West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Neighbors gathered Wednesday afternoon at the site of West Seattle’s future second off-leash area (OLA) dog park to learn more about the project and to give feedback to the project team.
Members of the public are encouraged to share feedback by taking the online survey, which is open until November 11th. Project information from Seattle Parks is available online here.
As we previewed here, the “West Seattle Stadium Off-Leash Area outreach event” was held at the proposed site just south of West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th Ave SW), as illustrated in this 2023 image from Seattle Parks:
The location for the site was finalized 6 months ago, and this Seattle Parks visual from yesterday’s event gives a closer look at the overhead view of the site:
The site area is 16,000 square feet (.37 acre) and the team is in the early stages of gathering community feedback. The project charter is to “turn the current unpaved overflow parking lot into an OLA (off-leash area) featuring a fenced area for unleashed dogs, seating, and a planted stormwater bioretention area.”
After the survey closes on November 11th, the team will work on design options to bring back to the public for feedback in February/March 2025, and then more detailed construction designs will be created. Actual construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and be completed in fall 2026. Seattle Parks is providing $3.1 mm for the planning, design, and construction of two OLAs, including this one at West Seattle Stadium as well as one at Othello Playground (4351 S Othello St.)
Team members on-hand Wednesday included project planner Colin Campbell from Seattle Parks, landscape architect Steve Nowaczyk from HBB Landscape Architects who will work on the site designs, and Alec Rodenhauser the chair of COLA (Citizens for Off-Leash Areas) who work with Parks and do local advocacy for OLA projects.
Team members said there was a steady stream of people (as well as 4-legged canine citizens) stopping by on Wednesday afternoon, some who intentionally made the trip, and others who were walking through the area and happened across the event (which project planner Campbell said is “encouraging” and “tells us we’ve got the right spot.”)
Attendees provided their feedback verbally, via note cards as well as sticky notes and stickers, regarding desired features and preferred usage of the OLA:
Project signage is also posted at the site:
The West Seattle area’s only current OLA is further south at Westcrest Park (9000 8th Ave. SW).
For questions about the West Seattle Stadium off-leash project, visit the project website or contact project planner Colin Campbell at 206-790-6642 or Colin.Campbell@seattle.gov.
Also, not far from West Seattle, the project team will also be at Othello Playground (4351 S Othello St, southwest corner of the park) today, Thursday, October 24th, from 4-6 pm to gather community feedback about a similar off-leash project that’s planned for that location.
(2023 Seattle Parks image of stadium study area for off-leash area)
Half a year after finalizing the location for West Seattle’s second off-leash area, Seattle Parks is inviting you to a “community engagement event” to find out more about it and offer comments. It’s set for 4-6 pm Wednesday, October 23, at West Seattle Stadium (where the new off-leash area will be created in the “unpaved overflow parking lot” south of the stadium). Parks’ announcement of the event says, “SPR’s project team and design consultant will be available to answer questions, present design concepts, and gather valuable community feedback (to) help shape the final design.” The announcement adds, “Attendees are also encouraged to bring their dogs on-leash in costume for a fun treat. SPR will be accepting pet food donations to benefit the Seattle Animal Shelter at the event or you can visit seattle.gov/animal-shelter/get-involved/donate to donate.” Parks says the off-leash area “will include fencing, seating for pet owners, and an environmentally friendly stormwater bioretention area with thoughtful plantings.” The project page says Parks is currently aiming to build the new West Seattle off-leash area in 2026.
P.S. We asked Parks two followup questions about the October 23 event – where exactly at the stadium, and is it strictly “drop-in”? Spokesperson Rachel Schulkin replied, “The gravel overflow parking lot that is usually chained/blocked off. Take the turn off of 35th Ave SW down the driveway toward the stadium/golf course and it will be immediately on the right. We’ll be the first thing people see when they pull into the stadium/golf course driveway so it should be easy to find as if they use the address for the stadium/golf course. And yes, this will be a drop-in event.”
Part of the Alki Elementary rebuild project is an overhaul for the playground on the north side of the school/south side of Alki Playfield. The city has announced a community meeting and survey to update the design process. From the Seattle Parks-circulated announcement:
Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Schools invite you to join us on Wednesday, October 16, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Alki Beach Bathhouse, 2701 Alki Ave SW, to share your input on the Alki Playground Renovation project design!
During this meeting, you’ll have the opportunity to see how your input from earlier this summer was incorporated into the new playground design. This event will provide a platform for the community to engage with the design team, review the proposed layout for the play area, and provide input on your preferred play equipment option. Your participation will help shape the final vision for the Alki Playground renovation …
Please take a moment to complete the Alki Park Improvements – New Play Equipment Survey and share your preferences for the play equipment options. Your feedback is needed to ensure the new playground meets the needs and desires of the community.
For more information on the project please visit seattleschools.org/departments/capital-projects-and-planning/school-construction/projects/alki or contact Brian Fabella at brfabella@seattleschools.org or (206) 252-0702.
The new school is expected to open in fall 2026. The playground may be ready earlier that year.
In case you haven’t seen this in District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s newest newsletter:
… We’re launching a short community survey to help guide our approach to a specific investment involving our wonderful Seattle parks: playfield grass-to-turf conversions.
We have heard strong community demand for more turf playfields in our city. One issue that I’ve seen firsthand is that many parks currently have grass playfields, which can make it more difficult from an accessibility standpoint for those participating in sports. This problem is obviously worsened when the fields are wet. Our youth are often the most impacted.
I am honored to represent a district that has the second highest population of under-18 youth across all City Council Districts. Many of these kids are engaged in youth sports; others are regular users of our terrific parks and recreational facilities. As a dad of three young kids who are active in various team sports, I spend significant time in our parks as well. Note: our Seattle Parks & Recreation Department (PARKS) manages over 400 parks enjoyed daily by park users!
Thus, we have a unique opportunity to gradually convert more of our grass playfields to turf. This effort is necessary to improve safety, help ensure year around accessibility and playability, address fairness and equity considerations (especially gender equity), and fulfill community demand for more turf fields. …
You can answer the survey here.
By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Leaders from the Morgan Junction All-Wheels Association (MJAWA) met online to discuss the latest plans for an all-wheeled “skate dot” space (for activities like skating, scooters, and biking) in the south part of Morgan Junction Park when its expansion is built. The team also shared that they had reached a major goal with regard to volunteer hours (more on that below).
The meeting last week was facilitated by Matt Johnston and other MJAWA members, and the most recent design concepts (such as the screenshot above) were presented by team members including James Klinedinst, project manager for Grindline Skateparks (headquartered in West Seattle). The complete set of designs are summarized in this PDF, focused on the roughly 1,500-square-foot skating area within the larger park.
Also back in service as of today – Southwest Pool (file photo at right). We reported last month on the plan for two weeks of repair/maintenance work, scheduled to end in time for today’s sessions, and indeed it did – we just went to the pool to check, and the noon lap swim was under way. However, for those who have asked, the long-out-of-service hot tub was not part of this work, and it’s still not fixed, nor does pool staff have a timeframe for when it will be. Southwest Pool (2801 SW Thistle) is the only city-owned indoor pool in West Seattle; you can see its schedule online.
One of West Seattle’s newest murals is adorning the restroom building at Walt Hundley Playfield (34th/Myrtle), installed earlier this summer. We hadn’t heard about it until a brief Seattle Parks online mention this week; we went over for a closer look, and also contacted artist Juliana Kang Robinson to find out more.
She tells us the installation, commissioned by the city, is called “Pojagi Mounds.”
Pojagi Mounds is a landscape of belonging and togetherness. The design is inspired by pojagi, the historic Korean patchwork artform using scrap fabric to create cloths that were integral to a person’s daily life. They were used as tablecloths, to deliver gifts, to carry possessions on a journey, and protect valuables. Wrapping a gift in a pojagi communicated respect for the object and good will toward the recipient. Each patch added by the maker was like a prayer of good will that would enfold and carry the gift. For me pojagi represents how diverse members of a community can come together to enfold and carry one another. Pojagi Mounds underscores how the whole is more than the sum of its parts. A mountain is more than simply soil, plants and rocks just as we people in a society are greater when unified. My goal for this public artwork is to create a visual representation of this concept that spur viewers to ponder the beautiful and complex way that different parts can come together to unify and elevate us beyond the self.
She continues:
I used a traditional Korean color scheme called Obangsaek. Obangsaek means “Five Orientations” in balance with the universe – East (blue), West (white), South (red), North (black) and Center (yellow) to promote harmony while warding off evil spirits. In my work I like to incorporate animals with strong family bonds both in reference to the various creation myths and for the conjuring of strength, courage and belonging. In this mural I also wanted to honor our local “ecosystem engineers,” the beavers known for changing and maintaining ecosystems which significantly boost local biodiversity. I also love both creatures as a symbols for familial strength and working hard for one’s family and community.
You can see more of her work on her website.
Thanks to the texter who sent that photo and a note that Lincoln Park‘s wading pool is closed, no explanation on site. According to a Seattle Parks social-media note we subsequently found, a “plumbing problem” will keep it closed for the rest of the season, which had been scheduled to end after Monday. This means no West Seattle wading pools, since the others closed about two weeks ago; the Highland Park spraypark is scheduled to remain open through Labor Day, 11 am-8 pm daily.
The cultures of seven Central American countries – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama – are at the heart of a festival happening right now in West Seattle. Festival Centroamericano has returned to Westcrest Park (9000 8th SW), with performances, food, art, and more, until 6 pm. It’s all on the big field at the north end of the park.
Among the performers who have already taken the stage (video above and photo below) were Los Rebeldes de la Cueca (Chilean):
Folklore de Costa Rica went out into the audience to dance with spectators:
It’s a beautiful afternoon in the park – you can bring a chair and enjoy it all:
Here’s the performance schedule for the rest of the afternoon:
2:35 pm – Folklore Guatemala de Seattle
2:55 pm – Abuty Band
3:25 pm – Bailes y Alegria Panamá
3:50 pm – Karaoke
4:15 pm – Espiritu Libre
5:00 pm – Orgullo Cuzcatleco del Salvador
5:20 pm – Don Remo
5:50 pm – Blue Morpho
The festival is presented by Organizacion Centro Americano.
With rain in the forecast for this Friday night, Camp Long is rescheduling the third and final outdoor movie of summer.
“Elemental” will be on the big screen Friday, August 30, at dusk, in the Camp Long meadow (5200 35th SW). Camp Long’s Matt Kostle announced earlier this summer that it was one of the three movies that won the community vote for what to show. Free, all ages, bring your own blanket or chair! (Sunset that night will be 7:52 pm.)
Sent by Tom Trulin, who often has eyes on Lincoln Park:
Sailboat is aground in kelp bed today as the tide is going out. It’s north end of Lincoln Park. It is anchored but the heavy winds made it move toward shore. Maybe the owner will see it today in the blog and move it at high tide.
Low tide was just half an hour ago; next high tide is just before 7 pm.
August 25, 2023, was the day that Bruun Idun the troll was officially introduced near Colman Pool in Lincoln Park (WSB coverage here), after weeks of semi-secret construction by Danish recycled-materials artist Thomas Dambo and volunteers. Next Sunday is the one-year anniversary, and a restoration event is at the heart of the celebration:
The restoration work party is planned from 10 am to noon Sunday, August 25 – followed by ice cream! Forest steward Lisa McGinty sent the invitation:
August 25th is BRUUN IDUN DAY in Seattle! Celebrate with our much-loved troll in Lincoln Park. We’ll be working to restore natural areas surrounding the troll and making space for winter planting season. After our work is done, Scan Design Foundation will be treating all to an ICE CREAM SOCIAL as we honor Bruun Idun and the land and sea where she calls home. Great opportunity for student service hours!
All ages are welcome; bring your own gloves if you have them, but if you don’t, you’ll be able to borrow a pair, with tools available too. You’re asked to RSVP – you can do that right now, here.
Reminder to swimmers – as first reported here in early August, Southwest Pool is closed for two weeks of maintenance starting today. The pool is scheduled to reopen the day after Labor Day (right after outdoor Colman Pool ends its season). Seattle Parks says the work will include “repairs of various mechanical systems. (and) a Health Department mandated replacement of our deep-end drain covers.”
Thanks to Sharon Leishman with the Duwamish Alive! Coalition for calling our attention to your chance to vote right now on how the city should spend $5 million set aside for community-proposed projects. It’s called the CommUNITY fund. Projects are proposed in regions of the city, and you can cast one ballot per region, with up to three projects on your ballot, signifying that’s where you’d like to see the money go. Projects from West Seattle and South Park are in the West Region, with five up for a share of funding in this regional vote:
*Duwamish art and signage at Herring’s House Park
*Covered shelter at Roxhill Park
*Accessible playground surfacing at Southwest Teen Life Center
*Outdoor exercise equipment in South Park
The West Region page also includes three citywide proposals. You can vote in the other regions too, regardless of where you live – voting for all four regions starts here. Read more about the CommUNITY Fund voting here; voting continues through the end of this month. Then Parks staff will assess the results and make announcements this fall.
The wading pool at EC Hughes Playground (2805 SW Holden) was closed when wading-pool season started six weeks ago, because of what Seattle Parks described as a pipe problem. Now it’s finally open again, but not for long; the pool is open 12-7 pm Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, and August 18th – one week from this Sunday – is the scheduled end of its season. Most other wading pools close in mid-August too; the only West Seattle wading pool open through Labor Day will be 7-days-a-week Lincoln Park.
While visiting Southwest Customer Service Center today, we noticed this sign:
5:10 PM: Southwest Pool will be closing for maintenance during the two weeks leading up to Labor Day. Outdoor Colman Pool will still be open during that time, if you’re looking for an alternative. We have an inquiry out to Seattle Parks for more information on the work that’ll be done during the closure.
ADDED 5:45 PM: Parks’ Christina Hirsch tells WSB, “The Southwest Pool closure is our standard 18-month interval maintenance closure. The pool is drained to allow for repairs of various mechanical systems. This closure is also supposed to include a Health Department mandated replacement of our deep end drain covers. It is timed to coincide with the floor closure for the Teen Life Center.”
The heavy equipment that arrived last week was put into action today, as the next phase of work begins at the Morgan Junction Park expansion site. The city bought it 10 years ago for $1.9 million; two years later, the convenience store and dry cleaners that were on the site closed, and the building was demolished that summer (August 2016). The current work is to demolish the foundation and dig down 15 feet to remove contaminated dirt, then replacing it with clean fill, over the next two months; the park addition is to be built next year.
The plan now includes an all-wheel area to be incorporated into the current park site, with a separate community-led effort continuing for that. This is one of three “landbanked” sites in West Seattle where the city plans new parks; the other two are on 40th north of Edmunds in The Junction – also planned for construction within the next year – and 48th/Charlestown, not expected to be complete until early 2026.
In July 2017, the Lincoln Park South Play Area was closed for safety concerns, later described as wood damage from termites. At the time they warned repairs or replacement might take until the following year. Instead, it took seven years. Most of the fencing finally came down this afternoon, and the play area was open when we went to the park this evening to confirm.
Besides the spyhopping orca, the marine features requested by community members in 2017-2018 include this:
Set into the concrete are footprints telling a story:
Fresh bark chips surround all the features.
You’ll still find a few spots of fencing, including mesh around areas that either have been or will be seeded:
Work on the $600,000 project was started in January but shelved for a while when the contractor redirected efforts to finish the Westcrest Park play area first.
This weekend’s salmon fishing is a reminder that Don Armeni Boat Ramp can be a very busy place. Back in April, we reported that its float-replacement project was mostly done, with a few remaining touches. In correspondence with Seattle Parks, boater Steve King – who had observed “something missing” – learned it’s a little more complicated. At the heart of it was what remained of a sawmill from more than a century ago – the wood debris shown in these photos taken during construction. He shared this detailed explanation he received from Steve Levengood, Parks’ Capital Projects Coordinator Senior Built Environment Accessibility Compliance Lead:
The work is not yet completed. The original design had 4 piles on each side. Unfortunately, the #3 of 4 piles (counting from near shore outward) and the #4 of 4 piles could not be installed because, as we discovered during construction, the remains of an old sawmill was buried under the mudline. (We removed about 25 truckloads of old lumber before stopping since at that point, we were concerned we would undermine the boat ramp itself.) This means the float manufacturer needs to design more rigid connections to install the last floats. We have not yet received their proposal to review.
The float designer is also the designer of record, since the floats are a design-build element, and is very busy, so it may take months to get anything installed unfortunately. (They are also the only firm who does this work in Washington State, so we are dealing with a monopoly situation as well.) The Contractor, American Construction, is also eager to complete the work, and has been pressing them to complete their engineering work. The south floats, since the missing floats will just bridge the gap between the 2nd and 4th piles, should be doable. I have some doubts about the outer north floats since it will be unsupported by any piles, so we will need to see if that is actually doable once they finish their analysis, including the impacts of tidal, waves and wind.
I am attaching photos of the lumber that was removed. When we looked at historical photos, there was a sawmill at that location prior to World War I. In those days, when decommissioning a facility, they would apparently just cut the piles and drop the whole thing in the water. It is frustrating, and indeed would be criminal if done now, but it is what it is.
The Don Armeni webpage says Parks is hoping to install the added floats by the end of the year.
Not far from where one years-delayed Seattle Parks project is finally wrapping up, another is about to start its next phase. Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker sent the photo of heavy equipment and a portable toilet in place at the Morgan Junction Park expansion site, just north of the park in the 6300-6400 block of California SW. Parks announced at MoCA’s meeting two weeks ago that soil-cleanup work at the site is scheduled to start next Thursday (August 8). Once 15 feet of soil is dug up, taken away, replaced, and hydroseeded – expected to take about eight weeks – the site will be interim open space before park construction, currently planned for next year. Ten years have passed since the city bought the site for just under $1.9 million; it’s been “landbanked” ever since.
6:51 PM: For three consecutive Thursday night, the Admiral Neighborhood Association has brought music to local parks that aren’t often used for sizable events. Tonight’s the final Admiral Music in the Parks show, featuring The ABBAgraphs playing the hits of Swedish supergroup ABBA, at Hamilton Viewpoint Park (1120 California SW).
Most of the band members are West Seattleites, they’ve told the crowd.
The city skyline’s in the background, there’s room to dance in the foreground, and all the fun will continue until at least 8 pm, so there’s still time to bring your chair or blanket and join the crowd!
8:04 PM: Show’s over – lively enough that most of the crowd (counted by ANA as 500+) were on their feet dancing to the last song, “Dancing Queen.”
11:56 PM: Video and more photos added above.
Last estimate from Seattle Parks on the completion of Lincoln Park South Play Area construction, seven years after safety concerns closed the old play structure, was a reiteration of “July.” July is now over, so we went to the park this morning, and noted that fencing is still up and the play area appears to have a few finishing touches left (our photos were taken looking over the fence):
So we then pinged Parks. Their update: “Final inspections took place Wednesday 7/31 and the contractor is addressing items that need to be corrected through the end of this week. The fence will be removed by this weekend.” You can browse our past coverage of the project here. The marine theme for the new play area was chosen with community participation in 2018.
FRIDAY EVENING UPDATE: As noted below in comments, the fencing really is down and the play area is open; we just went over for pics and will write a separate update later.
One month ago, we published Camp Long‘s request for your help choosing which movies to show on three dates in August. The first free-movie night is this Friday (August 2nd) and Camp Long’s Matt Kostle says these are the winners:
Matt says, “After voting, there was overwhelming support for the following movies: Barbie, Wakanda Forever and Elemental! Thanks to all who voted and please come join us for these movies throughout the next month!” Sunset this Friday will be at 8:41 pm; temperature should be in the 70s. Camp Long’s main entrance is at 5200 35th SW.
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