UPDATE: Lincoln Park’s south play area closed for safety concerns

| Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(WSB photo, added 1:55 pm)

11:40 AM: Just found out from Seattle Parks that it has closed Lincoln Park‘s south play area because of safety concerns. Parks says the closure followed a regular inspection. Now they’re trying to determine if repairs are possible, or if it will have to stay closed pending replacement. The south play area already lost its zipline, removed for safety and maintenance concerns after one was installed at the north play area during its renovation last year. And so if you’re looking for a playground at Lincoln Park, the north play area is where you’ll have to go, TFN.

1:55 PM: Just got a chance to go look at the play area. The main play equipment is fenced off, but the swings to the north are still open. Since we couldn’t tell from looking through the fence exactly what the safety problem is, we called Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin. She explains that the wooden sections of the play equipment’s platform/bridge/etc. are a major concern – the inspection showed gaps and other deterioration. Signage should be up soon to explain to people what’s going on; the fix or replacement, however, according to Schulkin, might not happen before next year.

AlkiBeachGal July 12, 2017 (11:56 am)

And if you’re kids play at the new place on the north end, you have to deal with those homeless, drunk, drug addicts that camp out near the new zip line. They need to get kicked out before they hurt and innocent family. I’ve heard multiple scary encounters with them.

sam-c July 12, 2017 (2:24 pm)

That’s a big bummer. Our family loves that play area. Not til next year ???

M July 12, 2017 (3:32 pm)

I’ve always thought the bottom of that slide was unsafe as well. Way to big of a drop off for kids.

Jeannie July 12, 2017 (3:53 pm)

I wonder what the safety concerns are. Have there been any serious injuries due to unsafe equipment?

rico July 12, 2017 (3:53 pm)

Ridiculous business plan. Build structure, ignore maintenance, shut down for a year to fix. In the meantime how many levies have we passed to fund parks in the last 10 years? And for the next levy propoganda, remind voters how they had to shut down Lincoln Park Play Area due to lack of funds. Have you been to play areas outside Seattle, they are actually maintained and not shut down.

WSB July 12, 2017 (4:34 pm)

They have not said it’s a lack of money … but that they don’t know yet what it will take to fix, or replace. I know the structure’s been there many years … our son (now 21) played on it when he was very small, and on other play structures that have since been replaced (including Roxhill Castle and Lincoln Park north) as well as some that have not (Alki Playfield/Elementary comes to mind) … TR
- sam-c July 13, 2017 (10:15 am)
  
  But preventative maintenance would go a long way to keep from having to close down a play area suddenly, without warning, right in the middle of summer, with summer camps and all…. There are few entities in this town that give a hoot about preventative maintenance. They don’t do anything until they HAVE to…
  - sam-c July 13, 2017 (11:15 am)
    
    (and in addition to summer camps, surely there are folks out there who have planned kid-oriented get-togethers and parties, reserving the nearby shelters months in advance….hopefully they’ll find out about the closure before they show up !)

JHC July 12, 2017 (5:28 pm)

The slide looks like it would be about 300 degrees sitting in the sun.

NearAlki July 12, 2017 (5:44 pm)

The new zipline at the north play area is not even close to being as fun as the one that was in the south play area. It barely “zips”…more like a JIP line than a zip line.

Carlo dave July 15, 2017 (9:06 am)

I knew that zipline wouldn’t last. Not because it appeared nobody was properly maintaining it (They weren’t), but because it was actually fun.

Molly July 12, 2017 (7:18 pm)

What a shame. We were just there last week and our kids love playing on that playground more than the new one. I wish they could be faster on their assessments of if they have to replace or if they can just fix; I know a few people who work making playgrounds and from bid to completion is under 6 months. So why will it take them longer than that just to determine if they can fix it?

Cheryl July 12, 2017 (9:49 pm)

Or how about maintenance in the Spring so that it’s ready for Summer when the majority of families want to use it. This is a large, major park used by so many! I would think it would be a priority. And, yes wasn’t that something we voted to pay for not too long back. I’m not positive, I’ve lost track of all the things we’ve voted to fund through property taxes, etc.

Rick July 13, 2017 (4:07 am)

I think we prioritize funding lifelong careers with ever increasing taxes over actually funding parks,among many other things.

Robert July 13, 2017 (4:43 pm)

the parks and rec. people need to start doing their job a little earlier,work harder and plan ahead in stead of waiting until everything falls apart,or do they work for s.d.o.t.???????????

Sad Neighbor July 14, 2017 (2:44 pm)

If memory serves my correctly, this playground was built with private funds, so the Parks Department was not involved originally. So maybe they don’t maintain it since it was not constructed by Parks employees.

Stuck between Gatewood and Fauntleroy July 14, 2017 (3:36 pm)

This literally JUST happened. Everyone take a deep breath and let them figure out what it will take and get it on a schedule. Sam-c has a point about people who reserved shelters being disappointed, but it seens a bit early to be busting out the torches, tar and feathers.

20 year observer of Seattle Parks July 15, 2017 (6:04 am)

Last time they closed the Lincoln Park north play area and zip line at the south play area of Lincoln Park it was to build a new play area and zip line in the north end that someone made $450,000 on. Did the Parks person awarding the contract get anything out of it? I don’t believe that old zipline they closed at the south Lincoln Park play area was unsafe, as the sign said it was.

Sorry, comment time is over.