Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the Beacon Hill/Rainier Valley community to provide input on the Dearborn Park play area renovation project. Please share your ideas for improving the play area by taking this short survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Dearborn-Survey. The survey will close July 10, 2020. 

The project focuses on installing new play equipment and improving access to the play area. The project design team needs to know what is important to you at the Dearborn Park play area so please visit the park and share this survey with neighbors.

Dearborn Park is located at 2919 S. Brandon St. on Beacon Hill just north of the Dearborn Park Elementary School and east of Martin Luther King Jr. Way S.

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/dearborn-park-play-area-renovation or contact Libby Hudson at libby.hudson@seattle.gov or 206-256-5988.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) would like to thank the nearly 6700 people who participated in learning about the Green Lake Community Center and Evans Pool replacement project and the 3200 people who provided input on the future location of the facility. Seventy-five percent (75%) of survey participants selected the current location as their preferred option. When evaluating reasons to select a site, survey respondents identified the following as their top priorities:

• Access to parking and drop-off (61%)
• Pedestrian access/walkability (59%)
• Access to transit (46%)

Given the overwhelming support for the current location and the site’s connections to transit and the greater community, SPR has made the decision to locate the new facility in the area where the existing center sits today. SPR will be conducting the next Online Open House (July 22-August 20) and the live Online Public Meeting (July 29 at 12 p.m.) to gather community input on three possible locations for the new building within the vicinity of the current facility and gather community input on current and future programs at the community center and pool.

The community center (built in 1928) and pool (built in 1955) structures are at the end of their usable life and SPR is working with the Green Lake Advisory Council and the greater north Seattle community on the replacement of the facility located at 7301 E. Green Lake Dr. N. 

For additional questions about project please contact David Graves, Strategic Advisor, at 206-684-7048 or David.Graves@seattle.gov.

As SPR plans for the new center and pool, we will continue with the facility stabilization work in 2020 to ensure the building is functional and usable for the public until the new center can be constructed. Stabilization work involves replacing the boilers and the air handling system at the facility. For more information please contact Garrett Farrell at garrett.farrell@seattle.gov or 206-233-7921.

More information for both projects can be found here http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/green-lake-community-center-projects.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) and the King County Noxious Weed Program (KCNW) are in the second year of a two-year project addressing aquatic noxious weeds in South Portage Bay. Before the project began in 2019, the natural shoreline in the South Portage Bay area was highly impacted by floating and emergent/shoreline aquatic noxious weeds (See Project Area Map below). This project is achieving comprehensive control of the four most prevalent aquatic weeds: fragrant water lily, yellow flag iris, purple loosestrife, and garden loosestrife.

Between June and August 2020, up to two treatments with non-glyphosate aquatic herbicides, approved by Washington Department of Ecology, will occur in the water of South Portage Bay and along the shorelines within and adjacent to Montlake Park. The water lily treatment will be done in two phases, approximately three to six weeks apart, due to wash-over of the lily pads from the boat. The shoreline weeds will again be spot sprayed concurrent with each water lily treatment. Each treatment duration will be a minimum of one day and no more than two days. Treatment areas will be clearly marked and temporarily closed to public access while the work is being done.

Informational signs will be posted near the treatment locations prior to treating the plants and appropriate safety precautions will be taken to ensure that there will be no exposure to park visitors, pets, and wildlife. 

This weed control will create a more natural, aesthetically appealing environment that nourishes native plant growth and aquatic species with the proper water temperature and oxygen level. Control of all these non-native aquatic species at Portage Bay will reduce the chance that these species will invade nearby lake areas.

Prior to 2019, fragrant water lily, a Class C noxious weed, covered almost 10 acres of south Portage Bay. Along the shoreline, purple loosestrife and garden loosestrife (both Class B noxious weeds) and yellow flag iris (a Class C noxious weed) occupied much of the waterfront habitat. These weeds are all state-listed noxious weeds, requiring control by landowners.

SPR and KCNW are working with several community partners to implement the project, and the Washington State Department of Ecology is funding this work.

For more information about this project or to submit comments please contact Patti Bakker at Patricia.Bakker@seattle.gov or Ben Peterson at ben.peterson@kingcounty.gov.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the Beacon Hill community to provide input on the Maple Wood Playfield comfort station/restroom mural. Please take this short survey www.surveymonkey.com/r/MapleWoodComfortStation.The survey will close June 30, 2020.

With the objective to improve the playfield facility and address barriers to accessibility, SPR secured an additional $485,000 in funding to plan, design and construct improvements for the comfort station(restroom) and picnic shelter at Maple Wood Playfield. These improvements will be added to the current playfield/play area renovation project.

The proposed comfort station(restroom) and picnic shelter project will provide interior comfort station improvements and may include converting the facility to universal, individual-entry toilet stalls, adding a new drinking fountain, and painting the building. The improvements will benefit the surrounding community and various city‐wide recreational sports leagues.

The Maple Wood Playfield and Play Area is located at 4801 Corson Ave. S on the corner of Corson Ave. S and S Angeline St., just north of Maple Elementary School.Thank you to everyone who attended the final Open House on February 12, 2020 and reviewed the preferred design for the playfield/play area project developed with your input by PLACE Landscape Architecture.

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/maple-wood-playfield-renovation-projects or contact Emily Griffith at emily.griffith@seattle.gov or 206-615-0075.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is happy to announce that we are working with our City of Seattle partners and the Georgetown Open Space Committee to develop a new off-leash area at the Georgetown Flume, 1035 S Myrtle St., Seattle. SPR invites the community to take a short survey and provide feedback on the future off-leash area.  Please visit: https://seattle.surveymonkey.com/r/FlumeOLA or in Spanish visit https://seattle.surveymonkey.com/r/FlumeOLAespanol.

The Flume, currently owned by Seattle City Light (SCL), was the historic site of the conveyance that transported water from the Duwamish River, to the Georgetown Steam Plant until it ended operation in 1975. SCL is offering the eastern piece of this property to SPR and the western piece to Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) as part of a public benefit package in exchange for a street vacation SCL has proposed for a segment of Diagonal Ave. S.  SCL will fund the environmental remediation of the Flume site, including removal of contaminated soils. After the property is transferred, SPR and SDOT will each develop their property through independent projects.

The eastern portion of the site will be owned and maintained by SPR and developed into a new off-leash area. This project will also build a surface water bioswale to be shared with SDOT. 

The western portion will be owned and maintained by SDOT and developed into a shared use path for those walking, biking, or rolling between Georgetown and South Park. 

The SPR Project team will be presenting the project along withrepresentatives from SCL and SDOT during the upcoming Georgetown Open Space Committee ZOOM meeting on Monday, June 22, 2020 at 6 p.m. Please contact Colin Campbell at colin.campbell@seattle.gov or 206-256-5604 by 3 p.m. on Monday, June 22, 2020 for a link to participate. Thank you to the Georgetown Open Space Committee and the Seattle Parks Foundation.

For more information about the project please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/georgetown-flume-off-leash-area-development or contact Colin Campbell, Seattle Parks and Recreation, at colin.campbell@seattle.gov or 206-256-5604. For other off-leash areas in Seattle please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/dog-off-leash-areas.

The Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Seattle Parks and Recreation will be holding two virtual public meetings to kick off the project to replace the Emma Schmitz Overlook seawall in West Seattle and discuss the latest project news.

The construction contractor, Bainbridge Island-based Redside Construction, is preparing to begin staging equipment in the coming days, as suppliers have been able to produce key project materials ahead of schedule. It’s anticipated pre-staging will help avoid delays caused by the West Seattle Bridge closure. Redside Construction could start pre-staging equipment and close public access to the park as early as June 22. Construction is still set to begin early-July.

“The good news is the pandemic has not affected the supply chain for the critical construction materials for this project,” said Jeff Dillon, Army Corps project manager. “The unexpected early delivery of the custom piles puts the project in the best position to start and finish on time. Park users and project neighbors will experience some inconvenience earlier than expected, and we appreciate the community’s patience. We look forward to completing a new seawall that will protect the shoreline and underground utilities for years to come.”

In the first week of staging, residents will see the installation of no parking signs and detours as well as fencing around the construction site. Temporary office trailers and steel piles for the seawall construction will also begin to arrive. Additional construction materials and a crane will be delivered by the end of the third week.

The two virtual public meetings will be held on Wednesday, June 17 at 4 p.m. and Wednesday, July 1 at 4 p.m.

TO JOIN ONLINE

(VIEW MEETING MATERIAL, PARTICIPATE THROUGH A CHAT AND JOIN BY PHONE):

Use this link: https://usace.webex.com

Enter the meeting number:

146 580 1139 (for June 17) or 146 002 2703 (for July 1)

Enter your name and email address then select “Join Meeting”

Select ‘Connect to Audio’ (phone icon – the first circle)

Select ‘Call Me’ and enter your phone number to receive a call from the conference system.

If prompted for a security code dial: 1139

TO JOIN BY PHONE ONLY (LISTEN TO MEETING):

Call: 1-888-273-3658

Enter Access code: 5721558 followed by #

If requested, enter Security code: 1139 followed by #

The Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $3 million contract September 27, 2019 to Redside Construction to replace an existing seawall in West Seattle. The project will replace the existing 500-foot-long seawall at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook, 4503 Beach Dr. SW, Seattle, WA 98116, that was constructed in the 1920s and has experienced significant erosion and damage from storm events.

The new seawall will be a “soldier pile” (system of vertical piles spaced at a regular interval with material in between to create a wall) design, built a few feet seaward and a few feet higher than the existing seawall, and equipped with safety handrails that the current seawall lacks. This design will minimize the impact on the beach, address rising sea level concerns and create better contours for the restoration landscaping on the landward portion of the overlook area.

The Army Corps has partnered with Seattle Parks and Recreation to design and build this coastal storm damage reduction project under Section 103 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1962. Coastal storms and erosion continue to threaten public infrastructure located in and around the project footprint, including a 54-inch King County sewer main, a main public arterial, City park property, and other underground utilities.

For more information please visit https://go.usa.gov/xw5T5.

For questions about the project please contact the Army Corps of Engineers

at 206-764-3750 or email alkiseawall@usace.army.mil.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) will continue the integrated weed management program at selected lakefront properties on Lake Washington starting in early June and lasting through August 2020. This project is achieving comprehensive control of the most prevalent aquatic weeds including Eurasian milfoil, fragrant water lily, purple loosestrife, and garden loosestrife.

Controlling these weeds improves water quality and recreational access and safety at freshwater beaches, swim areas, moorages and other high-use recreation locations along the lake. This weed control creates a more natural, aesthetically appealing environment that nourishes native plant growth and aquatic species with the proper water temperature and oxygen level.

The weed control will be accomplished through application of an aquatic herbicide. This use is permitted by Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). These herbicides have been screened and endorsed by Ecology as an effective solution to control these noxious and invasive weeds.

SPR has contracted with AquaTechnex, LLC to apply the selected non-glyphosate aquatic herbicides along the shore of Lake Washington at the following locations:

• Matthews Park beach
• Magnuson Park beach
• Magnuson Park boat ramp
• Madison Park beach
• Madrona Park beach
• Stan Sayers Pits
• Lakewood Marina
• Seward Park beach
• Pritchard Island Beach

Informational signs will be posted near the treatment locations prior to treating the plants and appropriate safety precautions will be taken to ensure that there will be no exposure to park visitors, pets, and wildlife.  AquaTechnex, LLC will manage this online website for the project https://seattleparksmilfoil.wordpress.com/.  For more information contact Patti Bakker at Patricia.Bakker@seattle.gov. To learn more about the products used see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/PROgrams/wq/pesticides/index.html.