FOLLOWUP: Parks Board approves fewer summer hours for Alki Beach & Don Armeni, fewer year-round hours for Hamilton Viewpoint

Story by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog 

Summer visitors to some of West Seattle’s most popular parks will likely have slightly fewer hours to enjoy them. 

As we’ve been reporting (including last week, and a couple of weeks before that), Seattle Parks had been considering “permanent seasonal” reductions (Memorial Day to Labor Day, for all upcoming summers) to the hours during which several parks across the city are open, including our own Alki Beach Park and Don Armeni Boat Ramp, as well as a permanent reduction in hours for Hamilton Viewpoint Park.

On Thursday night, the city’s advisory Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners held a public hearing and vote, and the board unanimously approved the proposal, which now goes to the Parks superintendent Anthony-Paul (“AP”) Diaz (who was in attendance on Thursday night) to issue a final decision, which would be followed by necessary city clerk filings and then updates to parks signage and websites. 

Of the impacted Seattle parks that are specifically in the West Seattle area, the now-approved proposal calls for:

  • Alki Beach closing one hour earlier at 10:30 pm rather than 11:30 pm (just like last summer) and being open 4am-1030pm daily in the summer
  • Don Armeni boat ramp shifting away from 24hrs/day to instead match the Alki hours of 4am-1030pm daily in the summer
  • Hamilton Viewpoint Park would have a permanent year-round change, shifting from the current 4am-11:30 pm timeframe to a new reduced timeframe of 6am-10pm (this is based on the results of a pilot program dating back to 2015).  

The meeting on Thursday was a “hybrid” forum, with the board and a handful of in-person attendees gathering downtown at Seattle Parks HQ, while others joined online via Zoom. Public participation was light, with two “general commenters” who signed up and offered thoughts about overall parks concerns, but zero commenters signed up or in attendance to speak specifically about the proposed hourly changes. However, commission members did make reference to some emailed comments from West Seattle residents, as well as “comments on the West Seattle Blog,” summarized as such:

  • Via email: Two heartfelt thanks from WS residents in favor of the change, and one question about parking on Harbor Ave which, in some areas, is a “no parking” zone from 11 pm-5 pm, which means there is one hour of misalignment in the morning when nearby Don Armeni and Alki Beach will be open (at 4 am) but no parking is allowed on Harbor Ave until 5am.  Attendees at the meeting said they’d look into that. 
  • WSB comments: At least two commissioners made note of comments here on WSB stories regarding the proposal, describing them as a “mixed reaction,” but noting that many commenters do understand and agree “that the changes are being made to help make things safer.”

From last month’s meeting slides, here are two tables showing the city-wide changes that were proposed and now approved:

Commissioners noted that the rationale for the changes included fire safety (particularly for Alki and Golden Gardens), managing late-night noise and problematic “non-boating activity” on the boat ramps, and aligning hours and resources with SPD and other resources.  Commissioners added that although public commentary on the issue was minimal, the department had done the best it could to get the word out via their web and social channels, and in local news and blogs and social media. Two commissioners suggested the need for a future “comprehensive approach” to park hours, noting that numerous parks (such as Ravenna) have late-night hours but minimal/no lighting, which probably should be evaluated, and others agreed. 

In Thursday’s meeting, commissioners discussed the general positive sentiment about the proposal among board members, and among the (admittedly small) number of comments gathered online and via email (again, there was nobody signed up to comment at Thursday’s meeting). Based on that, they agreed to call for a vote rather than to delay a vote to a later meeting (the board meets again on April 24), and the motion then passed unanimously. 

Aside from the park-hours discussion, there were a handful of other West Seattle mentions during other portions of the meeting agenda:

24 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: Parks Board approves fewer summer hours for Alki Beach & Don Armeni, fewer year-round hours for Hamilton Viewpoint"

  • Kyle April 11, 2025 (11:44 am)

    Honestly, how were we supposed to comment if we couldn’t attend the meeting? Maybe I missed a form where they were collecting public comment on the reduced hours?

    • Kt April 11, 2025 (1:10 pm)

      You can always send comments here at any time AP Diaz, SuperintendentMailing Address: 100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109Phone: (206) 684-4075Fax: (206) 615-1813Email: pks_info@seattle.gov

      • Kyle April 11, 2025 (1:52 pm)

        Thanks, I just did that. However, it sounds like the Commissioners thought they did their “best to get the word out” when I couldn’t even find a survey for public comment.

    • Kylie April 11, 2025 (3:44 pm)

      You commented (I assume this was you) on the post letting folks know about this meeting, so why didn’t you attend and give comment?

      • Kyle April 11, 2025 (6:20 pm)

        My house is pretty busy at 630pm on the weekday, lucky you if yours isn’t. Running between kids activities and dinner I didn’t have time to attend. I try to stay engaged asynchronously if public agencies give people that option. Please let me know on either article where the public comment link was? Didn’t know where else to give comment so I commented on the article. Expecting everyone to look up separate email addresses, make up their own subject line, and have no way to collate data is a recipe for having “low comment turnout”. It also wasn’t clear when they were going to vote or just discuss.

  • TM April 11, 2025 (12:48 pm)

    Speaking of the boat ramp, was there any word on updates around the docks getting repaired/replaced and put back in? Website says spring but hoping they have a handle on it.

    • WSB April 11, 2025 (1:44 pm)

      The webpage’s most-recent update was “spring.” I’ve been trying and failing so far to get a clearer update from Parks.

    • boater April 11, 2025 (3:30 pm)

      I emailed Stephen Levengood in March.  He stated first week of May was the projected installation date.  I hope so.

      • Derp April 16, 2025 (11:33 am)

        They are working on the dock pieces and installing new hardware.  They also installed a few sections. 

  • Rhonda April 11, 2025 (1:47 pm)

    Disgusting. Public parks should never close unless there’s severe damage, construction, flooding, wind storms, landslides, or other physical dangers. Troublemakers will still enjoy their Illegal activities at Alki Beach at 2am but law-abiding residents and tourists will be kicked out with flashing lights and badges at closing.

    • Big 5 Guy April 11, 2025 (5:10 pm)

      100% in agreement, Ronda.

    • Alki resident April 11, 2025 (7:20 pm)

      This exactly Rhonda. No care in the world for people who work late and eat late and need to get out of the house, especially to cool down from the summer sun or entertain seasonal guests. Seattle keeps proving over and over that they don’t care for visitors or tax payers . They’ve already turned away guests who would’ve enjoyed parking on Harbor Ave/Alki to see downtown skyline but now you have to back in. Makes as much sense as backing into a drive through. I’m just getting in the habit of telling my front to bother flying out here anymore. I’ll go to them.

    • Ferns April 11, 2025 (11:17 pm)

      Disagree. Not “disgusting”. People’s behavior and community resources determine what happens in parks. Crime tends to happen late at night and that is also when neighborhoods tend to need peace and quiet. Not enough police and funds to keep certain parks safe 24/7. The three parks mentioned have all had SHOOTINGS in the past few years indicating they attract dangerous behavior. I’m glad the parks (most close at SUNSET anyway) will close in the late evening. 

      • Kyle April 12, 2025 (6:53 am)

        If there were still shootings during the “pilots” of shorter hours, what good did the closures do? Seems to be not much except punish law abiding citizens while crime still happened without enforcement.

      • Bic April 12, 2025 (10:02 am)

        The parks that have had shootings had those shootings in spite of having official closing times. Closing the park at night didn’t prevent those shootings. In fact, by closing them to legal use and emptying them out, they may be made more attractive to those planning to get up to no good. 

    • Burgerman April 13, 2025 (8:35 pm)

      Rhonda and Alki Resident, both of you Trump supporters just need to leave already. Just move to Idaho and stop your complaining. You’re not welcome here. Your selfish desire to walk the beach despite the obvious issues with late night out-of-area gang activity created by keeping the parks open late with insufficient law enforcement and response time is just that, selfish. Not to mention dangerous and deluded. Move to where your freedoms are restricted, you’ll be far happier.

  • Michael H Peters April 11, 2025 (4:56 pm)

    Rather than focusing on cutting back on use hours .Why was there no pressure to have the Docks put back in, back in 2020 with a announcement of project to replace them we used them one season and now they just sit out of water not making any revenue cause we can’t launch without damaged to our boats. Shrimp season with hundreds of boats using the ramp will happen in less.than a month won’t create no cash to pay for replacement its going to be a mess. Then when we do take a chance to get our boats on the water single use vehicles are parked in the clearly marked boat and trailer parking only and no enforcement is being done about it.I know there was a construction problem but that was confirmed  at least  16 months back and nothing at all was done except take the docks out and set them on the parking lot.

    • boater April 12, 2025 (9:11 am)

      According to the city project coordinator I contacted in March,  parts are being fabricated for the repair.  That’s why the docks are just sitting there.   The estimated re-installation is first week of May.  Very frustrating as you say.

    • My two cents April 12, 2025 (12:14 pm)

      … it’s such a shame that a city the size of Seattle has only ONE place for boats to enter the water!

      • Chuck Jacobs April 12, 2025 (1:08 pm)

        Shilsole Bay Marina has a public boat ramp. There is another public ramp in Rainier Beach. If you use that one, you’ll need to use the locks to reach salt water.

      • CARGUY April 12, 2025 (2:31 pm)

        There is also a public launch right under the 1st ave bridge, and on Lake Union by Gas Works Park

  • Eric April 11, 2025 (6:04 pm)

    Great decision as a longtime Alki resident and hardcore partier, this is best for all concerned. 

  • Mike April 12, 2025 (8:59 am)

    I recommend Monster Jam truck show at Armeni parking lot after 10pm.  All the vehicles that aren’t supposed to be there to tow a boat become part of the show.  “SATURDAY at the Don Armeni parking lot!  You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge!!!”

Sorry, comment time is over.