Lowman Beach temporarily a less-swinging place

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While visiting Lowman Beach a few days ago to get photos for this ducky little WSB story, we were surprised to see its swing set had vanished, nothing left but the sand square. It’s the only piece of official play equipment at that park, and it’s been a favorite of ours for years of walking down to Lowman with Junior Member of the Team. So we asked the Parks Department what’s up, and heard back this morning from Carol Baker, who manages park maintenance for this section of the city. She says it’s an upgrade, and that a sign will be posted at the site to advise park users as follows: “The swing set has been removed. It will be replaced with a new swing set, curb, and new safety surfacing. The new swings will be open by November 2008, weather permitting.”

kmweber October 14, 2008 (11:33 am)

Oooh! I hope the new set is as tall as the old one! That was the best set of swings in West Seattle.

WSB October 14, 2008 (11:40 am)

I’m with ya there … Despite my semi-advanced age, I still enjoy a spin on the swing set, so usually when JMoT and I would walk down to Lowman, I’d take a turn too. Wish I’d known in advance that they were being swapped out, would have taken one last turn for memories’ sake – TR

MargL October 14, 2008 (11:56 am)

I was talking to one of the Parks maintenance guys at Roxhill and he was saying there are a few parks in the area with swing sets that aren’t up to ‘code’ i.e. too high to be safe for current standards… go figure.
He said the swing set at E.C. Hughes will eventually be replaced for the same reason.
You wanna see a high swing set go to the play area near the north entrance of Woodland Park zoo. That one is Crazy tall!

KC October 14, 2008 (11:58 am)

One of our favorite parks – we love playing tennis with our kids on that run down but beautifully located tennis court. And the swing was always a part of our outings.

Sounds like the sand will go away as well which is too bad. Can’t think of a better safety surface than a big pile of sand, plus the sand itself was a play feature. I’ll reserve any other comments until we see the new structure!

njw October 14, 2008 (1:41 pm)

Just don’t touch the awesome tree next to the swings. Makes for a perfect picnic on hot days.

Jeannie October 15, 2008 (2:21 pm)

Replacing the swing set may not be a big expense, but with the economy as it is, is it really necessary? Have there been grievous injuries associated with this swing set? What next, a safety net and seat belts?

MargL October 16, 2008 (9:54 am)

The way budgets work the money was probably already allocated, if not spent, and would only be lost if not used. Departments that want to keep their budgets have to use the money to justify having a budget next year.
It would be sweet if there were an easy way to find government spending excesses and say “No, wait! Spend the money on x, y, z instead.”
Not West Seattle but personally I wish they’d replace the play structure in Seahurst Park down in Burien. There’s a rusty old structure that could use an upgrade!

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