City Council approves Bell Street green boulevard idea

The City Council voted 9-0 to spend $2.5 million of the 2008 voter-approved Parks and Green Spaces Levy to transform four blocks of Bell Street from First to Fifth avenues into a “park boulevard” with improved landscaping, better lighting and more open space.

The project converts one traffic lane and reconfigures parking to create a park-like corridor through the heart of Belltown.

To be completed in 2010, the Bell Street park boulevard would create 17,000 square feet of new green space, said Mayor Greg Nickels, who proposed the project last month.

Sidewalks on the north side of Bell Street will be widened to nearly 30 feet with landscaping, lighting and space for children’s play areas and other recreational activities. Natural landscaping and swales - vegetation in the right-of-way that collects and cleans rainwater - will be added. Well-lit sidewalks and open sightlines are expected to discourage anti-social behavior.

The Parks Department’s park rangers and West Precinct police officers will be able to issue park exclusions and conduct emphasis patrols to ensure everyone is able to enjoy this space.

“People want more green in their neighborhoods,” said Nickels. “We’ll take the lessons learned from the Bell Street park boulevard and consider where similar improvement can be made across the city.”