Open again! Fauntleroy celebrates Cove Park restoration, Barton Pump Station upgrade

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
What a beautiful day to celebrate the return of a West Seattle beach to the public domain. This is Cove Park, adjacent to the north side of the Fauntleroy ferry dock, closed for three years because of King County’s expansion/upgrade of the Barton Pump Station – now open again, with a ribbon-cutting celebration today:

Cutting the ribbon were King County Wastewater Treatment Division director Pam Elardo and our area’s King County Councilmember Joe McDermott. But the celebration was even bigger for the Fauntleroy community, which stewards the Cove Park area and has been working closely with the county (some backstory in this 2011 WSB report) to ensure that the beach and its treasured public art would make a comeback – with additions!

That’s the path from Fauntleroy Way to the small beach, where you will find works by artist Thomas Jay – some familiar, some new. A brochure provided by the Fauntleroy Community Association shows nine things to look for, including these:

As this warm weekend continues, come to Cove Park and see for yourself.

This afternoon’s celebration at the park also included tours of the pump station. You can find out more about the project here.

ASW July 19, 2015 (7:27 am)

Will it be dog friendly?

LBJ July 19, 2015 (8:30 am)

All parks are dog friendly. But I doubt it’s an off-leash park.

ACG July 19, 2015 (8:51 am)

We love this park, so glad it has re-opened. Have the stolen salmon art sculptures from the nearby fish ladder overlook been recovered? I hope the art here is anchored well.

Linda July 19, 2015 (9:43 am)

ASW: since it against the law for dogs to be on our local beaches on Puget Sound (at least in Seattle, can’t recall at what level of government the ordinance was enacted) and the remainder of this park is not much more than the path to the beach, it won’t be dog friendly.

Nick July 19, 2015 (3:12 pm)

Only Seattle doesn’t allow dogs on beaches

Kathy July 19, 2015 (6:16 pm)

To the “no-dogs-on-beaches law doesn’t apply to my dog” crowd. Seahurst Park in Burien is a good place to let your dog play legally in Puget Sound. But if you let them run off leash they could get into something that might hurt them, like the chicken bones scattered by the crows. Or they might disturb the octopus eggs we saw there.

Jeanie July 20, 2015 (3:50 am)

Will it be gluten-free? And can I bring my pet hamster, Mr. Wiggles and my turtle, Shelley?
But, seriously, this is a lovely park, and it’s so nice to see a major project like this completed on time – unlike a certain massive project that’s seen delay after delay. And thanks for the interesting tour of the underground facility. Fun day!

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