5 lbs of apples from Bellewood Acres.
The gift bag costs $32 and contains:
The deadline to order is October, 30th. The bags will be available for pick up at school on Friday November 13 or you can request delivery to your home if you live within the Montlake school boundary. To purchase a gift bag, please visit the FarmRaiser website: https://www.farmraiser.com/campaigns/montlake-fall-2015/market
Montlake’s Jennifer Lundgren is WAEA’s Elementary Art Educator of the Year. (Jennifer) Heller and Lundgren are among five award recipients statewide who will be honored at the WAEA Fall Conference in Leavenworth on Oct. 24.
Both teachers share the conviction that art class should serve as a refuge and an outlet – especially for stressed or struggling students.
“The kids who maybe don’t really shine in their classroom come in here and they can just – we like to say – let their freak flag fly a little,” says Lundgren. “They find their voice in here. It’s really great and powerful to see.”