Community meeting to discuss a proposed project to fund and build a public dock on the Duwamish River.

Full news release:

“Getting people out onto the water is not just about competitive sports or recreation. It is about health, education, cultural enrichment, and connecting people to our historically important and often mistreated river. A project goal is to encourage and inspire communal ownership of the Duwamish and its waterfront for water quality and ecological restoration as well as people’s right to access to the water. A dock will give a diverse set of people from SW Seattle and the Duwamish Valley, with a particular emphasis on youth, the chance to see the city from a different perspective and to participate in healthy activities available in other Seattle neighborhoods but not in SW Seattle. More people accessing the river will produce more stewards of it.”

There is virtually no access to the Duwamish River for people living beside it. In the words of a Seattle Parks Aquatics Manager – this project is ‘overdue’.

The Seattle Parks Department and the George Pocock Rowing Foundation are working cooperatively on applications for City and County grant funds to provide access to the river at Duwamish Waterway Park with a goal of an ADA accessible, public dock for hand-carried boats and other river focused programs and activities. The application is in support of specific Duwamish Valley community priorities listed in the South Park Action Agenda and Duwamish Valley Vision Report, and reinforced through previous public meetings. The dock will enable the development of rowing and paddling programs like those provided by the Parks Department at Green Lake or Mt. Baker that are not currently available for SW Seattle Youth.

The dock is designed to meet or exceed State and Federal regulations, particularly for the protection of fish and habitat. It will safely and flexibly accommodate the river access needs of a variety of boating programs for youth and adult rowing and paddling programs and other uses by community members. The dock would be owned by Seattle Parks and subject to rules similar to those in effect at other Parks Department docks at Green Lake and Mt. Baker.

Tentative Timeline: Fall 2012 complete applications; Winter – Spring 2013 funding decisions; Winter 2014 Construction

Please join us to discuss the project, answer questions, and secure your endorsement of the project. We hope to see you.