The Flyer

Elvis & others on Foster Island

March 1, 2014 by Larry Hubbell Leave a Comment

Elvis apparently thought yesterday was the first day of spring. He spent an hour or two inspecting trees & excavating bugs and…he was not alone. See who joined him (besides the paparazzi) on his visit to Foster Island.

Visit Union Bay Watch.

Montlake Bridge lane closures Saturday

February 28, 2014 by montlake Leave a Comment

Photo: Paul Gibson

From WSDOT:

Driver alert: Montlake bridge lane closures this Saturday

Drivers heading across the Montlake Bridge should anticipate delays the morning of Saturday, March, 1. WSDOT maintenance crews will close a single lane in each direction of the Montlake Bridge from 6:30 a.m. until noon to make repairs on the metal bridge deck. Drivers exiting Montlake Boulevard from SR 520 could see delays and should plan extra time in their trips when traveling through the area.

Before leaving the house, drivers can check current travel conditions by downloading the WSDOT mobile app, visiting the Seattle Traffic page or by dialing 5-1-1.

News You’ve Been Waiting For: AMMAH

February 28, 2014 by montlake Leave a Comment

The 2^nd All-Montlake Music & Arts Happening, Sunday, May 18

Remember what a good time we had last year?

*Listening to Music played and sung by our neighbors
*Viewing Art works by young, middle and old folks next door
*Chatting with the artists and musicians about their creations
*Meeting and Greeting our Montlake neighbors
*Enjoying Treats offered by our Montlake shops and stores.

Yes!! It’s Happening again at the Community Center, and You’re invited, and it’s FREE, organized by your Montlake Community Club

Put it on your calendar today, and we’ll tell you more as details emerge.
Artists & Musicians sign up now at AMMAHappening@montlake.net

New Childcare Center for Infants and Toddlers: Opening in March!

February 27, 2014 by crinklefuss 1 Comment

We are excited to announce that Seattle Learning Center has opened a new school in Montlake! The new center offers a full-day program for infants and toddlers. We accept children ages 3 months to 35 months. Our school is open from 7:30am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday.

Our Montlake center is licensed for 7 infants and 14 toddlers. We currently have full-week openings in our infant room and part-week and full-week openings in our toddler room. Our new center will open on March 3^rd, 2014.

You are warmly invited to an open tour day on:

Thursday, Feb 27^th at 4-6pm

Children are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served. The school location is 2734 Montlake Blvd E. If you can come, please let us know by contacting Lily Talley, executive director, at 206-538-6778 or at info@seattlelearningcenter.com.

We look forward to serving you and your children.

Lily Talley

Executive Director

Seattle Learning Center

www.seattlelearningcenter.com

A Skagit Trip

February 23, 2014 by Larry Hubbell Leave a Comment

Did University Village once look like this?

Would it have supported birds like these? See more at Union Bay Watch.

Traveler Montlake – Friends Family & Neighbors Open House

February 19, 2014 by LeAna Alvarado-Smith Leave a Comment

Montlakers – the wait is almost over! Traveler Montlake has scheduled a Friends Family and Neighbors Open House for this Friday, February 21st. Details can be found on the restaurant’s Facebook event page.

Montlake – A Family Friendly Neighborhood

February 18, 2014 by LeAna Alvarado-Smith Leave a Comment

Montlake is packed full of family friendly activities and resources. Here are some of the current offerings around the neighborhood.

Story Time anyone? Or how about some Legos?

Head over to Montlake Library for a weekly preschool school story time (Wednesdays 11-11:30am) or check out their special events which included Lego Mania in March. Visit the library’s website for details.

Ever wonder how to connect with other Montlake families?

Join Montlake’s own Montlake Family Coop. “The coop’s mission is to help Montlake families connect with and support one another. The coop hosts annual Valentine’s, 4th of July, Halloween, and winter holiday parties, organizes nights out for parents, and runs a meal program for families.” For registration details, visit the coop’s website.

Playgrounds

Montlake Playground

Montlake is home to three playgrounds that offer structures for a variety of ages. The highly anticipated Montlake Playground will be re-opening soon followed by the addition of fitness equipment and a multi-use sport court early summer. However, family fun can be had one of the other local playgrounds.

Montlake Playground – Location Details
Arboretum “Tot Lot” – 26th Ave E & E Lynn St – Location Details
Montlake Elementary Playground – Location Details

Keeping Kids Active Rain or Shine

On gloomy days or to “get those wiggles out of your children”, head over to Montlake Community Center to visit the new indoor playground – M/W/F 9:30am-1:30pm. Or sign-up one of the many regular classes offered. Montlake Community Center hosts a variety of summer camps and special events such as monthly Parents’ Night Out events on Friday nights. You can register for summer camps and classes via the Sigby website. For special events, register in person at the community center or over the phone. Contact details are found on Montlake Community Center’s website.

Additional Classes found in Montlake

Fiddleheads Forest School – Parent & Child Classes
Arboretum, UW Botanic Gardens
“Join us for a class (or six or twelve!) this winter of nature connection activities and outdoor play. Preschoolers and their caregivers will explore the Washington Park Arboretum using their senses. Every week’s class will be based around a different learning theme.” To register visit UW Botanic Gardens education website.

Seattle Yacht Club’s Youth Summer Sailing School (open to non-members). For details, visit Seattle Yacht Club’s website.

Family Friendly Events on the Horizon:

All-Montlake Music & Arts Happening, May 2014
(Montake Community Club)
Carnival, June 2014 (Montlake Elementary PTA)
4th of July Kids Parade (Montlake Family Coop)
Music Festival & Family Fun Night, August 15, 2014
(Montlake Community Center)

The final Public meeting for the Arboretum’s planned multi-use trail will be held on February 27, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at the Graham Visitors Center, and all Montlakers interested in street safety should attend.

Seattle Parks and Recreation will present details of the new multi-use trail, running parallel to Lake Washington Blvd from Madison all the way north to Foster Island Rd.

This is the final public meeting and it is important that Montlakers be present to offer comments directly to city officials.

Montlake Neighborhood Greenways is supportive of this trail, as it represents a positive effort to improve access to the Arboretum by people of all ages and abilities whether on foot, bicycle, wheel chair or stroller. Montlakers will benefit from its creation and we applaud the work done by the Parks and Recreation, the Arboretum Foundation and the UW.

However, we think that the city and WSDOT have not fully thought through the impact of the SR520 construction. In fact, while the Arboretum Multi-Use path is funded with SR520 mitigation funds from WSDOT, the city doesn’t seem to realize that Montlake needs other mitigations as well.

Safe access to parks is important to us as is reducing aggressive cut-through traffic on residential streets, but the current plans lead us to believe that it will in fact deteriorate. Since traffic will be redirected from the Arboretum ramp to 24th Ave E. and Montlake blvd, we should expect 24th Ave E. to become busier than it is today. In fact, WSDOT’s projections speak for themselves: 24th Ave E. southbound peak hour traffic will initially increase 7% after WBAN’s construction, to top out at a total increase of 76.5% once SR520 is rebuilt through Montlake, while the northbound traffic will increase a whopping 83%.The projections for evening peak hour traffic increase are not quite as dire but still top out at 47.6% southbound and 75.5% northbound. Anyone who witnesses the almost daily 5 to 6PM traffic jam stretching from E. Newton to SR520 can attest that something needs to be done. We could clearly use some SR520 funds to improve the crossing of 24th Ave E. to reach the Arboretum all through the Montlake Corridor.

SR520 mitigations have worked out well for the Arboretum and access within the Arboretum, but have clearly not helped with access to the Arboretum. We need Parks and Recreation to take this message to the city and work with us to improve our pedestrian crossings at several intersections. Here are three examples:

– 24th Ave E. and Interlaken Blvd: this is the main access point for cyclists, joggers and people enjoying a nature walk in the heart of the city. Yet, no plan exists to allow safer crossing of 24th Ave E. at Interlaken Blvd. In fact, one of the original boulevards’ intersection, designed for coaches, bicycles and pedestrian has been neglected for years.

– Boyer Ave and 24th Ave E.: the intersection is quite intimidating. There are no bulb-outs or other protection from traffic and while on a route to school and parks, it remains a very threatening place to wait for an eventual crossing.

– E. Lynn and 24th: Montlakers who live west of 24th Ave E. and south of E.McGraw prefer this access point to the Tot Lot and the Arboretum. But, it is not protected in any way.

We hope that the Feb 27 meeting will be well attended by Montlakers. It is important that our concerns be heard. We should also express our support for the Multi-Use trail as it is a welcomed improvement to the Arboretum.