Roosevelt Open Spaces & the community experience Bryce Anderson

Current Open Spaces These locations have been identified as open space nodes using Lynch mapping: Whole Foods Plaza 10,000 Villages Plaza Cowen Park There is a lack of an “active” and community centered open spaces Most interviewed residents identified areas outside of Roosevelt as the open spaces they know of and like to visit (Greenlake)

Opportunities Enhance the Roosevelt character to increase the community’s cohesiveness Brand targeted areas to more strongly identify as cores of Roosevelt (IE, “Bull Moose” and blue branding) Brand nodes’ bus stops Use open spaces to increase Roosevelt’s opportunities for social interaction and social capital Take advantage of Roosevelt’s projected growth to fulfill current resident wishes and make it more desirable to visitors and future residents

Making Roosevelt a stronger community Based on resident interviews, community involvement in Roosevelt is lacking Roosevelt needs more identifiable open spaces in the urban center Roosevelt needs some type of community center or gathering place that can build social capital Some type of “attraction destination” should be located within Roosevelt to attract visitors to the neighborhood

What people want People like the current mix of retail shops and restaurants, but also want more options and variety in Roosevelt A place for families and kids to spend time Less traffic and more parking More transit availability and options

Auto-oriented to people-oriented Many residents dislike the Roosevelt traffic patterns (too much vehicle traffic around retail areas) Traffic should be diverted from the Roosevelt Way and 12 th Ave to 15 th Ave Roosevelt should have traffic calming measures put into place with a woonerf To accommodate future growth, a shared parking structure + park and ride should be 65 th NE St and 15 th Ave to accommodate Roosevelt traffic and Ravenna traffic

Roosevelt Way Recommendations Turn a portion Roosevelt Way into a Woonerf (“living street”) A street that prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists over automobiles Provides more opportunity for character building in Roosevelt Provides an identifiable open space Add a Parklet in the retail core They are adorable Provides a necessary open space at a low cost

Meeting the Community Needs Current residents often mention the need to travel outside of Roosevelt A strength of Roosevelt identified by the current residents is its connectivity to other areas of Seattle, but it seems like Roosevelt brings in few people to the neighborhood for leisure (which may contribute to Roosevelt seeming a lot like a “drive through” neighborhood) Residents had a hard time describing how they see Roosevelt, suggesting its imagability can be improved One longtime resident says Roosevelt needs more “hot chicks”

Summary Roosevelt needs more and better open spaces in its core To create more public spaces, Roosevelt will need to be less auto- oriented Roosevelt needs an attraction to bring people to Roosevelt and keep them there Roosevelt can use open spaces to increase its character, its brand, and its imagability Parklets are adorable