A couple days in and Mercer Islanders were already flocking to the newly-posted city survey regarding the joint planning process for future improvements at Clarke and Groveland beach parks.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Manager Sarah Bluvas noted that about 80 residents had supplied feedback at press time within the five- to 10-minute survey, which will be available through Oct. 22 and is aimed at collecting background information about the parks and Islanders’ priorities for those waterfront spaces.
Thus far, community survey responders have touched upon accessibility to both parks, mitigating disruptive nighttime activities at Groveland, renovating the Groveland playground, placing a lens on off-leash dog activity or dog walking and more.
“I’m really impressed by the responses we’ve had so far. We have a lot of promotions scheduled over the next few weeks, so I’m excited to see what else people have to say,” said Bluvas, adding that the city has teamed up with the Berger Partnership — a landscape architecture and urban planning firm — on this project along with recent playground designs and replacements.
They’re checking out the current conditions and daily usage of the Groveland and Clarke parks, which were developed in the 1960s and 1970s and are tucked into their respective neighborhoods and sit at the bottom of ultra-steep hills that often present accessibility challenges for park users and city vehicles.
Bluvas said the parks are aging and now’s the time for the city and Berger to dig into technical analysis and assessment of the docks, piers, swimming areas, stairs and more. Environmental surveys (of the waterfront and topographic sort) and accessibility audits are also on tap and the city will share the entire strategic process with the Parks and Recreation Commission and city council in the coming months.
“As part of the PROS (Parks Recreation and Open Space) Plan process and adopted PROS Plan in 2022, we really learned that our waterfronts, recreation areas and beaches are really important to the community,” she said, noting that the Luther Burbank Park waterfront has been getting a robust improvement and renovating treatment in recent times and now they’re moving into the other beach parks’ realms.
With community input along with the extensive list of tasks that the city and Berger are diligently tackling, Bluvas said one of their main objectives is to “get a really good understanding of what the lay of the land is right now.”
For more information, visit: www.mercerisland.gov/cgmp.
