A name for John and Summit?

First of all, I'm delighted to write that John and Summit P-Patch is to be named "Unpaving Paradise P-Patch" in acknowledgment of the work we have all done to make this community garden space happen. Unfortunately, the naming of John and Summit Park is going to be a little more complicated.

Earlier this week, Parks sent out a press release announcing that John and Summit Park would be named "Perugia Park" after Seattle's sister city in Italy. About a day after the naming press release went out, Parks decided that would not be the official name for John and Summit. This was due to community concerns about the naming a park after Perugia on the heels of the recent verdict in the criminal case in that same city involving Seattle resident Amanda Knox (you can read the whole story here).

Unpaving Paradise is going to use this episode as an opportunity to do two things. First, we will petition the Parks Naming Commission to consider a name that is more connected to the Capitol Hill community. While Perugia is a fine city and a fine name for a park, at present the only thing community members associate it with is murder and scandal. We'd prefer that the Parks Naming Commission use our entry for a name, "Paradise Park" after Unpaving Paradise, in order to associate the space with all the dedication and hard work the community put forward in order to make the full John and Summit park design a reality.

Next, we will reach out to the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association (proponents of the name "Perugia Park") to see if we can work together on the next green space that Parks is to acquire on Capitol Hill. The next set of Pro-Parks acquisitions are set to occur in the next year or two, with planning and development to follow in a year or two after that. In a few years time and with the partnership of the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association, the name "Perugia Park" will bring to mind the work that the SPSCA does with the Capitol Hill community to build a great park rather than the site of a contentious murder trial.

If you'd like to support our proposal to name John and Summit "Paradise Park", please email a letter of support to Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher (timothy.gallagher@seattle.gov) and Parks Naming Commission liaison Paula Hoff (paula.hoff@seattle.gov).