Three big events in the next week that you might want to attend about future plans for the neighborhood and the city as a whole:

Olympia Comprehensive Plan – Shaping Olympia’s Future

The Imagine Olympia Kick Off on November 14th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Olympia Center is the official launch of the city’s multi-year process to update our city’s guiding planning document, the Comprehensive Plan.

They will feature information on past Comprehensive Plans and the process for the update. Additionally, staff and Advisory Committees members will be available to answer questions about the Plan’s elements and the public involvement process.

This will be no ordinary meeting! They’ll have local musicians, snacks, and plenty of time to mingle with our fellow citizens and staff. We hope you’ll join us!

Want more information? Visit the Comprehensive Plan website, www.imagineolympia.com

Calling All Gardeners (and Community Activists, Neighbors, Fundraisers, Teachers, Learners…)

Exciting plans are underway to develop a cooperative garden at Madison Elementary School and Avanti High School. Our hope is to partner with community members in the Eastside neighborhood to make this project stronger and more sustainable. That is where YOU come in!

We are still in the planning stages but some ideas of how the neighborhood can be involved are to have a community use pea patch space and to establish a student mentorship program using neighborhood garden experts. At our next meeting, we will assess the level of interest from the community so please come to share your ideas and show your support for this important project!

What a wonderful opportunity to connect children in our neighborhood schools with folks in the community who have a green thumb and love of gardening to share!

Monday, November 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Madison school library (enter on Legion)

RSVP to Katie: [email protected]

The Future of Public Pathways

Public Pathways are short cuts for bicyclists and pedestrians that connect streets to parks, schools, and other streets where no motor vehicle connection exists. These pathways shorten trip lengths and provide more comfortable off-street routes for bicyclists and pedestrians. (In the past, Public Pathways were also called “Neighborhood Connections.”)

There are no City funds identified for improving or maintaining these pathways. Long term, a formal program to construct and maintain pathways would be desirable. In the interim, work by neighborhoods to improve these pathways could be appropriate.

In August of this year, the City Council directed the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) to develop a program that provided guidelines to residents so that they might improve pathways on a volunteer basis.

Draft materials have been developed for this program: an introduction to the program, guidelines, an application, and an agreement.

Input from neighborhood representatives is sought about this program proposal and the draft materials. (Attached as a zip file containing four Word documents: Input on Public Pathways documents)

Please provide input by either:

Attending the Wednesday, November 18, BPAC meeting

6:15 to 8:15

825 Legion Way, southwest corner of Legion Way and Pear Street

Or

Send your comments to Sophie Stimson, [email protected]

Please send comments by 3pm Wednesday, November 18