Category Overview
Washington is famous for its gorgeous and abundant waterways, from the Salish Sea to the Nisqually River, but many communities lack open public beaches and waterfronts where everyone can enjoy picnicking, swimming, paddling, boating, and angling. Water Access projects fund public shoreline access, boat launches, and fishing docks to create more opportunities for water recreation.
Project Highlights
Snohomish County will restore stream, estuary, and nearshore processes and develop ADA and saltwater beach access at Meadowdale Beach Park, located where Lund’s Gulch Creek flows into the north end of Brown’s Bay on Puget Sound (PS). Recreational water access enhancements include constructing a 9 foot wide concrete ADA accessible path under the south bridge abutment and a viewing platform on the beach. Restoration for rearing juvenile Chinook and other salmonids entails: · Removing 17,000 cy of fill to re-establish a 1.3 ac estuary. · Replacing a 6’ culvert under the BNSF railroad and 128 lf (2,000 cy) of hardened shoreline armor with a 5-span railroad bridge creating a 90’ opening for a widened channel meander to restore sediment delivery processes (80-250 CY/YR) to the nearshore and improve connectivity to nearshore pocket estuary habitat. · Removing 75 lf of streambank armor and placing LWD to improve instream habitat. · Planting native vegetation to enhance nearshore and creekside Riparian Protection. · Relocating park infrastructure inland, including benches, picnic tables and a portable restroom enclosure. · Rerouting pedestrian circulation w/ crushed rock and asphalt paths with 7 viewpoints and 4 interpretive signs, a boardwalk over an existing wetland, and a pedestrian bridge over the creek for viewing salmon. This project presents a resilient solution to a major stressor along a section of PS identified by PSNERP as “most degraded” to demonstrate a healthy coastal ecosystem can co-exist with critical transportation infrastructure. The project also increases eco-based recreational and educational experiences for 65,000 annual visitors, addresses public safety, and provides ADA access to 1 of only 3 County PS shorline parks.