What is Growing Vine
Street?
A watershed in Belltown
City of Seattle Green Street
The growing connection through the heart of Belltown
All the above!
What is Growing Vine Street?
A watershed in Belltown
City of Seattle Green Street
The growing connection through the heart of Belltown
All the above!
The Growing Vine Street Cistern Steps are located on the south side of Vine Street between Elliott Avenue and Western Avenue adjacent to the Belltown P-Patch. The Cistern Steps are primarily on the southern edge of the Vine Street right-of-way and will connect into an existing rockery located on the Belltown P-Patch property.
During the last seven years, a diverse group of Belltown residents, organized as the Growing Vine Street Project and united in civic spirit, have brought the neighborhood together to design and begin building a Green Street on Vine.
In 1998 the community selected Carlson Architects to lead the Growing Vine Street design team, including Peggy Gaynor and Buster Simpson. Together they published the Growing Vine Street design book outlining fundamental principals, vision, and concepts for the green street project. The 1999 Belltown Neighborhood Plan cites Growing Vine Street as a "key implementation strategy" for adding open space and greening this dense urban neighborhood. In response to the community request, SeaTran and SPU worked with the design team to identify, in concept, elements of the Growing Vine Street plan that could be accommodated in the street right-of-way. This turned out to be a more iterative process than any had anticipated, and resulted in the product: Growing Vine Street Implementation Guidebook. It also became apparent, due to the high cost and complexity of the water conveyance element, that the concept would need to be developed on a block by block basis as demonstration projects. This concept assumes that some blocks may be designed to allow connection (where feasible) to the next downstream block. This portion of the project will be a first demonstration of this concept.
IntraCorp recently agreed to partner with the neighborhood stakeholders to develop a demonstration project "Cistern Steps" at the Belltown P-Patch by providing the water source for the project, and by installing street improvements that follow the Growing Vine St. concept in the Vine Street right-of-way immediately abutting their property. Intracorp engineers are designing a detention vault that will be tapped by the Cistern Steps project.
In July-2000, City Council allocated $200,000 of the Department of Neighborhood Plan Implementation Opportunity Fund to hire Carlson Architects (with SvR Design, Gaynor Inc, and Buster Simpson) to work with the community and the appropriate City departments to fully design, and construct a portion, of the Cistern Steps improvements. The Friends of Belltown P-Patch (FBTPP) in partnership with the City of Seattle are currently working to redevelop this space and seek to complete the project by December 31, 2003.
Growing Vine Street Cistern Steps Improvements are in line with the recommendations set forth in the 1999 Belltown Neighborhood Plan. The Cistern Steps will begin transforming Vine Street into the Type IV Green Street it has been designated. The design encourages pedestrian flow through the space, and extends the P-Patch out into the street adding open space to the dense urban neighborhood.
Expand the P-Patch
into the street with a marshy wetland-type of garden know as "Cistern Steps"
Recycle storm water
by connecting to the Intracorp building roof storm water detention system (up the hill and across Vine Street from the P-Patch) to irrigate the Cistern Steps garden. Attempt to engineer a low cost and low-maintenance pump system that brings the Cistern Steps water up to the P-Patch level for irrigation purposes.
Demystify the urban watershed
by bringing a portion of the storm water detention system for the Intracorp building to the surface, as an artistic element of the building façade, and an honest expression of urban storm water management systems.
Apply lessons learned
from designing and constructing this first portion of the cistern steps, to the future expansion of the cistern steps along Vine Street.
Planted concrete cisterns that cascade down the street directing water towards the Elliott Bay (while actually depositing the storm water back into the combined sewer system).A series of steps and landings installed in the sidewalk area between the cisterns and the p-patch in order to help people navigate a steep slope (nearly 15%) and provide easy viewing into the cisterns
Altering the roadway to create a taper in the street that will slow traffic heading east bound on this one way street.
Lighting improvements (Pedestrian Safety Lights).
Recycled artifacts and paving.
Integrated artwork including four water spouts direct water down hill into the next cistern.
A hand operated water pump to help irrigate the P-Patch.
A privately owned and maintained drainage pipe connecting the IntraCorp building retention structure to the Cistern Steps water feature.
Myke Woodwell
(206) 441-7702
mykejw@speakeasy.org
Carolyn Geise
(206) 441-7702
cgeise@geise.net
a neighborhood 501(c)3 non-profit
organization
2225
First Avenue Seattle, WA 98121
206.441.770
Created by Myke
Woodwell on his trusty Powerbook over Saturday morning coffee.
Images
by Myke JWoodwell ©2002
Myke Woodwell / mykejw@speakeasy.org