From open-air drug deals to vandalism, Ballard’s central parks have become a growing concern for many Ballard residents and businesses. “The drug activity and tagging in Ballard and specifically Bergen Place is out of control. We need help,” wrote Victoria Sangrey Hunter from Friends of Bergen Place in an email to several Seattle city council members this week. Over the weekend, vandals had defaced the historic mural at Bergen Place.
We spoke to North Precinct Captain Mike Washburn, and he said officers will soon resume undercover stings at Bergen Place, Marvin’s Garden and Ballard Commons. “I’ve asked the anti-crime team to take another look at the parks,” he said, “and to really focus on the drug dealing piece of it.” Capt. Washburn explained that the six-member anti-crime team will conduct a plainclothes sting known as “See Pop” — an undercover officer observes a drug deal and signals other officers nearby to make a narcotics arrest. He also said the community police bike patrols and the new park exclusion zone are helping. “It’s been fairly effective at clearing folks out,” he said.
Responding to the email written by Sangrey Hunter, Councilmember Nick Licata said he’s open to extending the use of Park Rangers from downtown into Ballard, an idea also supported by the parks department. Currently the rangers are patrolling downtown parks as part of a pilot project, and Licata said he would push to fund the extension in the next budget. “Their presence would go a long way to addressing the chronic tagging problem has affected not only the public parks, but private businesses as well,” he said.
Beyond enforcement, Seattle Parks and Recreation is encouraging community groups to “activate” the parks by waiving the permit fees to hold public events (like they did for My Ballard’s meetup at Bergen Place last week.) And Ballard District Coordinator Rob Mattson is working with Seattle Parks and the city’s information technology team to install WiFi in Ballard’s central parks, possibly as early as this summer.