This year has been a busy one here at King County Parks – we’ve added some new acres here and there, converted a few muddy old fields to synthetic turf, and removed a heck of a lot blackberries. Here’s the highlights reel:

New stuff!

• Paved 1.2 miles of the East Lake Sammamish Trail in Redmond, which is the first step in developing the entire 11-mile trail corridor.
• Completed major upgrades at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, including energy efficiency improvements, better locker rooms and a fresh coat of paint.
• Constructed a picnic shelter in the center clearing at Duthie Hill Park.
• Improved safety by replacing a trail bridge over the Snoqualmie Valley Trail near Carnation.
• Developed a one-mile segment of the Foothills Trail near Enumclaw, installing a trail bridge and greatly improving the safety of road crossings.
• Renovated the tennis courts at Steve Cox Memorial Park, including a new surface, netting and fencing.

New stuff that’s coming soon!

• Redeveloping a two-mile segment of the Burke-Gilman Trail through Lake Forest Park (north section will be open by December 31; project completion in early 2012)
• Improving Ravensdale Park with a new synthetic turf athletic field and other amenities (January 2012)
• Constructing a rowing center and boathouse on the west side of Marymoor Park (February 2012)
• Converting two fields to synthetic turf at Petrovitsky Park (March 2012)
• Upgrading the north playground at Marymoor Park (late 2012)
• Redeveloping the Issaquah segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail (December 2012)

These projects were made possible in part by the voter-approved 2008-2013 Open Space and Trails levy, along with funding from a Community Development Block Grant (Steve Cox Memorial Park), the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (Duthie, East Lake Sammamish Trail-Issaquah Segment), and federal transportation funds (East Lake Sammamish Trail).

Many of these projects are being carried out through our Community Partnerships and Grants (CPG) Program, where we team up with community partners who match seed funding from King County Parks with their own sweat equity, fundraising and donations to enhance recreation on King County land. Thank you Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (Duthie), Rock Creek Sports (Ravensdale), Sammamish Rowing Association (Marymoor) and Kent Youth Soccer Association (Petrovitsky)!