Published: Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Kayak Point Park possibilities pondered
Drafts for improving Kayak Point Park are a compromise of restoring natural features and leaving some areas as-is.
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Sarah Weiser / The Herald
Bek Gruber, 5, of Mount Vernon, studies a starfish that washed up on the beach at Kayak Point Park on Saturday.
New plans for the future of Kayak Point Park include ideas shared at public workshops in the past year.
Since the early 1970s, throngs have been drawn to the camping spots, forested trails and saltwater boat launch at the Snohomish County regional park north of Tulalip. The design hasn't changed much during that time.
During public workshops, it became evident that some people wanted to keep the park more or less the way it is. Others want to take more aggressive steps to restore natural habitat, even doing away with much of the beachside parking lot.
The two latest drafts, which are conceptual only, represent a compromise.
Both plans would restore natural features of the beach, upgrade the existing pier and improve stormwater drainage, among other changes. The boat launch won't change much under either plan. The biggest difference is whether to create a tidal lagoon at the north end of the park.
"We keep trying to listen and re-listen and look at doing things a different way," parks Director Tom Teigen said. "A lagoon could be a really neat feature for folks."
Two groups are working to study the lagoon proposal to see whether it is likely to work. The Snohomish County Marine Resources Advisory Committee and People for Puget Sound have jointly obtained a $20,000 grant for the study from a Restore Americas Estuaries program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
By early next year, county officials should have enough information in hand to decide whether they want to include the lagoon, said Sharon Swan, senior parks planner. The feature would come at the expense of some parking spaces.
The pace of any changes in the years ahead depends on obtaining grants for the work.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Since the early 1970s, throngs have been drawn to the camping spots, forested trails and saltwater boat launch at the Snohomish County regional park north of Tulalip. The design hasn't changed much during that time.
During public workshops, it became evident that some people wanted to keep the park more or less the way it is. Others want to take more aggressive steps to restore natural habitat, even doing away with much of the beachside parking lot.
The two latest drafts, which are conceptual only, represent a compromise.
Both plans would restore natural features of the beach, upgrade the existing pier and improve stormwater drainage, among other changes. The boat launch won't change much under either plan. The biggest difference is whether to create a tidal lagoon at the north end of the park.
"We keep trying to listen and re-listen and look at doing things a different way," parks Director Tom Teigen said. "A lagoon could be a really neat feature for folks."
Two groups are working to study the lagoon proposal to see whether it is likely to work. The Snohomish County Marine Resources Advisory Committee and People for Puget Sound have jointly obtained a $20,000 grant for the study from a Restore Americas Estuaries program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
By early next year, county officials should have enough information in hand to decide whether they want to include the lagoon, said Sharon Swan, senior parks planner. The feature would come at the expense of some parking spaces.
The pace of any changes in the years ahead depends on obtaining grants for the work.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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