***UPDATED February 28***
Due to safety concerns, the City of Lake Stevens Parks and Recreation Department is closing five playgrounds today, February 22. Four of these playgrounds will be removed, the other one will need to have significant repairs made prior to reopening.
Several additional playgrounds also need repairs, although they will stay open to the public. Most of the playgrounds needing repair are 15 - 22 years old and are smaller in size, located in residential neighborhoods. The closed playgrounds will have temporary orange fencing installed and signs posted to let the public know if it will be removed or repaired.
Part of the process for getting all the playgrounds repaired and replaced, or the smaller area repurposed for other recreation will include community feedback. It is important that all community members and immediate park neighbors participate in the process. All community members are invited to attend a public meeting in-person in the Sawyers Room at The Mill, 1808 Main Street or online on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84567851691, on Thursday, March 2, at 6:00 pm to discuss playgrounds.
This meeting will be the first of many public meetings scheduled to discuss the City’s parks and ensure that the recreational needs of our community are met. The Parks and Recreation Department encourages all community members to attend meetings or watch them on YouTube when they can’t attend in person. Your comments and feedback are very important in deciding the future of parks.
The Parks Department will be creating surveys regarding playgrounds which will be open for a two-week period to allow for as many community members to respond as possible. One (1) will be a City-Wide Playground Survey to talk about all play throughout the City; the other five (5) will be location specific. These surveys will be available after the March 2 meeting.
Read the press release here for the complete list of playground closures and more information.
See the listings with photos of each closed playground here