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Seattle Parks and Recreation news and events

Kids’ Carpentry turns students’ imagination into toys

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Kids' Carpentry winter participants' creations.

Kids’ Carpentry winter participants’ creations.

On Saturday afternoons, kids at Magnolia Community Center aren’t playing with toys; they’re learning how to build them.

This winter, Instructor Loren Kite is teaching his Kids’ Carpentry class in Seattle Parks and Recreation  community centers for the first time. Kids’ Carpentry is a hands-on toy-building class designed to teach boys and girls ages 5-10 practical woodworking skills with an emphasis on the safe use of hand tools. The students are empowered to construct wooden toys of their own creation, building self-esteem, confidence and life skills. [Read more…]

Repair work closes part of Discovery Park Loop Trail

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Seattle Parks and Recreation will close the Discovery Park Loop Trail along the park’s south bluff on Monday, Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and, if needed Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. until trail repair is complete.  Discovery Park is located at 3801 Discovery Park Blvd. in Magnolia.

Seattle Parks is providing much-needed repairs on the southwest section of the trail. The 2.8-mile Loop Trail roughly follows the perimeter of Seattle Parks’ largest park.

For questions about the trail work please contact Michele Thurmond at michele.thurmond@seattle.gov or 423-2860. For more information about the park, visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/discovery.htm.

 

 

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Public meeting on W McGraw Street End project

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Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Department of Transportation invite you to a public meeting to discuss the W McGraw Street End shoreline access improvement project on Thursday, August 15, 2013 from 7 – 8 p.m. at Magnolia Community Center. Magnolia Community Center is located at 2550 34th Ave W.

The W McGraw Street End project is located on Perkins Lane on the west side of Magnolia. The project will improve public shoreline access by removing trash and blackberries, installing a path, bench and picnic table, removing the fence along the street end, and installing a “shore view” sign in front of the site. Design and public involvement are underway with construction planned for fall/winter 2013.

This is an opportunity for the community to learn about the project and help shape the future of this site.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Department of Transportation are working together with funding from the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy to improve public street ends and increase shoreline access throughout Seattle. Select street ends along Lake Washington, Lake Union, Puget Sound, and other waterways in Seattle provide physical and/or visual access to the shoreline and water for all Seattle residents to enjoy. 

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/levy/environment.htm or contact Cheryl Eastberg at 206-386-4381 or Cheryl.eastberg@seattle.gov.

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New dog-off leash area at Magnolia Manor Park provides unleashed fun

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Seattleites are passionate about our parks, and it is this passion that created the wonderful new off-leash area on Magnolia.

The new off-leash area at Magnolia Manor is 2,300 square feet of pure doggy heaven.

Neighbors, dog owners and dogs celebrated the opening of the Magnolia Manor Off-Leash Area (OLA) in November 2012. The Magnolia Manor OLA provides 21,000 square feet for dogs to run and enjoy a “chuck it” game zone. It also includes a dog drinking fountain.

In 1995, the Magnolia Reservoir was replaced with an underground structure as part of Seattle Public Utilities Reservoir Covering Program, leaving an area surrounded with a fence and small seating area.

After a community process in 2006 Lower Kinnear and Magnolia Manor were recommended as development sites for new off-leash areas. In 2008 the Parks and Green Spaces Levy designated $140,000 to develop OLAs at both these locations.

The new off-leash area includes a game area for “chuck-it” and a doggy water fountain.

The community jumped in, and through an organization called Sustainable Magnolia applied for and received a Small and Simple Grant from the Department of Neighborhoods to develop a schematic design for the entire Magnolia Manor Park site.

The community design takes advantage of the spectacular view, and includes the dog park, a P-Patch, walking paths and picnic plaza. In addition to Parks and Green Spaces Levy funds, the Friends of Magnolia Manor fundraising efforts provided $25,000 towards the cost of the OLA.

With this new off-leash area, Seattle Parks now has 13 dog off-leash areas. Seattle Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the community, will open another off-leash area when the Lower Kinnear project opens in early 2013 in the Queen Anne area.

To keep up to date with what’s happening at the Magnolia Manor off-leash area, follow their Facebook page.  Photos credited to Betsey Matsubara, Steward – Magnolia Manor OLA.

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Renovated Lawton Park Playground Opens

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Click here to view a Flickr slideshow of the playground.

Children from Lawton Elementary and the neighborhood flocked to the renovated play area in Lawton Park, 3843 26th Ave. W, last week after Seattle Parks and Recreation removed construction fencing from the most recent play area renovation project.  

The renovation project, identified in the Parks and Green Spaces Levy provided new play equipment for children ages 2-12, site improvements to enhance safety and paving of east and west pathways to improve access by all users.  Low fencing will remain in place near the play area to allow the grass to establish. 

Seattle Parks and Recreation in-house landscape architects incorporated valuable ideas collected at two public meetings into the final design.  Parks awarded the construction contract to P.I. Resources of Seattle. 

Seattle voters passed the Parks and Green Spaces Levy by a 59% vote in November 2008. The $146 million Levy provides acquisition funding for new neighborhood parks and green spaces and development funding for projects such as improved playfields, reservoir lid parks, renovated playgrounds, community gardens, and safety upgrades at city owned cultural facilities. 

For more information, please contact Kim Baldwin, Project Manager 206-615-0810 or kim.baldwin@seattle.gov or visit http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/lawton/playground.htm

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King County investigating overflow at West Point Treatment Plant

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Employees with King County’s sewer utility are working diligently to determine the cause of an overflow that occurred last night at the West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood.
“This situation is unacceptable,” said Christie True, director of King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division. “Finding out why it occurred is the first step toward taking corrective measures so we can prevent it from happening again.”
An estimated 10 million gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged through an emergency outfall about 500 feet off of West Point spit into Elliott Bay for nearly three hours before treatment plant operators were able to stop it about 1 a.m.
The overflow began as employees prepared the plant for high flows during last night’s rainfall. Standard operating procedures during wet weather entail readying an emergency bypass gate that can open automatically to prevent flooding inside the plant that could harm workers and damage equipment. Instead of being put on standby, the bypass gate was activated, resulting in the overflow. The cause of the gate failure is under investigation.
To protect public health and safety, the county posted the beach as closed, took water quality samples, and told health and regulatory agencies about the overflow.
Employees from the county’s environmental lab will monitor water quality in the area for the next several days.
The West Point Treatment Plant came online in 1966 and treats an average of 130 million gallons of wastewater a day for Seattle and several other cities and sewer districts in north and central King County. The plant can treat up to 440 million gallons of stormwater and wastewater during heavy rains.
Additional information about the West Point plant and the Wastewater Treatment Division is available on the Web at http://www.kingcounty.gov/