Updated maps

Dear Diary,

Congratulations!  Thanks to my recent loquacity, this is your 200th page.  Did you ever expect to get so big?

This morning I did a bunch of work on the base maps of water fountains and of restrooms.  For water fountains:

• I added the fountains I recently found at Bitter Lake Playfield and Carkeek and Green Lake Parks.
• I added, using black dots instead of blue ones, the fountains at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.
• I put the western fountain on the Burke-Gilman Trail back where it belonged.

For restrooms, I just added those at the Locks, again using black dots.

I corrected the location of the western Burke-Gilman Trail fountain on the old maps.

And I made maps representing what I now know on the basis of hikes in May.  I think I probably can finish visiting North Seattle's park water fountains and restrooms by the end of the month; all that's left is most of "NE".

I'm beginning to draw moderately disturbing conclusions about the basis on which water fountains have been turned on or restrooms have been closed, but would like to do two things before voicing these so far tentative thoughts:  hike "NE", and see if anyone else, on the basis of the recent pages and these maps, jumps to similar conclusions and comments or e-mails me.

Anyway.  Maps.

Here's the water fountain state of affairs:

The dominant colour is white, thirty-four fountain locations shut off but not obviously damaged.  Next is red, eleven fountain locations nobody could drink at:

• Bitter Lake Playfield, playfield-side fountain:  Spout removed from one of two bowls, which I assume makes it problematic to turn the water on.
• Baker Park on Crown Hill:  Fountain never installed.
• Loyal Heights Playfield, playground-side fountain:  Fountain, previously damaged but running last October (unfortunately I didn't show you a photo, dear Diary, so I'm not sure now what the damage was), now removed from construction site.
• Green Lake Park, street-side fountain:  Controls entirely removed.
• Woodland Park, northwest fountain:  Everything that projects above the bowl removed.
  
• Burke-Gilman Trail, western fountain:  Fountain, previously eviscerated by metal thieves, removed.
• Woodland Park, two fountains near the "50th St" restrooms:  Everything that projects above the bowl removed.
• Woodland Park, two fountains near Field #1:  Eviscerated by metal thieves.
• Meridian Playground:  Everything removed except the frame by metal thieves.

Finally, blue, ten fountain locations actually running:

• Jackson Park
• Bitter Lake Playfield, playground-side fountain
• Virgil Flaim Park
• Pinehurst Playground
• Licton Springs Park
• Crown Hill Park
• Greenwood Park
• Ballard Commons
• Gilman Playground
• Sunset Place

Also black, the four fountain locations now known to me at the locks, all running.

Here's the restroom map, much better though not perfect:

The dominant colour is blue, for twenty-four restroom locations that have been open every time between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M. that I've recently visited them.  Five, closed as far as I know, are in red:

• Little Brook Park, visited twice
• Licton Springs Park, visited once
• Ballard Community Center, visited once
• Gilman Playground, visited several times
• Woodland Park Citywide Athletics Building, visited several times

Two are in mixed red and blue:

• Green Lake Community Center, men's room open, women's not on one visit in May, with similar conditions visible by night on a visit in March
• Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, open only once of three recent visits

And two, at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, are in black because they aren't city-owned.

Once I've hiked "NE", I'll re-visit Licton Springs Park and Ballard Community Center, and while hiking "NE" I'll probably look in on Little Brook Park.  But I'm aware that it's unfair to single out Maple Leaf for what's probably my bad luck in running into early closings, late openings, and neglect on weekends, and I should be visiting other parks more or less randomly to check on such things.  We'll see how much energy I have to do that.

Oh, one other thing.  I don't get as much e-mail from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation as I used to before I called certain people there liars, but one e-mail I did get recently advertised summer jobs.  This suggests that the hiring freeze is no longer on, in which case it wouldn't be at all unreasonable to expect that summer restroom hours - closing at 9 P.M. - could come back.  Somehow I doubt it'll happen, though.  Oddly, in this case, it would be more convenient for me if the parks department does the wrong thing; it's much easier, given the hours I'm constrained to, for me to watch 7 P.M. closings than 9 P.M. ones.

Good night, dear Diary.