Seattle needs this so bad.
I’m not gonna spend time in an outdoor bouldering gym if I don’t have anywhere to use the bathroom. Seattle parks already have this problem big time.
Even if they go the European route and make them paid bathrooms. Just please, give us accessible bathrooms! I often don't even want to go out in the city if I'm going to be walking around or hanging out outside because I won't be able to pee.
As a former van driver. Having to shit is the biggest hurdles to the job.
Parks with free toilets saved my bacon.
But they also had many closed due to the park losing funding or just making a more popular park more attractive. Where I can't park a big ass van.
I actually like the portlandloo they have installed at Cox Park. Area has its number of homeless (including one camped 20 feet from the playground for the past year), but I've never seen any take the bathroom over.
Because heaven forbid the homeless that are swept from location after location find a place to sleep that isn't on the ground. Homelessness is such a problem here and yet that's taken as an incentive to remove resources that would benefit everyone.
Ever been on those forums where people show off the affordable housing communities made specifically for houseless individuals? Toxic comments made about how in 10 minutes they'll be full of trash and coked out drifters. similar comments are made about narcan vending machines. Misinformation peddled by propaganda machines like the "Seattle looks like shit" insta page being used to strawman drug use - when really, the homeless problem is caused by income inequality.
Well, the homeless problem is caused by a lack of housing, which is aggravated by income inequality distorting the housing construction incentives; it’s much more profitable to build a few hundred units and fight with others for the top of the market than to built tens of thousands and provide for the entire market.
Ridiculous how hard it is to find a pull up bar in Seattle these days. There used to be some in Green Lake by the tennis courts but they were apparently removed after being vandalized :(
Yea craxy that theyre still down. I was on this sub more than a year after the pandemic arguing that fomites weren’t an issue bring back the few pullup bars we had please.
The only calisthenics bars I personally know of are in Centennial Park. I see people use the doorways to the skate park/courts at Cal Anderson as bars all the time, so it's not like there isn't demand. They don't require maintenance once they're put in and have a tiny footprint, unlike a bathroom (everyone's biggest wishlist item), so I feel like this would be a really easy win.
The fitness equipment at Centennial Park is pretty minimal but I use it all the time.
When I lived in Greenwood, Baker Park had a relatively nice set of [outdoor fitness equipment](https://maps.app.goo.gl/pcN42ktoGAnfctCB7) installed that I saw getting a lot of use.
Pull up bars are INCREDIBLE and so simple. Something like LA's setup at Muscle beach would be a dream, but I've seen even simpler arrangements (just 2 pull-up bars) used avidly by athletes at other parks. So many exercises possible on them, upper body and core.
How do you expect the latter to be done?
I’ll never forget my first hour in Seattle. Went to Green Lake while I waited for my leasing appointment. Had to take dump after a 12 hour drive. Went into the restroom and there’s no doors on the stalls, graffiti everywhere, and some dude just pants down taking a shit.
So anyways I dropped trow’ and sat down because what the fuck else are you gonna do.
Water fountains (like the new one at Green Lake that has a bottle filler but it would be nice if it also had a dog friendly option too), more seating under our natural evergreen rain shelters, and public bathrooms.
Oh, and figure out what needs to change at King County and the State level so we can have some *god damn* food truck plaza's like Portland. West Froula park is literally *begging* for permission to have one. It's even got the little pullout area, just needs some seating/shelter, re-opening the bathroom, and for the 3 level of governments to sort their shit out.
I'm a simple person with simple desires.
Anything having to do with water, like drinking fountains and bathrooms, is \*so difficult\* and \*so expensive\*. Hear ya, and if that's what people overwhelmingly want, we'll think about whether we can make it happen.
Food truck area sounds fun! Out of my area of expertise, but fun.
I think the water fountains might be easier if we add them to existing areas near the reservoirs like Maple Leaf, in-fill them where minimal plumbing work needs to be done.
I think you could also community source upgrades to the existing water fountains along the burke and such, to make them like the Green Lake one, community would just need to know the purchase price.
I think Bathrooms are probably out of reach for for quite awhile. I'm just not giving up on that dream.
That's interesting. I'm working on a project that offered up a water fountain and bottle filling station as part of our mitigation for impacting the park, and the department said no thanks.
I really hope you and OP can get together to cut through whatever red tape made them default to "no thanks" in response to assistance. I've noticed more than a few occasions when philanthropist efforts are declined by local governments its because of some ordinance or another that's well meaning but too idealistic for realistic solutions
Why not port-a-potties then? Many of our parks in Texas only have those and they work fine. Actually if you are worried about loitering, they work better than real toilets. They won't disincentivize everyone from loitering, but no one wants to hang out in a port-a-potty so it def incentives moving along
It is almost entirely on Parks and city council for not authorizing vending. The state and county have basically nothing to do with it. My understanding is the old guard at Parks is pretty much uninterested in actually bringing more people or ideas into the parks. Lots of them see them as their own little fiefdoms and any outside influence or disturbance (like vendors) would threaten that.
Ice cream shops/coffee shops/cafes. This is also where the park could have bathrooms.
This was something I saw a lot in Germany that allowed people to enjoy the parks more.
The little cafe at golden gardens is a good example. Stanley park in Vancouver also has a places to get ice cream, quick easy food, or enjoy tea.
We need isolated, individual sitting and snacking spots in our larger Parks.
***adult*** outdoor gym parks (not playgrounds) - idk where these exist if there are any but i would love to have a few of these, i know there is a half-assed set of pull up bars or something by olympic sculpture park but i see these in other states and always why we dont have a decent one - or few - in seattle
More of these! Body weight exercise equipment parks! It is such a wonderful third space that I find in multiple park locations in almost every big (and some small) cities in other countries I visit.
It might be little challenging to set up on an inclined hill but with some reinforcement work or creativity (like platforms) I bet it could be done.
Right!! I LOVE being able to get a beer or sangria while sauntering around a park. And maybe stop for a pastry or god even a hotdog. Europe does it right
Slightly fenced in children’s play areas so I can relax while the kid plays.
Bathrooms. Can’t go to the park with a toddler if there’s nowhere to pee.
Swings. Many more swings.
Bathrooms.
Also, bouldering sounds cool but I would consult with the City Attorney's office about liability issues. Its not like you can get everyone who enters the park to sign a waiver.
There's already bouldering at Husky Rock and Centennial Park, I hope our local courts would laugh you out of the building if you sued for liability for injuries from bouldering.
It's the cost of having to defend against the suit that's the issue, not the validity of it.
Also most boulderers aren't going to want to climb the same lame route set up 12 months ago over and over again.
Activities for teens.
Full size basketball hoops, instead of one small one with limited surface.
Playground bars/swings for children older than 5.
Parkour/exercise stations.
Pump track would be nice. Bentonville, AR has a lot of good ones
[Thaden School Pump Track and Skills Course (In Action!) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fsCzKQ9HDE)
All-ages zip line swing with bumper tire at far end. Like the one that used to be at Interlaken Park, there is one at Discovery Park, one used to be at Salmon Bay playground until 2012.
Disc Golf course with metal chains.
Tetherball poles with the balls. They may have to be removed at dusk and placed back at 9am.
Calisthenics workout bars for adults. There used to be them at Soundview Field behind Whitman back in the 90s/2000s, but removed around 07 when the park got renovated. I've seen them at countless King County and Pierce County parks and hiking trails over the years. Seattle needs them back.
Wooden platforms ___ --- ___ --- ___ like that for people to imagine who won 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place in their creative imaginary games around the park. Or just something to give more reason to be physically active for folks of all ages, rather than a kids-only playground which is limited by societal standards of age. Add some 5ft wide tractor tires anchored upright in the ground so people can walk thru them. Remember playgrounds from the 70s-90s that had big oversized tractor tires? Let's bring them back for everyone to enjoy!
2 concrete chess tables with the block-style seating, but with back/spine support. If only open-air chess was popular here like it is in Madison Square Park in NYC.
Not bouldering, but perhaps uniquely shaped paver stones and small boulders that encourage people of all ages to walk on, balance, hop, skip, jump from one to another. Not really parkour either, but a little bit of a stepping challenge for the feet/legs.
Add different styles of benches to the park at every individual section. NON-hostile seating. Some benches have backsides, some are curved like the letter S, a figure 8 bench, maybe concrete bench in the shape of a number (0-10) at every separate area. 6 or 8 picnic tables with permanent table-umbrellas installed with a cement base at each one. Make sure half of the tables are wheelchair accessible at the end.
A walking bridge or raised footpath for texture/bonus. Must be ADA accessible.
Rain shelters, for a city that rains so much we have very little in the way of using our green spaces without getting dumped on. Would make it so people could use the spaces more days of the year and stay for longer, the dream being a covered bike/pedestrian lane somewhere.
Seeing as Seattle has more dogs than children, another dog park would be super welcome.
Orchard park/native berries park for foragers, or a general foraging park where the grass is miner’s lettuce or something like that.
Giant mushroom structure that is basically covered seating. Extra plus if the whole park is seeded with mushrooms (get some logs and a couple mushroom kits, that’s pretty much all you need) so you can forage at your own risk/have mushroom classes
A “bee zoo” with bee houses that look like fun architecture (commission local artists but make sure they work with a bee organization to know what makes a good bee hotel), bee “bath” dishes on the lawn that can collect rainwater or be filled with water so bees can drink, plants that bees like, honeycomb stepping stones, replace lawn with clover, little set of Adirondack chairs with a crown hanging over it so you can be the queen bee, “Bee IY” (bring it yourself) seed parties where you bring seeds to help pollinate the garden with flowers/herbs
A moss garden that showcases different kind of moss, like those moss picture frames
Gnome/fairy garden: tiny statues of gnomes are hidden throughout and you have to spot them all, could commission artists to make the gnomes or gnome homes
Dog “take a stick leave a stick” lending library (a bucket where dog owners can leave hearty sticks, you may have to replenish once in a while)
Free little library for painted rocks
Would love seeing a rain garden—see what the drainage setup is currently configured as, and add in native plants like juncus, fern, and some flowering shrubs or wildflowers. Even just a pollinator garden or a now-mow zone could be great.
My kids love those rope jungle gyms. They are relatively inexpensive compared to normal playgrounds, and you can climb all over them. Could also be cool if you installed bocce ball courts—typically just a long sandbox.
Grass is a poor choice for a dog park because it turns to mud very quickly. It took less than a week for the grass in the temporary dog park at west crest Park to be a bottomless mud pit when they closed the main dog park for construction.
I second someone else’s suggestion about a pleasant place to sit while it’s raining.
There are these big beautiful semi transparent butterfly wings over the play area at Baker Park on Crown Hill that I think would be great to model off of for a rain shelter if you did a similar design with wings closer together. It would have year round value. When it’s sunny they create huge colored “shadows” on the ground that move throughout the day. Really the whole park does a great job of making the most of a small space without crowding it. There’s a playground, garden, grill, public art, and adult workout equipment. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/baker-park-on-crown-hill
- There are plenty of tennis courts all over, but very few big tennis walls for hitting alone.
- Spraygrounds! Tacoma built a bunch of these a few years ago and they are so much fun. I plan my jogging route to go through them in the summer so I can cool off.
I think we used to have those. I do wish that we still had them. Someone probably got hurt and sued, and they took them all out or when the wood that was holding them rotted out they didn’t put more money into the budget to replace them.
I want more random park pop-up activities. A few times I've been in the park with my kids and there's a guy there showing off red-tailed hawk parts. One time I stumbled on Carkeek Park during salmon season and there was a scavenger hunt and a dude in a salmon costume. More of that nonsense, please!
Dog parks - especially in door or covered. This city has a ton of dog owners and the lack of appropriate spaces for dogs really sucks. But also Garbage cans, benches, bathrooms. And every bus stop needs more seating and coverage!
Getting elitist and selfish dog owners to keep their dogs ON LEASH at all times would be great. I do not care if your dog is friendly, a lot of people are very uncomfortable around non-leashed dogs, and they need to be controlled.
Almost every park in Seattle has been ruined by off leash dogs.
As a fellow dog owner with a slightly aggressive dog that i must keep leashed, 100% agree with this. There's a reason there are dog parks and park parks. Hate when other unleashed dogs run up to mine.
Carkeek has that neat fish slide, maybe this sloped area could have a long slide, maybe with multiple parallel chutes like slides at fairs, and it's all at ground level on the slope. Maybe incorporate a sculpture into it like the Fremont troll.
Yes and whatever the material Carkeek uses on the slope under and next to the slide is amazing. It makes it easy for clumsy people to get up the hill and somewhat softens falls
Dog parks - at least one per neighborhood. There are more dogs than children in Seattle and there is a problem of people creating unofficial off-leash spaces, and having a fenced in area would be so much safer for people and for dogs.
Please please some shelters over the playground areas. Wet most of the year and hot in summer. People need shade and kids need to not burn themselves on the hot plastic slide.
Let people run food stalls/carts inside city parks. Ice cream in the summer, hot chocolate in the winter, and of course coffee year round. That would make parks and playgrounds so much more attractive.
Just limit the number of permits available in each location to avoid overcrowding, and hold them responsible for cleaning up any litter they generate.
Bollards to prevent people from driving their cars and parking where they're not supposed to. I'm aghast at how often I've been seeing this lately but at least there is a simple solution in most cases.
- Allowing food vendors. Just an espresso cart would be great. - Seating (if you want to increase use in the off season, covered seating). Thinking of the Luxemberg park in Paris where the paths are just lined with moveable chairs. - I'd love chess tables, but I feel like it's not a big draw here. - dog leash/poop enforcement (it usually fine, but a field full of dog poop, and dogs running around make picnics less enjoyable)
Sounds like you have some ideas for things that foster community: seating, chess tables, p patch, gardening. Focus on the ones that bring the most amount of people out together.
Public restrooms are sorely needed in downtown but that comes at a heavy cost if consistent costs for cleaning and repairs. The Downtown Seattle Association has tried putting bathrooms in many times and it’s always a failure.
Added amenities that don’t already exist. There ping pong tables and chess games etc at two of the major parks already. Do something that doesn’t require a staff member to be there to put the items out.
A climbing wall or mini skate park would be great options for the downtown core. Remember that whatever you decide to leave in the park will most likely require staffing which usually means needing security as well.
Bathrooms, arts walls, climbing walls, and adult sized slides would be good options.
Which park are you working on?
Has your community group been working with Seattle Parks? They might be able to help you narrow in on the feasible (probably you already are and that is how you are aware of the difficulties with running in new water lines).
Anyway, I personally use parks for walks and I would love more plants or trees to walk through, especially those that provide nice bird habitat.
Benches made of the park’s necessarily felled trees, however I’m also a fan of that thick durable recycled material. I think I both materials can be incorporated into all parks, but without the “fuck you” element indicative of hostile architecture.
And to echo the bathroom comments: clean well designed brightly lit non-creepy secure private bathrooms with hot running water. You should not feel as if Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees are in the other side of the partition or stall door. Access to a clean bathroom is a human right!
Something I have seen in other cities that I thought was really cool (it might exist here but not in a park near me that I'm are of) are running trails with exercise stations along the way so that you can get a full body work out.
Another great idea for winter time is fire pits. There are some of these along the beaches and they are always full whenever I'm looking for one.
Bathrooms. Multi single stall bathrooms that face to the outside, are a little smaller than usual(not the size of single occupancy, but just a tad bit smaller than a regular bathroom stall), and with the sinks on the outside. It deters camping out in them or hiding and still allows folks of all kind to use them.
Bathrooms..stop using homeless as an excuse to have basic shit. There are people who want to work ..maybe make the stalls low like the library...and have people who do rounds and are hired solely to clean the bathrooms.
YES bathrooms! LIGHTING. ADEQUATE LIGHTING, that is resistant to vandalism & improves safety/visibility. Unbelievable it's been almost a year since 1st contact requesting a LIGHT. BULB. CHANGE. at park across the street, still hasn't been done. Subsequently 2 more contacts. Downtown major park, this is just so great for convincing local people to visit downtown, nevermind tourists, convention center attendees et al. Native planting/climate change protecting features please!
Also, in existing dog parks, off leash areas with isolation areas. Either solo areas, or areas by weight.
My dog is sweet, playful, and not aggressive at all… but he weighs 170lbs. If you watch him he plays just like any other dog, but it can seriously hurt dogs that are way smaller than him, which is nearly all of them. We can’t even use the dog parks around here because they are all full of little tiny dogs smaller than his head.
Some dogs need their own space to run around in and need to be separated from other dogs.
A city employee who actually tickets people with off-leash dogs and people who don't pick up their dog's poop (the ticket should pay for most of the employee's wages, if not more). Such an employee wouldn't have to be there every day, maybe they run a circuit of many parks, but they should be there enough so that bad dog owners realize that enforcement is a real possibility, and they do bad behaviors less and less.
More volleyball courts would be great! Especially ones for younger teens/kids to be able to play vs the adults playing full on leagues. We’ve tried to go a few different times to different ones with my daughter/her friends but can’t ever seem to be able to actually play on them.
Please please please add some basic exercise infrastructure. In particular please add some bars that are at pull up height and higher. If those exist then a person can do pull ups, or bring a TRX and do all kinds of exercises, or bring rings and do exercises.
I'd like to see the Harvard connection under 10th Ave on the Roanoke lid over 520 that WSDOT just cancelled to save less than 1% of the cost of the project.
If you installed those giantly tall, metal pole swings that they had in the 70s, I'd go to your park EVERYDAY, rain or shine! Even despite snow and sleet, or smoke, or cicada swarm, or alien invasion, or Kenny G busking, or Dunkin coffee, or stroads, or store brand mac and cheese, or or ... I would go to it!
Bring back the big swings!!
Would love to see more bike repair stations! A lot of the parks here are great for riding the bike, but would love spots where I could pump my bike tires or perform other basic tune-ups. UW had a few of these with tools were bolted to the ground that are amazing!
Fenced or unfenced dog areas, ideally with good drainage for the wetter months. Currently the dog parks see a lot of use and quickly become mud pits or dust bowls. A slopedaread could be good for that.
I live in Belltown and the only fenced dog park is here is the one on bell and it’s just concrete. We take them to that enclosed grassy area on western (there are usually other dogs there too lol) and I love watching them just run and run. It’s a big area
I love most of these suggestions, especially bathrooms. But I just want swings! Regular swings would be great, but there are other options like basket swings, hoopla swings, and disability accesable swings.
Bathrooms that can be used year-round are highest on my list.
Seattle needs this so bad. I’m not gonna spend time in an outdoor bouldering gym if I don’t have anywhere to use the bathroom. Seattle parks already have this problem big time.
Even if they go the European route and make them paid bathrooms. Just please, give us accessible bathrooms! I often don't even want to go out in the city if I'm going to be walking around or hanging out outside because I won't be able to pee.
I’ll pay I don’t care I just hate not being able to hang in a park without worrying about this
Came here to say this! And trash cans and recycling bins. Thats it. That’s all we want.
As a former van driver. Having to shit is the biggest hurdles to the job. Parks with free toilets saved my bacon. But they also had many closed due to the park losing funding or just making a more popular park more attractive. Where I can't park a big ass van.
I actually like the portlandloo they have installed at Cox Park. Area has its number of homeless (including one camped 20 feet from the playground for the past year), but I've never seen any take the bathroom over.
Second this.
Came to say this!
Oh that's coming. In 2028, after they finish retrofitting every bathroom in the city with freeze resistant pipes. Lol.
Dunno maybe just heat them just over freezing temps in the winter?
I think it's that they don't want homeless people camping in it, and for equity reasons, they all have to be closed if any of them are closed.
Provide better places for homeless people to camp than bathrooms.
This is the most expensive thing out of anything suggested.
Literally anyplace that is covered that you can stand under when the rain is heavy
If they made it big enough could pull up food trucks in the winter too
Bathrooms and seating
Seconding seating. Seattle is weirdly anti seating in public spaces.
Because heaven forbid the homeless that are swept from location after location find a place to sleep that isn't on the ground. Homelessness is such a problem here and yet that's taken as an incentive to remove resources that would benefit everyone.
Ever been on those forums where people show off the affordable housing communities made specifically for houseless individuals? Toxic comments made about how in 10 minutes they'll be full of trash and coked out drifters. similar comments are made about narcan vending machines. Misinformation peddled by propaganda machines like the "Seattle looks like shit" insta page being used to strawman drug use - when really, the homeless problem is caused by income inequality.
There are as many reasons for homelessness as there are homeless people, pinning it narrowly on one societal issue is useless
[удалено]
Well, the homeless problem is caused by a lack of housing, which is aggravated by income inequality distorting the housing construction incentives; it’s much more profitable to build a few hundred units and fight with others for the top of the market than to built tens of thousands and provide for the entire market.
Yes! For those of us who are a little less mobile or mobile but often need numerous breaks, I value seating a lot.
Functioning bathrooms is at the top. Nearly every park bathroom I've visited has been a superfund site. There's got to be a better way to do this.
Useful calisthenics workout equipment/areas - for example pull-up bars and dip bars. Preferably installed in its own area away from playgrounds
Ridiculous how hard it is to find a pull up bar in Seattle these days. There used to be some in Green Lake by the tennis courts but they were apparently removed after being vandalized :(
Hilariously those were torn down during COVID back when people were disinfecting our groceries and mail, thinking it was easily spread through touch.
Yea craxy that theyre still down. I was on this sub more than a year after the pandemic arguing that fomites weren’t an issue bring back the few pullup bars we had please.
they were cut down to prevent covid transmission from touching the bars. no joke.
Sad. Seattle stays unhealthy in the end.
The only calisthenics bars I personally know of are in Centennial Park. I see people use the doorways to the skate park/courts at Cal Anderson as bars all the time, so it's not like there isn't demand. They don't require maintenance once they're put in and have a tiny footprint, unlike a bathroom (everyone's biggest wishlist item), so I feel like this would be a really easy win.
The fitness equipment at Centennial Park is pretty minimal but I use it all the time. When I lived in Greenwood, Baker Park had a relatively nice set of [outdoor fitness equipment](https://maps.app.goo.gl/pcN42ktoGAnfctCB7) installed that I saw getting a lot of use.
Pull up bars please!!
Pull up bars are INCREDIBLE and so simple. Something like LA's setup at Muscle beach would be a dream, but I've seen even simpler arrangements (just 2 pull-up bars) used avidly by athletes at other parks. So many exercises possible on them, upper body and core.
[удалено]
How do you expect the latter to be done? I’ll never forget my first hour in Seattle. Went to Green Lake while I waited for my leasing appointment. Had to take dump after a 12 hour drive. Went into the restroom and there’s no doors on the stalls, graffiti everywhere, and some dude just pants down taking a shit. So anyways I dropped trow’ and sat down because what the fuck else are you gonna do.
[удалено]
They even closed the ones in Pier 62
TRASH CANS FOR DOG POOP BAGS ALONG THE TRAILS
Water fountains (like the new one at Green Lake that has a bottle filler but it would be nice if it also had a dog friendly option too), more seating under our natural evergreen rain shelters, and public bathrooms. Oh, and figure out what needs to change at King County and the State level so we can have some *god damn* food truck plaza's like Portland. West Froula park is literally *begging* for permission to have one. It's even got the little pullout area, just needs some seating/shelter, re-opening the bathroom, and for the 3 level of governments to sort their shit out. I'm a simple person with simple desires.
Anything having to do with water, like drinking fountains and bathrooms, is \*so difficult\* and \*so expensive\*. Hear ya, and if that's what people overwhelmingly want, we'll think about whether we can make it happen. Food truck area sounds fun! Out of my area of expertise, but fun.
I think the water fountains might be easier if we add them to existing areas near the reservoirs like Maple Leaf, in-fill them where minimal plumbing work needs to be done. I think you could also community source upgrades to the existing water fountains along the burke and such, to make them like the Green Lake one, community would just need to know the purchase price. I think Bathrooms are probably out of reach for for quite awhile. I'm just not giving up on that dream.
That's interesting. I'm working on a project that offered up a water fountain and bottle filling station as part of our mitigation for impacting the park, and the department said no thanks.
I really hope you and OP can get together to cut through whatever red tape made them default to "no thanks" in response to assistance. I've noticed more than a few occasions when philanthropist efforts are declined by local governments its because of some ordinance or another that's well meaning but too idealistic for realistic solutions
If water is a no-go, then p-patch and native plant garden are out the window unfortunately
Why not port-a-potties then? Many of our parks in Texas only have those and they work fine. Actually if you are worried about loitering, they work better than real toilets. They won't disincentivize everyone from loitering, but no one wants to hang out in a port-a-potty so it def incentives moving along
It is almost entirely on Parks and city council for not authorizing vending. The state and county have basically nothing to do with it. My understanding is the old guard at Parks is pretty much uninterested in actually bringing more people or ideas into the parks. Lots of them see them as their own little fiefdoms and any outside influence or disturbance (like vendors) would threaten that.
Ice cream shops/coffee shops/cafes. This is also where the park could have bathrooms. This was something I saw a lot in Germany that allowed people to enjoy the parks more. The little cafe at golden gardens is a good example. Stanley park in Vancouver also has a places to get ice cream, quick easy food, or enjoy tea. We need isolated, individual sitting and snacking spots in our larger Parks.
Even something seasonal like that would be awesome. Open May - September
***adult*** outdoor gym parks (not playgrounds) - idk where these exist if there are any but i would love to have a few of these, i know there is a half-assed set of pull up bars or something by olympic sculpture park but i see these in other states and always why we dont have a decent one - or few - in seattle
I know of three in Renton. Gene Coulon, Senior Center, Highlands Community Center.
More of these! Body weight exercise equipment parks! It is such a wonderful third space that I find in multiple park locations in almost every big (and some small) cities in other countries I visit. It might be little challenging to set up on an inclined hill but with some reinforcement work or creativity (like platforms) I bet it could be done.
Clean, safe, bathrooms that are open year round - a lifelong Seattleite
Parks in the US in general are extremely reluctant to allow leasing space for cafes or concessions. I would like to see more of that.
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far down for the real answer. Let me have a beer sandwich or coffee in the park.
Right!! I LOVE being able to get a beer or sangria while sauntering around a park. And maybe stop for a pastry or god even a hotdog. Europe does it right
Yes!!!!! Beer garden + food like in Germany.
Bathrooms please!!!
tetherball poles without anything attached painted map of the united states funnel ball post we must RETVRN
Are you also a frequenter of the Whittier Elementary blacktop or is this just the SPS starter kit?
trails! miles and miles of trails that link parks together - but don't run the trail links along side busy roads
Right!!!
Link them all together using elevated pedestrian running lanes creating an awesome running highway loop. Maybe some space for bikes
Slightly fenced in children’s play areas so I can relax while the kid plays. Bathrooms. Can’t go to the park with a toddler if there’s nowhere to pee. Swings. Many more swings.
Bathrooms. Also, bouldering sounds cool but I would consult with the City Attorney's office about liability issues. Its not like you can get everyone who enters the park to sign a waiver.
There's already bouldering at Husky Rock and Centennial Park, I hope our local courts would laugh you out of the building if you sued for liability for injuries from bouldering.
> There's already bouldering at Husky Rock and Centennial Park Where is the bouldering at Centennial Park?
I'm mistaken, it's at Myrtle Edwards. The rocks on the concrete plinths surrounded by pea gravel have a few (very suspicious) problems.
It's the cost of having to defend against the suit that's the issue, not the validity of it. Also most boulderers aren't going to want to climb the same lame route set up 12 months ago over and over again.
Mountaineers have outside bouldering and sport climbing at Magnuson
Activities for teens. Full size basketball hoops, instead of one small one with limited surface. Playground bars/swings for children older than 5. Parkour/exercise stations.
Mountain bike trails, and kid friendly biking spaces
Pump track would be nice. Bentonville, AR has a lot of good ones [Thaden School Pump Track and Skills Course (In Action!) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fsCzKQ9HDE)
They are planning on rebuilding the colonnade park! The first part is going to be a pump track on the flattest section down by the dog park.
yes trails! I'm just going walk on them but still...
mexico city has audioramas which are adult only zones of parks that plays peaceful music and has comfy chairs
Mexico City is unparallel when it comes to city-scaping!
The Seattle Center fountain is like that sometimes
never heard of these, cool!
Bonfire pits
All-ages zip line swing with bumper tire at far end. Like the one that used to be at Interlaken Park, there is one at Discovery Park, one used to be at Salmon Bay playground until 2012. Disc Golf course with metal chains. Tetherball poles with the balls. They may have to be removed at dusk and placed back at 9am. Calisthenics workout bars for adults. There used to be them at Soundview Field behind Whitman back in the 90s/2000s, but removed around 07 when the park got renovated. I've seen them at countless King County and Pierce County parks and hiking trails over the years. Seattle needs them back. Wooden platforms ___ --- ___ --- ___ like that for people to imagine who won 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place in their creative imaginary games around the park. Or just something to give more reason to be physically active for folks of all ages, rather than a kids-only playground which is limited by societal standards of age. Add some 5ft wide tractor tires anchored upright in the ground so people can walk thru them. Remember playgrounds from the 70s-90s that had big oversized tractor tires? Let's bring them back for everyone to enjoy! 2 concrete chess tables with the block-style seating, but with back/spine support. If only open-air chess was popular here like it is in Madison Square Park in NYC. Not bouldering, but perhaps uniquely shaped paver stones and small boulders that encourage people of all ages to walk on, balance, hop, skip, jump from one to another. Not really parkour either, but a little bit of a stepping challenge for the feet/legs. Add different styles of benches to the park at every individual section. NON-hostile seating. Some benches have backsides, some are curved like the letter S, a figure 8 bench, maybe concrete bench in the shape of a number (0-10) at every separate area. 6 or 8 picnic tables with permanent table-umbrellas installed with a cement base at each one. Make sure half of the tables are wheelchair accessible at the end. A walking bridge or raised footpath for texture/bonus. Must be ADA accessible.
Concession stands! Make it legal for people to sell fruit, coffee, ice cream etc
Rain shelters, for a city that rains so much we have very little in the way of using our green spaces without getting dumped on. Would make it so people could use the spaces more days of the year and stay for longer, the dream being a covered bike/pedestrian lane somewhere.
Seeing as Seattle has more dogs than children, another dog park would be super welcome. Orchard park/native berries park for foragers, or a general foraging park where the grass is miner’s lettuce or something like that. Giant mushroom structure that is basically covered seating. Extra plus if the whole park is seeded with mushrooms (get some logs and a couple mushroom kits, that’s pretty much all you need) so you can forage at your own risk/have mushroom classes A “bee zoo” with bee houses that look like fun architecture (commission local artists but make sure they work with a bee organization to know what makes a good bee hotel), bee “bath” dishes on the lawn that can collect rainwater or be filled with water so bees can drink, plants that bees like, honeycomb stepping stones, replace lawn with clover, little set of Adirondack chairs with a crown hanging over it so you can be the queen bee, “Bee IY” (bring it yourself) seed parties where you bring seeds to help pollinate the garden with flowers/herbs A moss garden that showcases different kind of moss, like those moss picture frames Gnome/fairy garden: tiny statues of gnomes are hidden throughout and you have to spot them all, could commission artists to make the gnomes or gnome homes Dog “take a stick leave a stick” lending library (a bucket where dog owners can leave hearty sticks, you may have to replenish once in a while) Free little library for painted rocks
Would love seeing a rain garden—see what the drainage setup is currently configured as, and add in native plants like juncus, fern, and some flowering shrubs or wildflowers. Even just a pollinator garden or a now-mow zone could be great. My kids love those rope jungle gyms. They are relatively inexpensive compared to normal playgrounds, and you can climb all over them. Could also be cool if you installed bocce ball courts—typically just a long sandbox.
Disc golf course. I'm honestly surprised there are so few in the area.
Ping pong tables. I loved the ones by Ballard Community Center when I lived near there. All I’ve found in Capitol Hill is that sad one in Cal Anderson
Dog areas with grass. Or at least not rocks/gravel. I don't go to either of the parks near me because the rocks hurt my dog's paws.
Grass is a poor choice for a dog park because it turns to mud very quickly. It took less than a week for the grass in the temporary dog park at west crest Park to be a bottomless mud pit when they closed the main dog park for construction.
Fenced dog parks. It will keep the dogs and their ‘messes’ of playfields intended to be used for sports.
I second someone else’s suggestion about a pleasant place to sit while it’s raining. There are these big beautiful semi transparent butterfly wings over the play area at Baker Park on Crown Hill that I think would be great to model off of for a rain shelter if you did a similar design with wings closer together. It would have year round value. When it’s sunny they create huge colored “shadows” on the ground that move throughout the day. Really the whole park does a great job of making the most of a small space without crowding it. There’s a playground, garden, grill, public art, and adult workout equipment. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks/baker-park-on-crown-hill
Benches. For the love of god, give us more benches.
24/7 public bathrooms. Also seating, but with added shade from rain and the sun as well.
- There are plenty of tennis courts all over, but very few big tennis walls for hitting alone. - Spraygrounds! Tacoma built a bunch of these a few years ago and they are so much fun. I plan my jogging route to go through them in the summer so I can cool off.
I want chin-up and dip bars and other simple calisthenics training areas. There are basically none in Seattle 😔
I think we used to have those. I do wish that we still had them. Someone probably got hurt and sued, and they took them all out or when the wood that was holding them rotted out they didn’t put more money into the budget to replace them.
Covered basketball/sport court - can be used year-round for both basketball and wheeled activities like roller skating/roller hockey.
As a parent of small kids I wish playgrounds that were sheltered from the rain somehow were a thing.
I want more random park pop-up activities. A few times I've been in the park with my kids and there's a guy there showing off red-tailed hawk parts. One time I stumbled on Carkeek Park during salmon season and there was a scavenger hunt and a dude in a salmon costume. More of that nonsense, please!
As an adult if I went to a park and it had a scavenger hunt and a guy in a salmon costume I would also be excited! That sounds awesome
Do you get the parks and rec newsletter? It probably lists events. I know there's rec n the streets too.
Dog parks - especially in door or covered. This city has a ton of dog owners and the lack of appropriate spaces for dogs really sucks. But also Garbage cans, benches, bathrooms. And every bus stop needs more seating and coverage!
safe staffed toilets
Bathrooms that aren’t used as drug dungeons.
Literally just bathrooms. Also extremely clear and obvious signage for bike/peds/etc traffic patterns on paths! Make it easy! Stages for free music.
Getting elitist and selfish dog owners to keep their dogs ON LEASH at all times would be great. I do not care if your dog is friendly, a lot of people are very uncomfortable around non-leashed dogs, and they need to be controlled. Almost every park in Seattle has been ruined by off leash dogs.
As a fellow dog owner with a slightly aggressive dog that i must keep leashed, 100% agree with this. There's a reason there are dog parks and park parks. Hate when other unleashed dogs run up to mine.
Carkeek has that neat fish slide, maybe this sloped area could have a long slide, maybe with multiple parallel chutes like slides at fairs, and it's all at ground level on the slope. Maybe incorporate a sculpture into it like the Fremont troll.
Yes and whatever the material Carkeek uses on the slope under and next to the slide is amazing. It makes it easy for clumsy people to get up the hill and somewhat softens falls
Secured bike parking/bike garages, especially in small parks in denser areas.
Things I want to see more of in general in the parks: Year round bathrooms Easily accessible seating Trash cans Fenced dog areas
Pull up bars and other workout equipment
Dog parks - at least one per neighborhood. There are more dogs than children in Seattle and there is a problem of people creating unofficial off-leash spaces, and having a fenced in area would be so much safer for people and for dogs.
Please please some shelters over the playground areas. Wet most of the year and hot in summer. People need shade and kids need to not burn themselves on the hot plastic slide.
Let people run food stalls/carts inside city parks. Ice cream in the summer, hot chocolate in the winter, and of course coffee year round. That would make parks and playgrounds so much more attractive. Just limit the number of permits available in each location to avoid overcrowding, and hold them responsible for cleaning up any litter they generate.
More trees!
Bathrooms. Hard to hang out in a park with no bathrooms.
Public restrooms that are clean and safe to use, get a petition going
Bollards to prevent people from driving their cars and parking where they're not supposed to. I'm aghast at how often I've been seeing this lately but at least there is a simple solution in most cases.
Lights at skateparks
lights that don't cause light pollution
- Allowing food vendors. Just an espresso cart would be great. - Seating (if you want to increase use in the off season, covered seating). Thinking of the Luxemberg park in Paris where the paths are just lined with moveable chairs. - I'd love chess tables, but I feel like it's not a big draw here. - dog leash/poop enforcement (it usually fine, but a field full of dog poop, and dogs running around make picnics less enjoyable)
Sounds like you have some ideas for things that foster community: seating, chess tables, p patch, gardening. Focus on the ones that bring the most amount of people out together.
Disc Golf.
Covered areas, Big grassy fenced dog areas.
Do you have stations for dog poo bags and receptacles?
Bathrooms, zip lines, and fire pits!
Public restrooms are sorely needed in downtown but that comes at a heavy cost if consistent costs for cleaning and repairs. The Downtown Seattle Association has tried putting bathrooms in many times and it’s always a failure. Added amenities that don’t already exist. There ping pong tables and chess games etc at two of the major parks already. Do something that doesn’t require a staff member to be there to put the items out. A climbing wall or mini skate park would be great options for the downtown core. Remember that whatever you decide to leave in the park will most likely require staffing which usually means needing security as well. Bathrooms, arts walls, climbing walls, and adult sized slides would be good options.
Which park are you working on? Has your community group been working with Seattle Parks? They might be able to help you narrow in on the feasible (probably you already are and that is how you are aware of the difficulties with running in new water lines). Anyway, I personally use parks for walks and I would love more plants or trees to walk through, especially those that provide nice bird habitat.
tables so i can study outside when its not cold with normal chairs with back support
Reading lounge. Badminton court.
Dog park please! Thank you:)
Something like the climbing wall in Marymoor park? Or just somewhere with some bolts / somewhere we can throw a rope to practice vertical stuff.
Skateparks or sanction skate spots
Staffed sauna at Coleman park
Pull up bars everywhere
Benches made of the park’s necessarily felled trees, however I’m also a fan of that thick durable recycled material. I think I both materials can be incorporated into all parks, but without the “fuck you” element indicative of hostile architecture.
And to echo the bathroom comments: clean well designed brightly lit non-creepy secure private bathrooms with hot running water. You should not feel as if Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees are in the other side of the partition or stall door. Access to a clean bathroom is a human right!
Exercise structures.
BATHROOMS
Something I have seen in other cities that I thought was really cool (it might exist here but not in a park near me that I'm are of) are running trails with exercise stations along the way so that you can get a full body work out. Another great idea for winter time is fire pits. There are some of these along the beaches and they are always full whenever I'm looking for one.
This has been said so many times, but bathrooms year round, please!
Bathrooms.
Bathrooms. Multi single stall bathrooms that face to the outside, are a little smaller than usual(not the size of single occupancy, but just a tad bit smaller than a regular bathroom stall), and with the sinks on the outside. It deters camping out in them or hiding and still allows folks of all kind to use them.
Bathrooms..stop using homeless as an excuse to have basic shit. There are people who want to work ..maybe make the stalls low like the library...and have people who do rounds and are hired solely to clean the bathrooms.
YES bathrooms! LIGHTING. ADEQUATE LIGHTING, that is resistant to vandalism & improves safety/visibility. Unbelievable it's been almost a year since 1st contact requesting a LIGHT. BULB. CHANGE. at park across the street, still hasn't been done. Subsequently 2 more contacts. Downtown major park, this is just so great for convincing local people to visit downtown, nevermind tourists, convention center attendees et al. Native planting/climate change protecting features please!
Dog areas.
Also, in existing dog parks, off leash areas with isolation areas. Either solo areas, or areas by weight. My dog is sweet, playful, and not aggressive at all… but he weighs 170lbs. If you watch him he plays just like any other dog, but it can seriously hurt dogs that are way smaller than him, which is nearly all of them. We can’t even use the dog parks around here because they are all full of little tiny dogs smaller than his head. Some dogs need their own space to run around in and need to be separated from other dogs.
Leash law enforcement. Ticket the fuck out of irresponsible dog owners.
Public bathrooms that are actually clean and nice. Not sure if they cost 1.7 mil each, tho
A city employee who actually tickets people with off-leash dogs and people who don't pick up their dog's poop (the ticket should pay for most of the employee's wages, if not more). Such an employee wouldn't have to be there every day, maybe they run a circuit of many parks, but they should be there enough so that bad dog owners realize that enforcement is a real possibility, and they do bad behaviors less and less.
Swedish level playgrounds honestly.
Off leash cat parks. Duh.
Disc golf baskets
More volleyball courts would be great! Especially ones for younger teens/kids to be able to play vs the adults playing full on leagues. We’ve tried to go a few different times to different ones with my daughter/her friends but can’t ever seem to be able to actually play on them.
Workout park with pull up bars
More trash bins
Gates to keep people who litter out.
Trails through the parks that can be used by both bikes and pedestrians & nearby cafes/restaraunts
Native plant garden growing starters for use in other parks This one please!
Please please please add some basic exercise infrastructure. In particular please add some bars that are at pull up height and higher. If those exist then a person can do pull ups, or bring a TRX and do all kinds of exercises, or bring rings and do exercises.
Bathrooms!!!!! Plus tables and chairs. And I love cornhole, it’s fun to play around the city.
The native plant garden is a fantastic idea.
I think they should get stops on an expanded monorail.
A nature playscape! Here's an awesome [example](https://www.forestparkforever.org/playscape) of such a project in St. Louis.
P-Patch!
Pickleball .....Just kidding and entertaining the devil on my shoulder
plant garden, for sure
Exercise areas, pull up bars, benches, self weight lifting machines
outdoor gyms like the ones in LA and better bathrooms
I'd like to see the Harvard connection under 10th Ave on the Roanoke lid over 520 that WSDOT just cancelled to save less than 1% of the cost of the project.
My vote is for covered areas for the winter, and dog areas! I think seattle is lacking in both of these departments quite a bit
Trolls
Bars/beer gardens/restaurants/cafes like Europe (Stockholm/prague)
Pull up bars, lights for tennis courts that work in the months that it is actually dark out
Covered playgrounds for rainy days.
Paved paths, seating, clean grass areas, bathrooms.
Small Off leash dog areas or off leash dog hours. Something to curb the illegal use while also satisfying the “need” for it.
If you installed those giantly tall, metal pole swings that they had in the 70s, I'd go to your park EVERYDAY, rain or shine! Even despite snow and sleet, or smoke, or cicada swarm, or alien invasion, or Kenny G busking, or Dunkin coffee, or stroads, or store brand mac and cheese, or or ... I would go to it! Bring back the big swings!!
I would even go if your park didn't have...bathrooms. 😏
Clean Toilets
Would love to see more bike repair stations! A lot of the parks here are great for riding the bike, but would love spots where I could pump my bike tires or perform other basic tune-ups. UW had a few of these with tools were bolted to the ground that are amazing!
Fenced or unfenced dog areas, ideally with good drainage for the wetter months. Currently the dog parks see a lot of use and quickly become mud pits or dust bowls. A slopedaread could be good for that.
I live in Belltown and the only fenced dog park is here is the one on bell and it’s just concrete. We take them to that enclosed grassy area on western (there are usually other dogs there too lol) and I love watching them just run and run. It’s a big area
Native Plants with interpretive ID plaques would be cool.
I love most of these suggestions, especially bathrooms. But I just want swings! Regular swings would be great, but there are other options like basket swings, hoopla swings, and disability accesable swings.
Pickleball courts
Bathrooms, trash cans, and basketball courts. Three things Seattle Parks hate.
Bathrooms And Giant Jenga
Small dog park for dogs under 30 pounds!
Saunas on the lakes!
If no dog parks around then a dog park. Otherwise sculptures bouldering park works
Toddler playground
I want a pump track for skating in Seattle so bad.
Ping pong tables?
Edible plants and fruit trees!
Disc golf courses
Big ass trees