OLYMPIA, Wash., May 17, 2023 — Three cities—Lynnwood, Seattle and Spokane—received good news this week when the National Park Service awarded more than $4 million for park improvements. Funding was provided from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is administered by Washington State’s Recreation and Conservation Funding Board.
“We’re very excited about these grants,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), which supports the funding board. “The projects will improve popular and well-used parks, making them safer, more accessible to people with disabilities and better able to meet the needs of their residents and visitors.”
Money for the Land and Water Conservation Fund comes from the federal government’s selling and leasing of off-shore oil and gas resources. The fund provides grants to preserve and develop outdoor recreation resources, including parks, trails and wildlife habitat.
Lynnwood
The Lynnwood Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department received a $2 million grant to build a quarter-mile boardwalk and two wildlife viewpoints on the shore of Scriber Lake in Scriber Lake Park. The City also will improve connections to a floating dock, update the parking and the route from the parking lot to the boardwalk to be accessible to people with disabilities and restore shoreline habitat. With 24 acres of wetlands, a lake, streams, trails, forest and hillsides, Scriber Lake Park is home to a variety of waterfowl, osprey, largemouth bass, perch, river otter and beaver.
Visit RCO’s online Project Snapshot for more information and photographs of this project.
Seattle
The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department received a $960,430 grant to renovate 9.4-acres of Maple Wood Playfield in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The City will grade the fields and add drainage, irrigation, a grass playing surface, backstops, dugouts and bleachers. The City also will install play equipment and reconfigure the play area to optimize accessibility, safety and parental supervision. Finally, the City will make changes to parking and pathways to accommodate people with disabilities. Maple Wood Playfield is used by multiple groups, schools and leagues for baseball, softball, soccer and football.
Visit RCO’s online Project Snapshot for more information and photographs of this project. This grant is from the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program.
Spokane
The Spokane Parks and Recreation Division received a $1.4 million grant to replace the bridge deck, rails, corroded steel and ends of the south suspension bridge over the Spokane River in Riverfront Park. Originally installed for Expo 1974, the bridge provides excellent views and is a major recreational connection for walkers, runners, cyclists and sightseers. The City closed the south bridge recently due to risk of failure. Bridge decking has failed, railings do not provide adequate fall protection and significant portions of the steel framing are corroded and failing. This grant will extend the life of this popular attraction in the city’s most popular urban park.
Visit RCO’s online Project Snapshot for more information and photographs of this project.
Author: Mario Lotmore
