Ridgecrest, On The Edge of Change

Shoreline’s Ridgecrest neighborhood is shaping up as an interesting place- or is it places? It's a rough rectangle going from 15th Ave NE to I-5 and from NE 145th St to NE 175th St. Bordered by , Briarcrest, I-5, and Parkwood and Meridian Park neighborhoods to the west, it makes up a big chunk of the east side of the city.

It has an excellent variety and density of parks, including Paramount Park, (PPNA),   Ridgecrest, and Northcrest, and Hamlin Park is just across 15^th Ave NE. Ridgecrest, Northcrest, and PPNA are all “invisible” parks, tucked in behind barriers of private back yards. I hope we can work on that and expand them into the public sphere and view.  

On the other hand, I can see ‘hidden’ parks under the right circumstances. When you look at an aerial view you see blocks and blocks of houses with substantial front yards and substantial back yards. What if the city/county/state/feds (someone!) could buy easements to, say, their back yards and fund moving the houses closer to the street. Whole streams could be   behind them, the city’s tree canopy would increase (“Tree City” anyone?), and the health of our environment, and in particular our , would be greatly enhanced.

The Shoreline Regional Library is here, on 175^th at 5^th Ave NE. Ridgecrest Elementary is the only school in the neighborhood, at NE 165^th St and 10^th Ave NE, and speaking of 10^th, it is ludicrous that it breaks just north of 152^nd St. Connect it!  The Ridgecrest Neighborhood Association has a nice website-  except they don't mention Patch!

Most 'natural' neighborhoods grow around a neighborhood business district; Ridgecrest will have four!

There's the one at 15th Ave NE and NE 145th St that it shares with Briarcrest, where the Shoreline Goodwill (former Albertson's) is, across 15th Ave NE, and Seattle's Jackson Park area, across NE 145th St. This will grow to the north if Shoreline is able to

Another at 15th Ave NE and NE 175^th St includes the 98155 North City Post Office. Not a lot of actual business there, but most people would consider that bit to be in North City.

And another is centered on the intersection of 5th Ave NE and NE 165th St. The Crest Theater (since 1949) and Café Aroma (since 1992) are its anchors. It is an area of parking lots now with a former supermarket and bingo parlor closed and fenced off, but not for long. and Shoreline Water District is helping with permitting requirements. This intersection clearly used to be much more vibrant, and just as clearly has great potential, especially if Link South is built as I expect. 

, which, if it develops as I described, will be relatively huge. Indeed, with only a bit of tweaking it could extend up to and encompass the Crest Theater area with a linear business district like that of North City. The Neighborhoods map shows the Link Light Rail station at NE 155th St, so maybe all my extrapolations need to be shoved north a bit. That would make its integration with the Crest Theater district even more likely.

It all makes me wonder whether “Ridgecrest” will continue as a recognized neighborhood or if it will end up divided piece by piece into others. Perhaps the part east of Paramount Park Natural Area and south of Hamlin Park will fold in with Briarcrest, so that business district could be contiguous. The chunk north of 170^th and east of 10^th Ave NE would annex to North City, making all that business district contiguous (Interestingly, Bing Maps actually puts the “North City” label on that bit).

That part west of PPNA and south of 155^th or 159^th, depending where the Light Rail station is built, could be Link South (or some other name- I just made that one up), but if 5^th Ave NE is well-rezoned for retail/commercial it could evolve into a rich core to a smaller, denser, busier Ridgecrest, and that’s probably the best solution.