Seattle residents are rebuilding parks; the city must care for them

It took several years of fundraising, thousands of hours of planning and volunteering and millions of dollars to re-imagine and redo Be’er Sheva Park, but it finally paid off. Seattle Parks and Recreation Department recently rededicated the new and improved park by hosting a neighborhood celebration.

The city funded most of the nearly $2.6 million face-lift with the remainder coming from King County, the state, Amazon and individual donors.

Community organizations such as Rainier Beach Link2Lake and the Seattle Parks Foundation worked to help the city fulfill its promise of improving the park, nestled in Rainier Beach on Lake Washington, by adding barbecue grills, safety lighting, playscapes, an entry plaza, a rehabilitated lake-shoreline aquatic habitat and more. They did so by listening to neighbors of the park as to their interests and concerns.

Just as the improvements came by way of the city listening to the voices of the community, the city should also listen to the residents when it comes to maintaining the park as a safe place for all to enjoy.

Unfortunately, there are some who could care less about the time, energy and money that went into making Be’er Sheva and other public spaces possible. Some parks have been degraded with graffiti, trash and violence, which for years have been among the complaints from residents near Be’er Sheva Park, the Atlantic City Boat Ramp, the Stan Sayres Boat Ramp and parking lot, Alki Beach in West Seattle and Golden Gardens Park in Ballard.

Some of those public spaces have experienced fatal shootings and excessive noise, day and night, including late-night parties at Stan Sayres along Lake Washington Boulevard. Residents there have voiced frustration and fear about the noise and bullets that have pierced a few of their homes.

The city has responded to some complaints by implementing reduced hours at some of the parks through a pilot program. Those hours should remain in place and be enforced. The city also installed gates in an effort to enforce park hours, which some residents said has made an obvious difference when it comes to late-night noise and other illegal activity, though the gate closures are sporadic.

The city also can protect parks by deploying the 28 park rangers equitably across the city. The parks department said the rangers are currently being trained and will have routes that will include Rainier Beach neighborhoods and Alki Beach. “We have encouraged the public to call 911 to address excessive noise and we are hopeful that Rangers will be impactful in educating folks on the park code as well,” the department said in an email.

The parks department will host a community meeting May 14 in Be’er Sheva Park to discuss the next phase of park improvements and the Atlantic City Boat Ramp operating hours. 

Stan Sayres, also known as “the pits” for its role in the annual hydroplane races, and Be’er Sheva have significant histories and add value to the city. They deserve the care and protection of the city.