VISION 2020 Award Winners: 2002
Evergreen Park Phase II Expansion
Sponsored by: City of Bremerton, Loftus Family Trust, Brem-Air Disposal Company, the Bremerton Rotary Club, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.
Evergreen Park Phase II transformed a former industrial site at the north end of downtown Bremerton. The project cleaned up 4.5 acres of contaminated land and created a new park with grassy open space, shoreline trails, lighted bike paths, and an amphitheater for performing arts. The park has already stimulated development of a new coffee shop and other businesses on abandoned properties nearby.
I-405 Corridor Program
Sponsored by: 1-405 Executive Committee, the Washington State Department of Transportation and David Evans and Associates
This program was honored as a great example of regional cooperation. The I-405 corridor program is an innovative partnership between all of the cities, elected officials and agencies in the I-405 corridor. The program is taking a holistic approach to transportation planning, looking at land use and environmental issues, along with moving people along the corridor. The significant achievement of the I-405 program has been to establish broad-based regional agreement on a plan to address I-405's complex traffic and mobility challenges.
Juanita Village
Sponsored by: GGLO Architecture, Planning and Urban Design, City of Kirkland, SECO Development, The Berger Partnership, Triad Associates, and Stalzer & Associates
Juanita Village is a new mixed-use neighborhood in Kirkland that is a great example of suburban redevelopment. The project is transforming a 1960s-style strip mall shopping center into a more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with housing, shopping, public plazas and transit access. Within a few years, Juanita Village will be home to 459 residences, including townhomes, apartments, and work/live lofts. Over two acres of plazas and other open spaces will be located around the Village, and transit service will be provided on all of the surrounding streets.
Julie Apartments and Urban Rest Stop
Sponsored by: Low Income Housing Institute, Tonkin/Hoyne/Lokan Architects, Buchanan General Construction, City of Seattle and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
This project renovated a 73-year-old building at Ninth and Virginia in downtown Seattle, building 47 units of affordable housing for people with very low income. At the street level, the building hosts a hygiene center called the Urban Rest Stop with free restrooms, showers and laundry facilities for low-income and homeless people. Each day, the Urban Rest Stop provides 100 loads of laundry, 200-250 showers and 300 restroom uses. The struggle to build the hygiene center was controversial and took almost 10 years to resolve, and finally came about after strategic negotiations with the Downtown Seattle Association and the City of Seattle.
King County Transit Oriented Development Program
Sponsored by: King County
Through the Transit Oriented Development Program, King County is successfully promoting housing and commercial development around transit hubs. Since 1998, the county has been working with cities and developers to find ways to promote transit-oriented development. Since that time three TOD projects have been completed -- at Northgate in Seattle, Metropolitan Place in Renton and Overlake in Redmond. More than 20 other sites are in varying stages of development.
Metropolitan Place
Sponsored by: The Dally Companies, King County, City of Renton, KTH Architects and Con Am Management
This innovative project in downtown Renton features 90 mixed-income apartments over a King County Metro park-and-ride garage. Residents of Metropolitan Place can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, a new city park, and other services. Each apartment receives a free Metro bus pass for 10 years. The project has also been a catalyst for additional redevelopment in downtown Renton.
The Village at Overlake Station
Sponsored by: King County Housing Authority, King County, City of Redmond, Hewitt Architects, Langly Associates, Lorig Associates, and Walsh Construction Company
This remarkable project has taken an existing park-and-ride lot in Redmond and built 308 units of affordable housing, a transit center, and a child care center on a single site. Overlake is within biking and walking distance of many employers, shopping and services in Bellevue and Redmond. Residents can take an elevator down directly to the Metro Transit waiting area, and all tenants receive free bus passes for up to two years. Shared Flexcars are available on site.
Port of Tacoma Road Grade Separation
Sponsored by: Port of Tacoma, Washington State Department of Transportation and Balfour Beatty Construction.
Port of Tacoma is the first of the FAST Corridor freight mobility projects to be completed. The project built an overpass and interchange that raised Port of Tacoma Road over State Route 509 and new railroad tracks that run parallel to SR 509. The project alleviates congestion, and increases the road and rail capacity in the Tideflats area. The $33 million project was completed on time and within budget, and helps freight move faster while easing traffic on clogged roads.
Roosevelt Way to Go
Sponsored by: City of Seattle, the Seattle School District, Roosevelt High School, King County Metro, and Taylor/Consulting
Roosevelt Way to Go encouraged students at Roosevelt High School in Seattle to ride the bus, carpool, bike or walk to school instead of driving alone. The program replaced service on four yellow school bus routes with more flexible free Metro bus passes. As a result, 82 percent of students on those routes used the Metro passes, compared with 61 percent who rode the yellow buses the year before.
Students also produced a "teen fun bus map" that was distributed to more than 5,000 students, families and businesses. Way to Go is an outstanding example of a relatively small investment that helped reduce the number of students driving alone and raised awareness about transportation choices among the region's youngest commuters.
Snoqualmie Preservation Initiative
Sponsored by: City of Snoqualmie, King County, Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company, and Cascade Land Conservancy
This important initiative will protect more than 9,000 acres of forestland from development. Elements of the agreement include:
|
 |
Transportation Incentive Program
Sponsored by: Kitsap Transit and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
This highly successful program in Kitsap County is encouraging Puget Sound Naval Shipyard employees to commute by transit. Shipyard employees register for this free program and immediately receive their "Smart Commuter Card." This card allows free rides on any Kitsap Transit route. Kitsap Transit bills Puget Sound Naval Shipyard once a month for the actual rides taken by employees -- $25 for every 42 rides. Within a few months after the program started, bus ridership grew 72 percent, and vanpool ridership 10 percent. The program has been so successful, the Department of Defense is extending the program to all of its federal worksites in Kitsap County.
Upper Tacoma Design Guidelines
Sponsored by: Main Street Upper Tacoma, The National Main Street Center, Impact Capital, City of Tacoma, Martin Luther King Housing Development Association, and McGranahan Architects
These guidelines are aimed at promoting economic revitalization and preserving the historic character of the Upper Tacoma (Hilltop) neighborhood. They're intended to improve quality of life by creating a more pedestrian-friendly and safe community.
The guidelines were developed by neighborhood and business leaders and City of Tacoma representatives, and are being used as a catalyst for revitalization of the business district. Even though the Guidelines were only recently adopted, they're already having an effect on new development. A new Rite Aid Store and a new senior housing development incorporate major elements of the design guidelines.