LYNNWOOD—The City of Lynnwood’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department broke ground on its Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk Trail on Thursday, May 16, which, when construction is complete next year, will offer South Lynnwood a new accessible way to enjoy nature without ever leaving the city limits.
The $5.5 million project, which was approved by the city council last December and was funded by $2 million worth of American Rescue Plan Act funds which the Parks Department was then able to leverage to gain two additional grants through the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.
These additional grants included $2 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation and a local parks grant. When applying for the local parks grant Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk Trail ranked incredibly high, ranking number two in a long list of projects statewide.
Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) were pivotal in securing the federal funding.
“Thanks in part to federal funding from the Land and Water Conservation fund and the American Rescue Plan, Scriber Lake will soon have a new boardwalk that will provide year-round access for people of all ages and abilities into the outdoors from an urban setting,” said Rep. Rick Larsen’s office. This project will also increase the lake stormwater storage capacity and improve wetland hydrology, ensuring the new boardwalk is more resistant to floods and storms.”
In 2020, Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act that authorized $900 million annually for permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation fund which supports projects like Lynnwood’s Scriber Lake Boardwalk Trail by protecting the environment and improving access to parks.
This week also marks two-and-a-half years since President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which significantly increased funding for trails and other active transportation networks.
The project 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 a resident beaver.
Thursday’s ceremony initiated with a land acknowledgment read by Joel Fabor, Interim Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Director before Laurie Loeber with the Snohomish Tribe of Indians took the mic to bless the project.
Dignitaries in the audience included Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, Lynnwood City Council President George Hurst, Lynnwood City Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, Lynnwood City Councilman and member of Friends of Scriber Lake David Parshall, Tom Krause with the Lynnwood Parks Advisory Board, and Paul Rosser with the Lynnwood Parks and Recreation Foundation. Rosser is also Operator of one of Lynnwood’s Chick-Fil-A locations.
Jessica Corbman was also in attendance as Representative Rick Larsen’s Snohomish County liaison. Rep. Larsen was unable to attend the ceremony as he was currently in Washington D.C. voting on the FAA Reauthorization Act and the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act.
“Lynnwood is home to some of the most beautiful parks in the region and Scriber Lake Park is no exception,” said Mayor Frizzell. “As you walk through the trail you can almost imagine that you’re hiking in the Olympics or that you’re somewhere else other than the center of our small city.”
Mayor Frizzell added one of the things she is most excited about the project is the “removal of barriers” for the community specifically referring to the upgrades to ADA accessibility.
When Tom Krause, Lynnwood Parks Advisor Board member, joined the board in 2023 the planning process for Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk Trail was already underway. However, he shared that it was clear that the plan was “well thought out, well researched, comprehensive plan for Lynnwood residents and the communities [the city] serves.”
“An improvement such as this, the Scriber Lake Boardwalk Trail is a great example of what our staff is delivering,” said Krause. “To everyone involved in making this Scriber Lake Boardwalk Trail a reality — thank you.”
What makes the Scriber Lake Boardwalk Trail unique, Lynnwood Parks, Rec, and Cultural Arts Deputy Director Sarah Olson said, is that the city has made great use of existing infrastructure, making improvements to the existing wood chip trail and asphalt path to create a full half-mile, accessible, barrier-free walking loop.
The Department will be removing the wood chip trail out of the peat soils and wetland complex and adding storage capacity to Scriber Lake while helping to improve hydrology to the Scriber Lake corridor – decreasing future impacts of flooding downstream.
In 2016 the city conducted new census demographic studies within Lynnwood and discovered that South Lynnwood had the highest population of minorities, low-income families, and underserved populations. City staff immediately got to work asking South Lynnwood residents what types of improvements they would like to see in their neighborhoods and having more accessible walking loops was at the top of that list.
Scriber Lake Park has nearly 25 acres of wetlands, lake, ponds, streams, trails, forest and hillsides, providing a haven for wildlife, and a respite from the urban environment for visitors.
The Boardwalk Trail project will add approximately 1,100 linear feet of elevated boardwalk trail and two viewpoints over water. This is key to providing year-round recreation and ADA access to the City’s only lake.
Additional upgrades will include improving the connections to the existing floating dock, interpretive signage, adding three new benches, and wetland restoration and enhancements.
A Friends of Scriber Lake Park group was established during the pandemic who have been invited to join this effort and support fundraising campaigns and grant developments.
Scriber Lake Boardwalk Trail is the third project entering construction from Parks and Recreation. The Department hopes to add a fourth project next year totaling a $30 million investment for parks and trail improvements in South Lynnwood.
The trail will officially open to the public in 2025.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
