Seattle Parks and Recreation(SPR) is renovating Spruce St Mini Park Play Area, a neighborhood park in the central area (21st Ave. and E Fir St.) and needs community feedback on three design concepts. Please review design concepts and provide input by taking this survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H5L7TLB (translated into Spanish) and help shape the future play area.

The design team incorporated the community’s early input into the three play area concepts designs. In addition to the online survey SPR will host an informational pop-up at the park on Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to provide an additional input opportunity. We encourage everyone to participate online as much as you can but also invite you to meet the design team and provide feedback at this event. Due to the COVID-19 and if you choose to attend the pop-up event, face masks and social distancing is required. If you, or anyone in your family, are feeling sick or have a fever, please stay home. We want everyone to be safe.

We wanted to thank the 70 people who participated in the first survey for this project. Your input helped jumpstart the play area design process. When asked to rank what features would improve your enjoyment of the play area and the park, we heard the community’s top priorities include play features for both younger and older kids, more benches/picnic tables to sit or gather, incorporation of art, and better lighting for safety. When we asked what is the community character or identity that best reflected in the park, many expressed a strong support in honoring the African American community and the local culture and history of the Central District neighborhood.

SPR is partnering with the Office of Arts & Culture and will collaborate with the community on public art to be included in this play area renovation project.  The Office of Arts & Culture has hired the artist team of Hasaan Kirkland (www.hasaankirkland.com) and Damon Brown (www.creativelou.com) to work with the community to decide what type of artwork (e.g., murals, small sculptures) would best reflect the neighborhood. Visit the project website to get involved.

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/spruce-street-mini-park-play-area-renovation or contact Janice Liang at Janice.liang@seattle.gov or 206-507-3058.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is happy to announce the opening of Fritz Hedges Waterway Park, 1117 Northeast Boat Street. The new 3.5-acre waterfront park on Portage Bay with one pier and a kayak launch point offers a range of experiences within a compact area, a small beach, open lawn space, terraces, picnic area and the pier with colorful park furnishings. SPR will be organizing an official opening celebration next spring in conjunction with boating season.

The project provided extensive shoreline restoration and enhancement to support native species including juvenile salmon. The building on site was demolished and building elements were re-used throughout the park. The new park project also made improvements to the right-of-way and is seamlessly integrated into the University of Washington campus and the adjacent Sakuma Viewpoint.

“This park truly captures Seattle Parks and Recreation’s values of Healthy People, Healthy Environment and Strong Communities,” said Jesús Aguirre, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent. “The park offers shoreline access and a place for launching kayaks, the project improved the shoreline habitat for salmon and the park as a whole offers great recreation opportunities in the dense urban environment.”  

Interpretive elements will be located throughout the site that tie into one of two historical narratives – the use of the Portage Bay Trail by Native Americans and the more recent maritime history. The interpretive elements are planned to be installed later this year. 

Walker Macy, the design team for the park project worked with Seattle Parks and Recreation and the community to design the park. The park offers the University of Washington (UW) campus a Portage Bay connection and will connect UW’s open space system with the City’s overall open space network.

“Access to parks and green spaces is essential for healthy communities, especially now that the pandemic has made outdoor recreation so important to our happiness and well-being. This new waterfront park is a beautiful and welcome addition to our neighborhood and the UW community appreciates all the hard work and collaboration that made it possible,” said President Ani Mari Cauce, University of Washington.

In 2013, UW transferred the property to the City of Seattle as part of a series of transactions among the UW, the City and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in connection with WSDOT’s SR 520 Program. WSDOT provided funds to the UW to facilitate the property transfer to Seattle Parks and Recreation so the property could be developed into a park as mitigation for the SR 520 Program’s impacts to the Washington Park Arboretum and East Montlake Park. WSDOT also provided funding for the development of the park.

Dawn Yankauskas, SR 520 & AWV Director of Project Development with WSDOT, shared her strong support for the park. “We’re thrilled that WSDOT could provide significant funding for this incredible new park along Portage Bay, as part of our SR 520 construction mitigation efforts. The park will offer a great resource for the community to enjoy water access and open space and is a result of WSDOT’s strong partnership with the City of Seattle, as well as the University of Washington. We look forward to celebrating with everyone in the future when we can all safely gather together.”

The site began as a lumber mill owned by Puget Sound Box & Lumber Co. until it was purchased and turned into Bryant’s Marina and boat sales. The UW then purchased the property in 1970’s and was used for various activities including the UW Police Station and recycling center.  

The new park in Portage Bay is named after Fredrick “Fritz” Hedges who was a long-term Seattle Parks and Recreation professional, last serving as the Director of Policy, Planning and Evaluation. Fritz dedicated his life to the idea that parks and recreation are vital components of urban life for all residents.

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/portage-bay-park.

Seattle Parks and Recreation(SPR) awarded the construction contract to FieldTurf USA to replace the aging synthetic turf with new state-of-the-art synthetic turf systems at six Seattle Parks and Recreation playfields. The playfields include: Lower Woodlands Playfields 2 & 7, Magnuson Park-Mickey Merriam Playfields 6 & 7, Loyal Heights Playfield, and Queen Anne Bowl Playfield. To increase the project efficiency, these synthetic turf field replacement projects were packaged together.

Each playfield replacement includes the removal of the old ‘worn out’ synthetic turf and will address any structural repairs to curbing, sub-subsurface, and drainage. 2020 synthetic turf systems will be installed for recreational play. During construction, each field will be closed. SPR and the contractor hired for the project will work to minimize impact to the roadways and neighborhoods. 

SPR conducted condition assessments on all SPR synthetic turf fields in 2018 and the results of these assessments informed both immediate maintenance action as well as the order in which needed replacement projects were funded.

For more information or to contact the project manager please visit:

• Lower Woodland Playfield #2 & #7 Closed mid-Oct through December 2020
  • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/lower-woodland-park-playfields-2-and-7

• Magnuson Park – Mickey Merriam Playfields 6 & 7- Closed September through December 2020
  • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/magnuson-park-mickey-merriam-playfields-6-and-7-

• Loyal Heights Playfield – Closed September through November 2020
  • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/loyal-heights-playfield-turf-replacement

• Queen Anne Bowl Playfield – Closed October through November 2020
  • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/queen-anne-bowl-playfield-turf-replacement

While we cannot meet in person right now, your input is important to us! Seattle Parks and Recreation(SPR), Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Sports Complex Foundation invite the community to participate in an online meeting on Monday, October 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.  to review the community survey results and concept alternatives for Lowman Beach Racket Court. Please register at https://tinyurl.com/Lowman-Mtg2  or Number 146 733 7298 Password lowmanbeach  or call in at 1-206-207-1700 Code 146 733 7298. 

At Lowman Beach Park, 7017 Beach Dr. S W., the existing court will be removed as part of the Shoreline Restoration and Seawall Replacement project. The community has come together to explore options to install a new racket court that would provide recreation experience for all ages and will be ADA accessible.

During the first online open house, held in August, the design team presented the challenges and opportunities in locating a new racket court at the park and gathered community feedback. The community expressed a variety of desires including, finding a place for a full-size tennis court, adding something smaller, like Pickleball courts, or not making changes additional to those in the Shoreline project. Funding for the planning and design of the racket court is provided by the Department of Neighborhood Matching Fund.

The Lowman Beach Park seawall began to fail in 2015 and needs to be addressed. As visitors to the park have seen, the existing seawall is slowly falling over/sliding towards the water. SPR’s goal is to remove the existing seawall and continue the shoreline restoration work that began when the south half of the seawall failed in the mid-1990s and was removed.

For more information or to review the meeting in August please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/lowman-beach-racket-court-design or contact Pam Kliment at pamela.kliment@seattle.gov or 206-684-7556.

As the weather is cooling, Seattle Parks and Recreation would like to suggest some safe and fun ways to stay active and get outdoors this fall and winter. It is important to remember, however, that COVID-19 is still being transmitted in our city, so it’s still important to follow safety guidelines.

While parks are outdoors (and therefore safer than many indoor spaces), many of our more popular trails and parks see thousands of visitors a day, which requires that we work together to avoid spreading COVID-19 in these spaces.

Let us talk safety, and then we’ll get to the fun stuff!

1. Always bring your mask 
   • Did you know that Green Lake is one of the most visited parks in the State of Washington year-round?
   • If you are visiting a park, it is likely you will pass by many others. Wearing your mask not only keeps you safe, it keeps others around you safe as well, and helps everyone feel that parks are a safe place to visit.
2. Gatherings must remain small.
   • You may be thinking, “Since I can’t have my annual Oktoberfest party at my house, I’ll just have it at a park.” That is not a great idea. Outdoor gatherings, particularly those with eating and drinking, are places where COVID-19 spreads. Keep gatherings to groups of 5 and under, and make sure you wear your mask and give others plenty of space.
3. The basics are still important.
   • Stay home if you are sick, or if someone in your household is sick.
   • Wash your hands frequently and bring along hand sanitizer if you can.
4. Be mindful of others.
   • Give folks a wide berth when passing.
   • Being consistent in following these precautions will help give us all a sense of safety. It will also make a big difference for those who may be at high risk for the virus, but still need critical access to being outside and in nature.

So, this autumn, we are encouraging you to get outside. If we are smart and careful, we can enjoy the fall and winter months outdoors while keeping others safe.

We have made a few changes to our park amenities as the weather cools. Parking lots that had been closed at popular parks will reopen on October 19. Play areas reopened October 6. Outdoor adult fitness equipment reopened October 6. And Seward Park will allow for bike access again on October 12.

And remember, we have over 485 parks in Seattle. 485!!! We have even opened four new ones since the pandemic began.

Please spread out. We understand that Green Lake or Discovery Park may be your favorites and part of your routine, but this fall we encourage you to branch out and explore what SPR’s expansive network of other parks has to offer.

If you do choose to visit a more popular regional park, please do so during off hours. As a reminder, some of Seattle’s parks that have the most visitors include Green Lake, Alki, Seward, Discovery, Magnuson, Golden Gardens, Myrtle Edwards, and Lincoln parks.

You may be thinking, “Well those are the biggest, the others are all small pocket parks.” And you would be wrong! Westcrest Park is the third largest in our system, after Discovery and Magnuson. It is a beautiful park in the Delridge/White Center neighborhood.

Or maybe you are thinking that Seward, Discovery, and Lincoln parks all have beautiful forests, and you can’t find that elsewhere in the City. And you’d be wrong again! Madrona Park, Deadhorse Canyon, North Acres, and Interlaken are some of the many spaces where you can be under a canopy of trees and away from the crowds.

Take this fall and winter as an opportunity to challenge yourself to get outside and be physically active during our cooler months, and at the same time, do some exploring of the city you call home. Seattle has one of the largest park systems in the country. We also have neighborhood streets lined with beautiful trees.

At Seattle Parks and Recreation, we are taking responsibility for providing safe and open access to nature and our city’s parks as we make our way through this pandemic. We do that by cleaning restrooms more frequently, training our staff on safety protocols, and providing you with the info you need to be safe and keep others safe. We also do this work by monitoring activity our parks and responding should we see an uptick in COVID-19 cases, or a lack of safe behaviors in our open spaces.

So, get out, enjoy the outdoors, and be safe.