Acting Seattle Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams has approved the removal of the shoreline fence at Madison Park’s north shoreline, at the intersection of East Lynn Street and 43rd Avenue East.
Williams’ decision follows a recommendation from the Board of Park Commissioners at its Dec. 8, 2011, meeting to remove the fencing.
“Seattle Parks and Recreation owns and manages more than 20 miles of shoreline along Lake Washington and Puget Sound, and associated tributaries. All of it is accessible to the public,” Williams said. “Madison Park North Beach is the only stretch of shoreline where the public is precluded from accessing the shoreline by a chain link fence.
“We have heard Madison Park neighbors express their concerns about the fence removal and will work with them on an implementation plan before the fence is removed,” he stated in the press release.
The parks department will convene a community work group comprised of neighbors and key stakeholders to devise an implementation plan for removing the fence. The timeline for removal of the fence is early 2012.
The park was developed in 1945 with a small play area, now just a swing set. The riprap wall and fence along the shoreline were installed during the original park creation.
The parks department has considered removing the fence several times in the past, most recently in 2003. Earlier this year, Parks received a request from a Seattle resident to remove the fence at North Beach and open up the access —both visual and physical — to Lake Washington.
The request is consistent with the objectives of the city’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP). As stated in Seattle Municipal Code 23.60.002B, “[I]t is the purpose of this chapter to implement the policy and provisions of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Goals and Policies of the Seattle Comprehensive Plan by regulating development of the shorelines of the city in order to:
•Protect the ecosystems of the shoreline areas;
•Encourage water-dependent uses;
•Provide for maximum public use and enjoyment of the shorelines of the city; and
•Preserve, enhance and increase views of the water and access to the water.”
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