It's an idea many longtime houseboaters have heard of before and for some it is an exciting thought, filled with possibility and room to dream. Others may break out in sweats when they imagine bottlenecks on their street or loss of parking. For all of these reasons and more, your board members thought it would be important to get involved in the new Lake Union Trail project from the very beginning.
We first heard about the trail proposal in Mayor Greg Nickels' budget speech last fall. In the speech, Mayor Nickels celebrated the history of our lake, saying, "in many ways, Seattle grew up around Lake Union," and that in the trail, "we have a tremendous opportunity to celebrate our heritage and create a bit of history ourselves." The trail will be a place for recreation, remembering Seattle's past, and enjoying the beautiful views of our backyard.
Since first hearing of the trail project, we have had a successful meeting with Woody Wheeler of the Seattle Parks Foundation and Marshall Foster of the City's Office of Policy and Management. The two representatives were eager to meet with the Floating Homes Association Board and embraced the idea of houseboaters being involved in the process of planning the trail. We spoke with Woody and Marshall at great length about our community and the connections that houseboaters have over the water, as well as the unique aspects of Westlake, Eastlake, Portage Bay and Fremont. Board members spoke about the need for parking preservation, traffic calming, and water access points to the trail. By the end of the two hour meeting, our guests were intimately familiar with everything from the Fairview Green Street plan to the history of the "walking fish."
David Graves of the Seattle Parks Department will speak at the FHA Annual Meeting on April 22. David is managing the Lake Union Loop Trail project for Parks Department.
If you are inspired by this project and would like to work with us, please contact Amalia Walton at amaliawalton@gmail.com. The more the Lake Union Trail reflects our community, the better it will be.