Put a Lid on It – I-5, that is.

Where I-5 cuts low through Wallingford Hill between NE 45th and NE 50th is the easiest place in town to cover with a lid. A lid will reduce freeway noise and pollution and provide 14 acres of new open space. With the enormous increase in housing in the University District, this can be the open space that fills a growing need.

Lids over freeways are not new. One of the first was Freeway Park in downtown Seattle. Several others cover parts of I-90 and WA 520. Across the country some magnificent parks have been built that reconnect neighborhoods. The picture below is of Southern Gateway Public Green in Dallas, over I-35. It is currently finishing construction and is expected to be open in 2024.

Folks in Wallingford and the University District who have been promoting the Lid I-5 concept are hosting a public vision meeting to get your ideas for what those 14 new acres could include. The meeting will be held in the inner court of Gould Hall, in the UW District at NE 40th and 15th Ave NE on Thursday, November 9 from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. The meeting is free and will welcome you. Food will be provided so you don’t miss supper. The meeting is in collaboration with talented grad students from a UW Master Design Studio. You should register for the meeting at https://lidi5northseattle.eventbrite.com/

The proposed lid is about the size of Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill. This can help meet the need for additional park space that is not present in east Wallingford. Along the east margin there is a great opportunity to place buildings that could provide public low-income and work force housing in between the current on-off ramps. Building such housing next to a park would be a real benefit. A pedestrian and bike way can cut across at NE 47th. And you can call out what you would like to see on the open space. Would it be pickle ball and tennis courts, grass and trees or small businesses along NE 45th, like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy?