In October 2013, goats came to Wallingford.
If the comments on Jordan’s post back then are any indication, most of the neighborhood was delighted by the arrival of our new four-legged friends. The excitement doubled when, a week later, an autumn windstorm blew down the temporary fences corralling the goats, inciting Wallingford’s first “goat rodeo.”
The goats were quickly wrangled and resumed their assigned task of clearing brush and brambles in the open space directly under I-5, bordered by Upper and Lower NE 40th St, 4th Ave NE and 7th Ave NE. When the space was cleared, the goats were herded away, and the temporary fences came down.
Fast forward to July 2015, when Jordan informed us that the goats were returning, and that, “the fence posts have been sunk into the ground this year, to avoid a second showing of the Goat Rodeo of 2013.” To some this seemed like a good idea, but the possibility of a permanent chain link fence concerned me. A more sturdy fence is needed for this. If you are looking to install aluminum fencing, then make sure to get help from an aluminum fencing contractor for professional services.
Again, the goats did their job and were herded away. But the fence remained for weeks. And then months. I eventually e-mailed Tammy Dunakin, Chief Goat Wrangler at Rent-A-Ruminant LLC, asking her if she knew when (or if) the fence was coming down. She did not, and informed me that it was her understanding that SDOT was in charge of the fence.
A Google search of “SDOT goats” led me to Dave Allen at SDOT, who coordinates the work between Rent-A-Ruminant and the City of Seattle. I contacted Dave and confirmed that he was the man at the city who knew about the goats, but I didn’t follow up right away with my concerns regarding the fence (which at the time were mostly aesthetic).
Spring arrived and I began riding my bike to work more often. My route takes me along Upper NE 40th, the only reasonable route from my house to the University Bridge. I quickly realized that the fence was not just aesthetically unpleasing, but was also a safety hazard for bicyclists.
That stretch of roadway is a narrow corridor of broken pavement, and bicyclists are frequently buzzed by drivers passing too closely. The fence eliminates all buffer space or “bail out” room between bikes and passing cars. It is a wall. Even worse, the brush and brambles were no longer confined behind the fence. Months of growth had overtaken the fence and encroached upon the roadway, creating an even more hazardous condition for bicyclists.
It was time to contact Dave at SDOT again.
I walked down to the fences to photograph the state of the space. It was then that I discovered the large hole that had been cut in the fence along the stairway at the end of 4th Ave NE, mere feet from a placard boasting that taxpayer dollars had “Bridged the Gap” to create a more walkable public space.
I explored the perimeter of the fence and noticed, tucked into a clearing, a few tents. The fenced space had become an encampment, which is hardly surprising. New encampments have popped up all over Seattle, and this space, with its privacy and protection, lent itself nicely for one.
I emailed Dave at SDOT with my photos, my concerns, and my accounts of the current state of the fence and the space. He replied the following week, letting me know that SDOT’s plan was to, “Have the goats return by mid-August; repair the hole in the fence and remove the encampment with police assistance this month; keep the fence here so it does not attract encampments at this location.” And also, “After the goats remove the vegetation, we will also investigate the possibility of moving the fence further from the curb to return more of the side of the road to public access.”
His response didn’t exactly please me, so I followed up with a phone call this past Monday.
I first asked Dave if he knew why goats, rather than humans, were being used to clear this space. Since the goats didn’t become annual guests until 2013, I’m guessing manpower must have typically cleared the brush and brambles up to that point. Dave informed me that with the land between Upper and Lower 40th being fairly steep, it is both cheaper and safer to use goats, rather than people, to clear it.
I next asked Dave about timelines. A year or more will have passed between clearings, during which time the overgrowth has become increasingly unsightly and potentially hazardous. Dave is checking if there will be a schedule for regular clearings, but confirmed that the goats will return this August at the latest (more likely in July) and that two-legged crews will be arriving even sooner to clear the overgrowth encroaching on the surrounding roadways. Before the goats return, members from social service agencies will contact residents of the encampment to offer assistance. Shortly thereafter, SDOT, with support from uniformed police officers, will clear whatever remains of the encampment, and mend the hole in the fence.
Dave took off his official “SDOT hat” and asked me, as a sidenote, if there was a type of fence I would be okay with having there. I suggested a short white picket fence, but was pretty sure that a goat could jump over one of those fairly easily. And the truth is, I don’t want to see a fence there at all. What I’d rather see is a creative use of an awkward space, open to the public. We’ve seen this elsewhere in Seattle: Colonnade Park, the Fremont Troll, and the Wall of Death to name three.
Dave seemed to like this idea, and stated that the city’s decisions on spaces like this are “evolving”.
The simple solution for this particular piece of property is to surround it with a cheap (but permanent) chain link fence, and have goats clear it once a year after social services, SDOT, and SPD have removed the encampments that will inevitably appear. Apparently that’s what we’re doing right now. But that simple solution is getting my goat. We can do better. Got any ideas? I’m all ears.
Plant a forest?
Personally, I like having the seasonal “return of the goats” every summer; an enjoyable seasonal ruminant event. And “Dave at SDOT”‘s plan, and the reasons he gave for them, make sense to me.
In the best of all possible worlds, I’d prefer to have the fences go up when the goats arrive, and come down when the leave. But if that isn’t practical, then I think the next priority would be to set the fence up so that it doesn’t impede bicyclists using the adjacent road.
The chain link fence makes it look like a construction yard. The homeless encampment is not a surprise given how overgrown the place is……..; however, I feel for the homeless people there because that dump is blackberry heaven and a blight on the city. Asking residential neighborhoods to solve the homeless problem is unfair. People in Wally are already paying high taxes because of the property values here…why can’t the city use a small percentage of our very high sales tax to build shelters in safe areas. As far as a park goes, 40th st is already a defacto freeway. Cars easily go 35-40 miles on the street (unless it is rush hour, when they are stalled). I can just imagine large numbers of people trying to walk across 40th and use that area, although if it slows the traffic down, that would be great. It seems the best thing to do is to clean it and put a decent SAFE fence around it and not cheap out at our neighborhood’s expense.
Would it be at all possible to erect some kind of parking facility on this spot? Projections are for considerable growth of the UW campus. Residents in this part of Wallingford are already experiencing reduced ability to park near their houses because commuters are parking their cars in the neighborhood and walking or bussing to the UW. The UW is projecting a massive reduction in surface level parking at the UW, including the loss of current parking around the stadium (E12) and all of the parking in the huge lots north of the stadium and south of U Village (E1) (driving range also is expected to make way for new facilities). There will be some parking added under new buildings, but my guess is that it will not be affordable to many who work or go to school there. I am not sure how a structure would affect traffic patterns/views, but it might be worth considering.
This area has relatively steep slope, and that’s the main reason why they have to use goats. This is also neither a large area, nor close to any UW facility that needs more parking.
So the temporary fence blew down once, big deal. Using a temporary fence is not wasteful in that the fence need be up only as long as the goats are there, a matter of days. Then the fence segments can be taken down and reused in other places around the city for similar purposes. I’m actually fine with the permanent fence but sure move it back if that would be safer for bicyclists. The fact that the area became overgrown again, too long between trimmings, and that a homeless encampment was constructed and not immediately removed has nothing to do with the fence, but simply too much time between trimmings. The cheapest and best option would probably be to take down the fence, completely clear the land and replant it with an assortment of low growing (3′ max) native groundcover and shrubs which would be both pleasant to look at and nowhere that a homeless encampment could be concealed.
At 46% of daily protein in a 3oz serving, these goats can make an adorable and delicious meal for our vulnerable bridge-dwelling friends.