EDMONDS — The venerable Edmonds pier, which attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors a year to the city’s waterfront, will be closed for three months for repairs starting in mid-March.
It won’t be just strollers and bird-watchers who will feel the effect. The pier’s closure means there won’t be any place in Edmonds for people to cast their fishing lines into Puget Sound until the pier reopens.
“It’s important for people to know that there won’t be an alternative,” said Jen Leach, the city’s environmental education and sustainability coordinator. All waterfront shorelines in the city are part of a marine sanctuary, she said. “There is no fishing allowed.”
The 944-foot L-shaped pier opened in 1975. The repairs are needed to strengthen its foundation, said Carrie Hite, the city’s director of parks, recreation, and cultural services. The $1.6 million project is scheduled to be completed, and the pier reopened, in June.
The pier is a magnet for visitors who use it as as spot to cast their fishing lines and crab traps into the water, as well as a favorite place for youngsters and adults to take in panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. “It’s one of the the only saltwater piers left in this part of Puget Sound,” Hite said.
The exact date for the closing of the pier won’t be known until final details with the contractor are set, she said.
The city plans to post signs in February advising the public of the pending closure.
Leach said she understands that the temporary closure is disappointing to people who use the pier to get as close to the water as they can. But other activities, such as low tide beach walks, and the visitors station, which opens on Memorial Day, won’t be affected, she said.
The pier is owned by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and maintained by the city, which is working with the state on new interpretative signs for the pier. They could include information on the state fishing regulations and marine ecology, Leach said.
The need for pier repairs had been discussed for about five years, Hite said, but money for the project wasn’t available.
The monetary logjam ended last year when the city received $800,000 for the project from the state. The remaining money for the repairs comes from $100,000 from the city, $200,000 from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and $500,000 from the state’s Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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