Building Hope construction will take a short pause during the holidays. There will be no work on Jan. 1. We wish much joy to you and your family during this special time of year.
Sidewalk and Cycle Path Are Open
A new sidewalk and cycle path between Penny Drive and 40th Avenue NE is ready to stroll and pedal. However, we still need to complete striping and landscaping, so expect occasional closures for the next few weeks.
The sidewalk and cycle path run along our frontage with Sand Point Way and link up with the new traffic signal and crossing we’re building at 40th Avenue NE. The concrete sidewalk is five feet wide. The asphalt bike path is five feet wide in each direction. The project includes a large bus waiting zone at the midway point where Metro Transit will install a bus shelter.
Intersection Improvements on Schedule
We’re about a month away from completing work on a redesigned intersection at 40th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE. The revamped intersection will feature a new traffic signal that will improve traffic flow and make it safer and easier to cross the street at this busy spot.
Most work on the east side of Sand Point Way is complete – including installing a signal arm and building curbs, sidewalks and a cycle path. Over the next few weeks, we’ll install a second signal arm and complete curb and sidewalk work on the west side. We’ll also remove some street trees from the median so we can create a left turn lane onto 40th Avenue NE. Keep an eye out for signs indicating temporary traffic restrictions.
Waldo Shares His Holiday Spirit
Every year about this time, people tease me about my red and white sweater. They say, “Waldo, you look like a candy cane.” That’s OK. I love the holiday season and all the traditions that come with it. Some of my favorite holiday traditions are drinking eggnog, singing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and, um, standing under the mistletoe.
What are some of your favorite traditions? Wait. Let me guess. I bet you like getting presents. I know I do – as long as they aren’t socks, underwear or fruitcake.
Don’t Be Distracted By Holiday Rush
The holiday season brings much joy – and much racing to the mall, rushing to the grocery store and dashing to parties. With so much to do in such a short time, it’s easy to become impatient and distracted behind the wheel. Please drive carefully wherever you’re headed. If your travels take you past the Building Hope construction site, stay alert for flaggers and traffic revision signs. Thanks for your patience … and Happy Holidays!
Countdown Begins to Integrate New Building
There’s more to completing our Building Hope expansion than driving the final nail and applying the final coat of paint. We also need to integrate the new building with the existing hospital. That means introducing a new wayfinding system, updating our information system and making other adjustments to meld our growing campus.
Although Building Hope won’t open its doors until spring, we’re counting the days until we roll out a host of carefully coordinated changes to the existing hospital on Jan. 20. Here’s a preview of what to expect starting with the new wayfinding system.
We’ve reorganized the hospital into four new zones that blend our new spaces with our old spaces and logically divide the campus in a way that makes it easy to navigate. Each zone has a dedicated color, icon and artistic theme based on a different feature of Pacific Northwest geography. The zones are Forest (green), River (orange), Mountain (purple) and Ocean (blue).
Building Hope is Lighting Up
The Building Hope site is becoming brighter and safer as more and more exterior lighting is tested, adjusted and turned on. We’ve activated new street lights along Sand Point Way NE and are about to flip the switch on lights in the landscaped buffer along NE 45th Street. Parking lot lights will follow over the next several weeks.
Park Honors Boeing Family Legacy
The small park we’re building at the corner of 40th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street will bear a proud and familiar name: The William and June Boeing Park and Garden Walk. The naming of the park honors the Boeing family’s eight decades of commitment to Seattle Children’s – including a recent $1 million gift from William Boeing Jr. and his wife, June, in support of our Building Hope expansion. Read full post »
Share Your Ideas for Trail Connection
We’re designing and building a new connection to the Burke Gilman trail near the Hartman Building at Sand Point Way NE and 40th Avenue NE. You’re invited to share your ideas for the connection at an open house from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 15, at Gould Hall at the University of Washington. http://www.washington.edu/maps/
Bring the family. We’ll be fitting kids for free bike helmets, providing free bike safety inspections and holding a bicycle fun and safety workshop. Read full post »
Saving Trees is Second Nature
A tree is a terrible thing to waste. Jeff Hughes, grounds and sustainability manager at Seattle Children’s, is constantly saving or recycling trees displaced by construction around our campus. The latest example: six trees that must be removed from the median on Sand Pont Way NE near 40th Avenue NE where we’re installing a new traffic light and bike/pedestrian crossing.
Hughes will dig up three cedar trees and replant them in a nearby site on our campus. Three pin oaks, which wouldn’t survive being transplanted, will be cut down but their wood will be saved to create benches. Read full post »