Mountlake Terrace cuts the ribbon on Veterans Memorial Park improvements

Published 2:34 pm Friday, April 3, 2026

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Mountlake Terrace city officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday ahead of the opening of new trails at Veterans Memorial Park.

With the improvements, the 8-acre park will connect the Civic Campus — which houses City Hall, the police station and the library — with the transit center and nearby neighborhoods.

Officials gathered on the park’s new steel beam bridge to hear comments from local leaders on Thursday.

“Veterans Memorial Park is an essential green space because it connects our civic campus to our town center and to our new light rail station, making Mountlake Terrace easily accessible to the entire greater Seattle region,” Mountlake Terrace Mayor Steve Woodard said.

The city plans to reopen the park to the public later this spring.

Before the upgrades, Veterans Memorial Park had steep, gravel paths, Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz said. Now, the park has paved, ADA-compliant trails with motion-activated lighting.

“The community has spoken about how important parks are to them,” Betz said. “The grand vision of this project was, how do we get people more efficiently on an accessible route … to the light rail, to the town center, to the Civic Campus, and how do we do that in a way that’s actually an enjoyable walk, in an environment that you want to be in?”

The city removed more than 30 yards of non-native vegetation, Betz said, and replaced it with 350 native trees and about 3,000 additional shrubs and plants.

In total, the project cost $6.57 million. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, secured $2 million for the project. The city also invested $570,000 and received $2.5 million from Sound Transit and $1.5 million from the Puget Sound Regional Council.

“(The park) is here now to better serve the community,” Larsen said. “It’s built for people, it’s connecting people throughout Snohomish County. Every neighborhood should have a place like this.”

Community members will be able to access the park through the Civic Campus, 58th Avenue West and 60th Avenue West. The city is currently coordinating access to 236th Street Southwest — and the light rail station — with the adjacent property owner.

The next phase of the project is the construction of a 4,300-square-foot pedestrian plaza next to the light rail station at the southwest corner of 236th Street Southwest and Van Ry Boulevard. The city went out for a bid this week, Betz said.

“With the completion of this pedestrian infrastructure at Veterans Memorial Park, we are proudly closing the chapter here as we eagerly await the next chapter in the state with the connection,” Woodard said.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.