(City of Seattle photo)
Seattle Parks sends the reminder that West Seattle’s Camp Long is moving to winter hours and will be closed Sundays starting this weekend, continuing through November, December, January, and February. Also:
Camp Long will begin to take cabin rentals starting on January 2, 2019. Cabins are available for use beginning on March 1. More information is available here. Questions? Please contact Camp Long at 206-684-7434.
Honest question, does anyone know why it ever closes? I mean sure the buildings could be locked up, but Lincoln Park doesn’t get closed just because the pool is locked up. Just annoying to not be able to walk there sometimes.
My best guess is a liability issue with the high ropes course. I hate when it closes, or when it’s open but they neglect to unlock the lower foot entrance.
This is likely the most underutilized park space in the city. The closures and lack of access certainly don’t help. 68 acres, but only open during “bankers hours.”
There’s several reasons, all of which pre-date the ropes/challenge course:Historical. Up until the mid 80’s, Camp Long wasn’t a public park. When it was originally established, the park was set aside for group use only. The lodge was the living quarters for the groundskeeper, who helped limit the park to authorized users. Non-public hours. Renting the cabins is by default renting the park. After the park is closed it becomes your living area. As a paying customer, the space is yours.It’s closed. All Seattle Parks have hours of operation, it’s just that most of them don’t have their entire perimeter fenced. When Camp Long is closed, they lock it up. This is a pretty rare circumstance in the Parks system, which is probably one of the reasons it hasn’t been challenged vigorously (if Every park were locked at closure there might be a different conversation). The trade off in accessibility is made up for in security. This is not to say that the solution keeps out everyone, it doesn’t. It does serve as an effective deterrent to most though, which is important to consider with 68 acres of forest and a huge trail system.Budget. Going back to 2008-9, Parks took a big hit to allocated budget. This manifested in lots of big and small ways. One of the small ones was reduction in days of operation at Camp Long. These service hours have not been restored.I can empathize with frustration over the park being locked (I’m a neighbor), and not everyone in Parks thinks locking it up is always the best use of the space. I’d reach out to the Parks Department, and, knowing the inflexible parts (rentals, late evening), present your request for increased access (Weekends, daylight hours). Sometimes all it takes is for a person to ask, which sounds cliche but is the honest truth. (Note, this would mean that Somebody would have to be around to lock it up, so don’t forget to ask that funding for the security service which used to do a quick patrol at night be restored).
Woof. I tried using the Ordered List formatting option, which made the post Way more readable. It, uh, doesn’t appear to work.
Sorry, we just restored the comment editor but maybe it still doesn’t entirely work :(
Thanks for all of that information, McBride. It sounds like you know what you’re talking about. As a neighbor, I also find the limited access to be very frustrating. It’s such a beautiful park, and it’s so frequently closed. It’ll be locked for half of all of the days I (and other M-F working folks) might possibly use it over the next 4 months, which is a huge shame. The comparison above to Lincoln Park is apt: imagine the uproar if it were closed and locked every Sunday.I just sent a message to the Parks Department general information address (PKS_Info@seattle.gov) requesting that they avoid weekend closures (trading for an additional weekday closure if absolutely necessary), and that they consider extending hours during the summer. If you or anyone else knows of other decision makers that could be nudged, please share addresses. Thanks again for the info, and for the push to do more than just carp in the comment section!
Several options present..1) Go straight to the top. An advantage of being a citizen addressing the City is that you can sometimes bypass channels. Interim Superintendent Christopher Williams can be reached at christopher.williams@seattle.gov. He’s a nice guy..2) Observe Channels. That said, sometimes there’s something to be said for procedure. In the case of Camp Long, who you want to connect with can be a moving target, so I’d ask the Camp Long Director where to address your concern to – sheila.brown@seattle.gov. She’s a great gal..3) Show up. I’ve heard the world is run by people that do that. The Board of Park Commissioners meets on a monthly basis at Denny Park, and public comment (2 minutes) precedes each meeting. Contact rachel.acosta@seattle.gov for meeting times and location. The Board is comprised of citizen volunteers, all fine people.
We’ve been frustrated by the Monday closures staying in effect on holidays. Seems so obvious that it should be open when the most people are able to go there.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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