Mukilteo Parklet, closed by sinkholes, could reopen soon

MUKILTEO — A pair of sinkholes this month have closed the Mukilteo “parklet,” a paved area next to Ivar’s where a ferry span operated for decades.

Those sinkholes, first reported by The Mukilteo Beacon, developed May 1 along the shoreline, according to the Port of Everett’s emergency declaration. It was the second such discovery this year. The Port had repaired another hole earlier this year, near the most recent sinkholes.

Last week the Port closed the parklet as a precaution against further collapse and had crews out to evaluate and restore it, spokesperson Cat Soper wrote in an email. Work has cost an estimated $150,000, and the parklet could open as soon as Friday.

Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber declared an emergency May 10 to ensure a faster process to repair and reopen the 60-by-60-foot space.

On Thursday morning, beachgoers peered into the fenced-off area with curiousity. On the other side, an Ivar’s worker watered the blooming flowers potted right beside an unoccupied bulldozer.

For some Ivar’s employees next door, the sinkhole repairs have been slow moving. General Manager Greg Covey, of the Mukilteo Ivar’s, said he was just glad it was getting fixed right before summer.

“They were on it pretty quick,” Covey said. “That has existed over there for so long, with the ferry being there, and it’s never been an issue.”

The parklet initially opened in August 2021, then closed while permits were sorted out. It officially opened to the public around Memorial Day weekend 2022.

The port bought the space for $24,900 and had it bolstered and paved. Half of the area is used for dining and drinking by Ivar’s customers. The rest is a public lookout at Hat Island, Possession Sound, Whidbey Island and sometimes whales.

When the property was the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal, it had problems with sinkholes forming.

In 2004, a 3-foot sinkhole opened up in the vehicle loading lane next to Ivar’s reportedly after water seeped in through a rotting wooden seawall.

A small sinkhole formed in 2018 near the walk-on passenger area, which ferries staff “routinely monitored” and restored “several times times over the years,” a state ferries spokesperson told The Daily Herald at the time.

Ferries engineers then thought an underground water source could be the problem, but ferries spokesperson Diane Rhodes said the agency never determined the cause even after demolishing the old ferry terminal.

This weekend, with good weather in the forecast and pandemic precautions waning, was poised to be busy along the Mukilteo waterfront, both for its ferry traffic and visitors to nearby Lighthouse Park. Losing access to the parklet only cuts some space to sit, eat or gaze out over the water, since there’s no parking associated with the small space.

In March, the port opened a nearby 99-stall lot in the former ferry vehicle holding lanes.

Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.