SWS Board Member & West Seattle Tool Library Founder

It might seem a little risky to lend out a bunch of power tools to those who probably don’t know how to use them. After all, tools can be dangerous, people can be idiots, and we live in an exceptionally litigious society. For some strange but very understandable reason, those concerns alone have been more than enough to effectively end many community tool libraries before they even start.

As the sharing economy continues to blossom, however, more communities are overcoming that inherent fear and establishing lending libraries to embrace the beautiful benefits of sharing with neighbors. Through Google groups, starter kits, and incubator workshops, new tool libraries now have the ability to overcome their inherent concerns by learning from the experiences of many who have come before them.

Though it seems like a relatively unique idea, around 40 community tool libraries already exist throughout the United States, from Philadelphia to Seattle and south to Oakland and New Orleans. Each has its own unique flavor but most operate roughly the same way by accepting tool donations from the community and then lending those tools out for free—or nearly free—to anyone capable of presenting an ID and signing a waiver. Through that basic setup, some tool libraries have been happily participating in the sharing economy for over 20 years.

While most tool libraries are more than willing to share whatever they’ve learned, a handful of libraries have recently led the charge towards making it increasingly easy for even the most cautious and underfunded communities to take up the challenge. Strangely enough, these libraries happen to be some of the youngest.

In like fashion, the founders of The West Seattle Tool Library, myself included, also felt compelled to share everything we were learning in the planning and management of our own tool library. Since the first day we starting planning the project, our hope was to develop The West Seattle Tool Library into an easily replicable model for any individuals and organizations interested in starting their own version.

“The biggest reward for me is being a part of the amazing community of tool libraries, as well as all the makers, fixers, artisans, and neighbor s who use them,” says Gene Homicki, one of The West Seattle Tool Library’s founders, “I wanted to encourage that community’s growth by making sure that everyone who is interested in tool libraries has access to all the resources they needed.”

With that in mind, The West Seattle Tool Library set about creating a tool library starter kit. Our hope was that this kit would effectively comfort the worrisome souls who were either intimidated by the numerous details of the planning process or quite appropriately concerned about safety, liability, and security. The result of those efforts recently became its very own project, Share Starter, which has now hosted a handful of tool library incubator sessions as well as developed a free starter kit.

SDOT has published an online survey and mapping tool to help Seattle cyclists participate.

Originally scheduled to be updated after five years, the Bicycle Master Plan has been effective at guiding improvements to the City’s bicycle system over the last five years, including the installation of 129 miles of bike lanes and sharrows, 98 miles of signed routes and 2,230 bike parking spaces.

An update to the plan presents an opportunity to include fast-evolving best practices and new thinking in bicycle facilities, safety, and design that will result in an even more connected bicycle network for all Seattle residents seeking to ride for recreation, shopping or commuting.

The Seattle City Council included $250,000 from the General Fund in the 2012 budget to complete the update, and provided guidance that the updated plan include neighborhood greenways and separated bicycle facilities to help to encourage more people to ride their bicycles for all trips. The updated plan will include a clear prioritization process, which will help direct where future bicycle investments occur.

“We’re so excited to see the City planning a network of safe, comfortable streets that connect us to our neighborhoods, whether we walk, drive, ride a bike, push a stroller, or move by wheelchair. The Bike Master Plan update is a critical step towards a healthier and more equitable Seattle,” says Cathy Tuttle, coordinator of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.

“The 2012 Bicycle Master Plan update brings an incredible and timely opportunity to create and realize a vision for a community that bicycles, where bicycling is normal, convenient and safe for everyone,” says Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club.

To kick off the 2012 Bicycle Master Plan update, SDOT has created two new tools:

• An online survey and web-based mapping tool. Both can be found at www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaster_survey.htm.

This is a great opportunity to let SDOT know how people currently use existing bicycle facilities and what residents would like to see for the future, as well as help us prioritize the issues most important to the community. The survey has been translated into six different languages – Korean, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese and Vietnamese – which are available at the same link.

“It is perfect timing to launch the Bicycle Master Plan update, as May is National Bike Month and there is a lot of energy surrounding bicycling and its consideration to make it an even more viable mode of transportation,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Chair of the Transportation Committee. “I encourage everyone living and working in Seattle will participate in the update by filling out the online survey and providing input using the mapping tool.”

SDOT will host two open houses in June to gather input for the Bicycle Master Plan Update. For more information about this project, go to http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaster.htm or send an email to: bmpupdate@seattle.gov to join the mailing list.

What are Greenways?  Seattle Neighborhood Greenways are residential streets generally one off of main arterials with low volumes of auto traffic and low speeds where people who walk and ride bicycles are given priority.

Who are Greenways people? We all are!

Formed in August 2011, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is a rapidly growing volunteer coalition now representing 14 (as of May 2012) neighborhoods across Seattle to plan and advocate for safe, equitable, and comfortable streets connecting us to the places we use, whether we walk, drive, ride a bike, push a stroller, or move by wheelchair.

Imagine your neighborhood, knitted together with quiet residential streets where children and adults safely walk, ride bicycles, play and run. Imagine these streets are close to where you live and connect you to the places you want to go.  Want to know more, check out:

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

• Website: http://seattlegreenways.org
• Google group: http://groups.google.com/group/seattle-greenways-organizers
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SEAGreenways
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/snGreenways

See the Neighborhoods page to find your local group.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways can  be reached at neighborhoodgreenways@gmail.com

The Advocacy Leadership Institute (ALI) will develop local bicycle advocates and enthusiasts into leaders who inspire communities to advocate – and inspire others to advocate – for a bike-friendly Seattle.

Building on Cascade Bicycle Club’s mission to create better communities through bicycling, ALI will train a diverse group of 15 people from across Seattle to organize in their communities, advocate for bicycle-friendly transportation plans and policies, and get better bicycling infrastructure built on the ground.

The 2012 Advocacy Leadership Institute will run from July 1 1 through Sept. 24, meeting nearly weekly on Wednesday nights from 6:00 pm  to 8:00 pm  in downtown Seattle. Participants are expected to attend at least six out of the eight trainings. Though the program is free, participants must be truly committed to making Seattle a great city for bicycling.

Applications are due by Friday, June 1. Admittance to the program will be based on your passion for making Seattle a world-class city for bicycling. Minorities, women, and people of all ages are encouraged to apply.

For more information contact Max Hepp-Buchanan, Advocacy Campaigns Manager, Cascade Bicycle Club, Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation, phone: 206-2261040 and email: MaxHB@cascadebicycleclub.org.

DPC has chosen a location!

A new housing development near Delridge Way SW and Brandon, run by the DESC, will be finished around the end of 2013 – and DPC has been in negotiations to secure a commercial space on Delridge Way SW.

The plan is to open a green grocery store selling organic fruits, vegetables, greens, roots, seeds, nuts, grains, flours, oils, nut butters, bottled tomato sauce and a few similar items, bread, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products in the beginning of 2014.

DPC plans for a large part of the produce purchases to come from the Delridge community itself, and so they have a great need to reach out to neighbors to find and recruit members and growers.

If DPC can connect gardeners to the food hub that is being developed, everyone can all eat healthy, local food without paying the high prices that can be common for organic produce at the grocery store.

USDA rules for organic food allow DPC to present small growers (those whose businesses gross less than $5000 per year) with rules that they sign, stating that they use no pesticides or other unhealthy farming methods. DPC can encourage local farming and help to revitalize Delridge’s economy by becoming a great place for neighbors to make a little extra cash.

Next steps

Over the next two years, DPC needs to build our member base, raise money, and recruit neighbor-farmers in order to be ready to open as soon as possible once the store is built. From now until the time the new coop opens, DPC will host one public meeting per month, when they will invite new volunteers to come and find out what they can do to help. DPC needs people to help schedule volunteering time, oversee fundraising and recruiting projects, knock on doors, show up to local events and distribute information, recruit new members and farmers, join the Board of Directors, and contribute their professional talents on a volunteer basis.

If you like talking to people and making friends, wDPCe especially needs you to do person-to-person outreach to the community.

For more information email the folks at DPC at delridgeproducecoop@gmail.com or check out their website at http://sites.google.com/site/delridgeproducecooperative/

The 2011 Annual Report describes accomplishments by the department’s four divisions including:

• Wastewater Treatment;
• Water and Land Resources;
• Solid Waste, and
• Parks and Recreation.

The report also outlines the 2011 achievements of the King County GIS Center, and includes an overview of finances for the department and its divisions.

If you live in West Seattle and have been thinking about solar for your home or business, this is the project you have been waiting for!  If you live in one of these zip codes, you are eligible:

• 98106, 98116, 98126, 98136, 98146

Register on the project website to learn about upcoming workshops, sign up for a solar site evaluation, and get involved. Most importantly, spread the word about this opportunity to your friends and neighbors!

The next workshop is Saturday, May 26th.

WSSP is the first solar campaign of The Cascadia Solar Project, whose mission is to jumpstart and dramatically increase the number of photovoltaic installations around the Puget Sound, especially in underrepresented neighborhoods. The project uses Made-In-Washington modules and inverters, and all participants will receive the same low $/watt price. The only major variables will be system size and whether or not the customer wants financing.

Vashon-based Artisan Electric Inc. will be the project manager for the campaign, and is currently collaborating with community groups in West Seattle to get the word out. Additional partners include Silicon Energy, a Marysville-based solar module and inverter manufacturer, and Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union (PSCCU), a local credit union that provides solar financing in the Puget Sound region.

For more information on The West Seattle Solar Project, contact Evan Leonard, Project Manager, by email at info@TheCascadiaSolarProject.com, or by phone at 206-412-4840.

Donations can be left at the following locations:

• West Seattle Tool Library – 4408 Delridge Way Southwest  – Thursdays from 6-9pm, Saturdays from 9am-2pm and Sundays from 1-5pm
• Sustainable West Seattle Table at the West Seattle Farmers Market on April 15^th and May 6^th
• Sustainable West Seattle April Community Forum on April 16th from 7-9pm at the West Seattle Senior Center – 4217 Southwest Oregon Street
• Think Outside the Car Event on Saturday, April 28th from 10am-2pm at Westside School Playground - 34th and Holden Street

After the collection has been established, we hope to lend it out to other groups in West Seattle to reduce the amount of disposables used in West Seattle.

We are looking for volunteers. For Saturday, April 21, we need a dozen or so very able bodied volunteers to work in two hour shifts to handle the two-person augurs; we will also need volunteers for blackberry removal, trash pick-up and bagging up green waste for disposal.

For Saturday April 28, we’ll need volunteers, again in two hour shifts, for additional blackberry removal, putting trees and shrubs into the ground, applying soil amendments, staking trees, and collecting and bagging green waste for removal. Safety goggles and ear plugs (as needed) will be supplied as well as safety vests for all volunteers.

Anyone willing to help with blackberry removal will need to bring their own sturdy leather gloves. We have a small supply of cotton gloves for use in other tasks. All volunteers should be aware that the site is not easy to negotiate. In addition to the steep slope, the ground is uneven and will be quite muddy. Volunteers should email us at ruth.hoover@comcast.net to let us know which date(s) and time(s) you are available and which tasks you are able to help out with. Ruth will get back with you to confirm dates/times and provide additional details.

This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Funding was also provided by the West Seattle Garden Tour and numerous West Seattle residents.