When Golden Gardens Drive washed out last year, neighbors were forced to ditch their cars and walk down to the beach.

It turns out that what could easily be perceived as a negative, the washout actually led to the formation of the Golden Gardens Neighborhood Association. With more neighbors out and about they began talking and realized that their concerns were different than other neighborhoods in the area. “It was something that some of us in the neighborhood had been thinking about for a while,” Mary Tott told the Ballard News Tribune. “We wanted a voice with city government around our concerns.” By the way, the Seattle Department of Transportation hopes to have the road reopened by December.