Seattle (February 7, 2018) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced $3.1 million in new investments to upgrade trail systems, playfields and outdoor recreation facilities for young athletes and families in Seattle.
Funded through grants from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), the projects will support the renovation and expansion of outdoor athletic facilities, and the renovation of facilities for motorized boats, including launching ramps and guest moorages.
“Getting outside, playing sports, and exploring the outdoors is part of who we are as a City. These investments will help ensure that all our residents and visitors continue to have access to world-class parks, playfields, and boating for decades to come,” said Mayor Durkan.
“Providing access to open spaces, outdoor recreation facilities and natural areas where residents can enjoy healthy activities like walking, sports, and boating is how we help people make connections to each other and experience the health benefits – both physical and mental – of time spent outdoors,” said Christopher Williams, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent. “These upgrades will allow us to serve more residents and to further our goal of supporting healthy people, a healthy environment and strong communities.”
The new funding will support the following projects:
- Brighton Playfield Turf Conversion: $250,000 to convert the field from natural to synthetic turf with new LED lighting to create an all-season, multi-use playfield. The proposed renovations will expand playfield use in three ways. 1) Allow for year-round play 2) An increased number of playfields, and improved lining allows for more simultaneous games and a greater variety of sport uses 3) Improved lighting will add hours of playfield use each day.
- Don Armeni Boat Launch: $374,950 to renovate Seattle’s most popular saltwater boat ramp, with over 12,000 launches each year. This project will improve user safety, increase transient motor boating accessibility, and extend the life of the facility.
- Smith Cove Youth Playfield Renovation: $250,000 to improve drainage and irrigation, and will regrade and resurface the playfield, making the facility available for a wider variety of youth sports including lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, and baseball. Renovating this playfield will provide much needed athletic field access for area residents.
- South Leschi Transient Moorage: $1,000,000 to construct a public transient moorage float in Seattle’s Leschi community. It will increase available transient moorage by 22% on Lake Washington, economically support the Leschi community and meet the needs of transient boaters to include over-night stays. South Leschi Moorage will be one of only two overnight transient floats on the lake.
- Stan Sayers Boat Launch: $768,000 to improve boating access, ease of use, and user safety. The boat launch was used for nearly 4,000 motorized boat launches in the past year. The park is also the home of the Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center.
- Washington Park Arboretum: $475,000 for the design and permitting to renovate, rebuild or replace portions of the deteriorating trail system on Foster Island. The trail connects the Arboretum with transit hubs and links two parts of the UW Botanical Gardens by connecting Union Bay Natural Area with the Arboretum. The new elevated boardwalk will reduce the trail footprint and prevent peripheral impacts from on grade pedestrian traffic through the wetland.
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