Parkways Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle Parks and Recreation is happy to announce the renovated play area at Lakewood Playground is open. Thank you to everyone who participated in the public process.  The project is substantially complete, and fencing will remain around the new benches as we allow for the grass to establish.

The play area renovation improves access from multiple directions, provides new wood chip surfacing throughout the play area, and adds several benches on the west side of the pathway to provide viewing to both the play area and the playfield. The new play equipment meets current safety and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The castle motif community tiled wall at the park remains.

Lakewood Playground, 5013 S. Angeline St. is in southeast Seattle.  The Seattle Park District funded the renovation.

For more information, please visit Lakewood Playground Park Play Area Renovation – Parks | seattle.gov. If you have questions about the project please contact the project manager, Peggy Tosdal at peggy.tosdal@seattle.gov.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) awarded the construction contract for the Westcrest Park Off-leash Area (OLA) Drainage Improvements project to OMA Construction Inc.  The contractor will mobilize and set up construction fencing the week of October 18. 

The main off-leash area and the north parking lot will be fully closed during construction.  In response to community input in 2019, SPR will construct a temporary off-leash area to the north of the existing site and west of the small/shy dog area in a space that is currently lawn. It will be set up prior to closure of the existing off-leash area for public use. The existing shy/small dog area will remain open. People interested in accessing the temporary off-leash area can access it through the south parking lot.

We anticipate reopening the parking lot and improved off-leash area in spring 2022. After construction, the contractor will restore the temporary OLA back to lawn.

Over the past few years, the maintenance project has grown from a simple drainage improvement project to a $505,000 project that will address drainage, access, and erosion. Funding is provided by the Seattle Park District Major Maintenance and Asset Management Fund.

For more information, please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/projects/westcrest-park-drainage-improvements. If you have questions about the project please contact the project manager, Janice Liang at Janice.Liang@seattle.gov.

On Oct. 2, three new light rail stations opened: Northgate Station | Roosevelt Station | U District Station. These stations will make getting to work, taking a trip downtown, or getting to the airport easier for residents and visitors. They also help expand access to several nearby parks and recreation facilities, several of which are a quick walk or bike ride away from local stations.    

Whether you’re looking to explore new trails and open spaces, join a community center program, or enjoy a new play area with your family, light rail is helping to connect Seattleites to our incredible parks and recreation system! See below for some of our favorite spots to explore, and time estimates for walking or biking there.  

Roosevelt station: 

(Image of Cowen Park) 

• Cowen Park (3-minute bike ride; 10-minute walk): Cowen Park is tacked onto the west end of Ravenna Park, adding grassy play and picnic areas to the ravine that descends toward the southeast. Here you will find a softball field, a few picnic tables and barbecue pits, a play area with swings and climbing bars, and restrooms.  
• Green Lake Park (9-minute bike ride; 15-minute walk): Green Lake is one of Seattle’s most beloved parks and serves as a natural preserve for hundreds of species of trees and plants, as well as numerous birds and waterfowl. The 2.8-mile path around the lake provides a perfect recreational spot for runners and walkers. Many others use the athletic fields or visit the park for boating, picnics and swimming. Located at the park are the Green Lake Community Center, Evans Pool, and Green Lake Small Craft Center.  
• Ravenna Eckstein Community Center (6-minute bike ride; 15-minute walk): This Community Center is a busy center located north of the University District; it features an outdoor play area, tennis court, and indoor gym and basketball court. The center offers programs to participants of all ages.  

• Froula Playground (4-minute bike ride; 5-minute walk): This playground features baby swings, tennis courts, a long lawn area perfect for catch, as well as slides and climbing features. 

U District Station: 

(Image of Fritz Hedges Waterway Park) 

• University Playground (5-minute bike ride; 12-minute walk): This park features two tennis courts, one baseball diamond and backstop, playground with slide, baby swings, a Rich Beyer sculpture of a sasquatch, adult exercise equipment and bathroom facilities. 
• Fritz Hedges Waterway Park (7-minute bike ride; 15-minute walk): This new park opened in the fall of 2020. Located on Portage Bay, the park provides water access for hand-carried boats, shoreline restoration, open lawn space for passive recreation, and interpretive elements that tie into one of two historical narratives – the use of the Portage Bay Trail by Native Americans and the more recent maritime history. 
• Meridian Playground (10-minute bike ride; 21-minute walk): Meridian Playground is a quiet neighborhood park. It contains a large grassy area for any open activities, a play area, and a gazebo near the shelter. 
• Gas Works Park (9-minute bike ride; 31-minute walk): Gas Works Park has a play area with a large play barn, and big hill popular for flying kites. Special park features include a sundial, and a beautiful view of Seattle. The Burke-Gilman Trail runs past the Gas Works parking lot and follows the Burlington-Northern Railroad 12.5 miles north to Log Boom Park in Kenmore. 

Northgate station: 

(Image of Maple Leaf Reservoir Park) 

• Northgate Community Center (3-minute bike ride; 10-minute walk): Built in 2006, the community center building features a lobby, a full-size gym, large multipurpose room (with commercial-grade kitchen), and smaller rooms including classrooms, an arts and craft room, a weight room, a teen room and a game room. 
• Hubbard Homestead Park (6-minute bike ride; 15-minute walk): The Park includes a main lawn surrounded by meadow planting, a half basketball court, a skate bowl, a hydro-seeded “wet meadow,” and a gateway plaza at 112th Street and 5th Avenue. 

• Maple Leaf Reservoir Park (15-minutes bike ride; 34-minute walk): This 16-acre park includes a system of pathways, a viewpoint highlighting Mount Rainier and Lake Washington, a series of rain gardens, a shelter and gathering plaza, sports court areas (including pickleball court, a hitting wall, and basketball hoops), two ball fields, and a play area boosting a zip line, children’s garden, and other unique play features.  

Registration is open for Seattle Parks and Recreation fall 2021 in-person programs! We are also continuing to offer many virtual programs. See our brochure for program information and register online here, or register by calling community centers or our Business Service Center at 206-684-5177.

Scholarships:

Thanks to the Seattle Park District, Seattle Parks and Recreation has scholarships available to individuals and families for our programs and activities. Scholarships are based on income and family size, and are available to anyone who qualifies, including seniors and people with disabilities. Click here to learn more.

See our brochure for all offerings this fall, including:

• Preschool programs
• Licensed School Age Care
• Piano Lessons
• Ballet
• Hatha Yoga
• Zumba
• Tot Music
• Pilates
• Yang Style Tai Chi
• Hawaiian Dance
• Taekwondo
• Adult Pottery
• Teen Late Night
• Youth Indoor Soccer
• And much more!

Today, Mayor Jenny Durkan is releasing her 2022 Proposed Budget. Although Seattle was the first epicenter of COVID-19, our City has led the nation in response to the pandemic with the lowest cases, hospitalizations, and deaths of every major city. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, which is key to our City’s recovery. While our revenue needs still far outpace our resources, we will be able to direct significant Federal money to helping the families and businesses the pandemic has left behind.  

The Mayor’s 2022 budget prioritizes investments that will help Seattle build back better. Our Seattle Rescue Plan is a roadmap for an equitable and just recovery from the greatest challenge Seattle has faced in our lifetimes.  

This year the Mayor’s 2022 budget for Seattle Parks and Recreation reflects our priorities to recover our organization while supporting the recovery of the communities we serve, realigning resources to support our commitment to equity, addressing capital project funding gaps, and further support the City’s response to encampments and our goals to keep parks and streets clean, safe, and accessible.  

Before we delve into 2022 investments, it’s important to mention that SPR took over $20M in capital reductions in 2020 due to the pandemic across the Park District and Real Estate Excise Taxs (REET) funds. The City’s 2021 budget also reduced our budget by over $11 million, which was on top of an $11 million loss in revenue and $19.3 million reduction in Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) funds. These reductions had the greatest impact to major maintenance and capital projects, and left staff, partners, and communities across Seattle deeply disappointed.   

As our City recovers, our department is grateful to be able to restore $7.7 million of the funds reallocated from the Park District and put those funds toward our equity goals and keeping several capital projects moving toward completion. Additionally, SPR ultimately did not need to utilize all the Park District Funds pulled to cover our budget reductions, and we are committed to use the leftover to add funding toward capital projects. And finally, the 2022 proposed budget restores almost $23 million in REET funds to go towards major maintenance, ADA projects, and other significant capital improvement projects.  

The following is a summary of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s key changes in the 2022 Proposed Budget: 

• $5M commitment toward the future renovation of Lake City Community Center 
• $1M to create new Workforce Equity positions 
• $3.5M to restore funding for landbanked site development  
• $16.7M for major maintenance, ADA projects, and emerging projects 

• $1.25M for the Major Projects Challenge Fund to ensure completion of the two remaining projects: Green Lake Small Craft Center and South Park Community Center Campus projects 
• $1.5M for Outdoors for All for redevelopment of Building 18 
• Over $800K for Municipal Energy Efficiency Projects 
• $3M  toward Pier 58 replacement 
• Make our piloted Rec N’ the Streets program a regular SPR recreation offering (through reallocating O2 program and Laurelhurst Community Center operations)  

• $300k to begin to transition the Major Projects Challenge Fund to a new Community Response and Equitable Park Development Fund that will better engage and support community with their park-related needs 
• $2.8M to continue Clean City programs through August 2022 with one-time Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CLFR)  
• Over $900K for security support with beach closures, teen Late Night, and enforcing park code compliance 
• $900K to support litter removal and storage of belongings from encampments  
• $2M toward site restoration of parks impacted by encampments 

NEXT STEPS AND COMMUNICATION ABOUT BUDGET  

Over the next two months, the City Council will review the Mayor’s the proposed budget. Final adoption of the budget is expected on Monday, November 22. More information about details in the budget can be found at www.seattle.gov/budget, and you can also direct any questions to jenny.durkan@seattle.gov. 

This autumn we may not have Halloween parties, fall festivals, and other events to look forward to but we still have the incredible fall foliage in our city’s beautiful parks. Seattle’s parks are home to thousands of trees whose leaves change from green to yellow, yellow to orange, orange to red, red to brown, and fall to the ground. This fall its perfect time to reflect on how that even when life seems stuck, the trees around us continue to change and grow.

Best Seattle parks to see the fall leaves:

*note: because of the dry summer we had in 2021, we may see fall leaves change earlier than in years prior*

West Seattle

Lincoln Park

Hiawatha Playfield

Central Seattle

Seattle Japanese Garden (Best viewing between mid October through the beginning of November) *fee for entry

Washington Park Arboretum (Best viewing late October)

Parsons Garden

Southeast Seattle

Kubota Garden (best viewing Maple trees late September through October)

Lake Washington Boulevard

Columbia Park

Cheasty Blvd

Hunters Blvd

Northeast Seattle

Cowen Park/Ravenna Park

Magnuson Park

Maple Leaf Reservoir Park

Ravenna Boulevard

Northwest Seattle

Green Lake Park

Discovery Park

Salmon Bay Park

Fremont Canal Park

Carkeek Park

Lesser known gems:

35^th Ave NE near Meadowbrook CC (flame ash trees)

125^th St.

Matthew’s Beach Park

17^th Ave

Introducing – Seattle Forest Week – Nov. 6-13, 2021! Join us for a week-long celebration of Seattle’s Urban Forest.

Seattle Forest Week will kick off with Green Seattle Day on November 6th, and finish with Seattle Arbor Day on November 13th, with opportunities for learning, relaxing, and engaging during the week in-between.

Save the date(s) now, and head over to SeattleForestWeek.org to learn more! Event registration links and details will be available in October.

Please Participate!

Seattle Parks and Recreation encourages the community to participate in designing the new play area for Bitter Lake. Please join us at the play area on Saturday, September 18 from 10 a.m. to noon to review the schematic design and provide input on play equipment.  Bitter Lake Play Area is located just south of the community center at 13035 Linden Ave. N. If you are unable to join us in person, please participate by taking this short survey. https://seattle.surveymonkey.com/r/BitterLakePlay

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the public process to date. The design team from Hoshide Wanzer Architects and Berger Partnership incorporated community input into a preferred schematic design and is looking to gather additional feedback on the swings, spinners, and multi-generational fitness and sensory equipment. The project team will be at the park on September 18^th and look forward to explaining the design and collecting your feedback.

The project will provide a renovation to the existing restroom including newly upgraded and accessible all-gender comfort station/restroom, and new play equipment that provides play opportunities for all abilities. In addition, the project will make safety and accessibility improvements that meet the standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For more information please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/bitter-lake-playfield-play-area-and-comfort-station-renovation

or contact Katie Bang at katie.bang@seattle.gov or 206-684-9286.