As covered previously, SDOT was planning to throttle Green Lake Way N and waste a lot of money by putting in a bike crossing at N 52^nd and Green Lake Way N, eliminating parking on the East side of the street. Pretty much everyone said “no please” so SDOT thankfully backed off.

New plans are for the 2-way cycle track around the lake to transition to two 1-way protected bike lanes at a new light going in at the Pitch and Putt (where 3 roads all named Green Lake Way intersect). The West side curb of Green Lake Way …

I’m beginning to feel a bit like the Chief of Wallyhood’s Playground Bureau. Just a couple of weeks ago, I reported that the transfer station playground is being redone by the contractor due to some deficiencies in the original construction. And this week, I’m here to report that the Wallingford Playfield, along Wallingford Ave. near 45th, is now closed for renovation.

It closed on November 6, but I hadn’t noticed until a friend mentioned it to me. Jordan posted about it back in May, and Ben followed up with an announcement about a community meeting convened to seek neighborhood input …

Local historians Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard have a new book out, titled Seattle Now & Then: The Historic Hundred. They are touring in support of their book launch, and next week Wallingford residents will have a chance to catch one of their illustrated talks outlining local history.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but if it is half as fascinating as their website, it’s bound to be worth your time.

Monday, November 19, 2018 

7 p.m. in the chapel of the Good Shepherd Center 

The event is free, books are available for purchase and personalizing, …

The Green Lake and Wallingford Paving and Multi-Modal Improvements project (new name!) is the city’s official name for work to be done up by Green Lake, but also includes a host of improvements and renovations along 40^th St. These include addition of and improvements to cross walks; repairing sidewalks; installing some bus shelters; adding and improving pedestrian lighting; repaving of 40^th; and construction of a bike lane.

While the sidewalk repair garnered some criticism when it was revealed that a number of trees might have to be cut down to facilitate that, the greatest controversy was generated …

I passed by the transfer station one dark night several days ago, and was surprised to see the playground fenced off and under construction. Most of the walking paths were dug up, and some of the landscaping seemed to have been removed – among other things. The playground and the station itself were completed back in late 2016 as we wrote about here, so why so much work so soon?

A sign on the fence briefly described some of the work:

Reducing sidewalk slope in some areas Changing pavement to standard concrete Adding hand rails

The sign also provided links …

There is an alien world in western Wallingford.

Co-writer/director team Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl, along with producer Brice Budke, created Prospect, a short film that was well-received at SXSW back in 2014. Encouraged, they captured funding from  Bron Studios in Canada to turn it into a full-length feature film starring Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos), Jay Duplass (Search Party, Transparent).

They searched a wide area for a space to create their workshop and studio in but ended up finding a large open space with clear span (and a difficult to find one …

Wallyhood writer Cathy Tuttle provided the following update on the trees of N. 40th St.:

The City Arborist will talk about plans for the trees on 40th at the next Wallingford Community Council meeting, Wednesday Nov. 7 at 7 pm, room 202 Good Shepherd Center.

Wallyhood neighbors love the beautiful old oak trees lining N 40th St., so naturally many people were concerned to see signs go up a few weeks ago on the trees from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).  After many neighbors called SDOT, SDOT wrote an FAQ.

For folks who have trouble reading bureaucratize, here’s a …