Magnuson Park Circulation, Comfort Stations, Signage & Wayfinding

2022

The Magnuson Park Circulation Plan was completed in November 2021. You may view the final plan document here and view documents and videos from public meetings below.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) thanks everyone who participated in the in-person (June 21) meeting and the on-line (June 22) meeting for the Magnuson Park's Circulation Plan and Comfort Station.

During the online presentation, Seattle Parks and Recreation and its consultants, Heffron Transportation and MIG:

• Presented preliminary recommendations for high-priority circulation improvements throughout Magnuson Park and the Sand Point Historic District.
• Presented recommended improvements to existing signage.
• Presented recommended placement and estimated costs for a new comfort station.
• Collected feedback from the community relative to the recommendations.
• Held a question & answer session for participants to send questions.

To watch the recording of Public Meeting #2 presentation and recording of the June 22 online open house please visit:
https://youtu.be/bvBKXFEWG7s

Seattle Parks and Recreation thanks everyone who participated in the March 30 online public meeting. You can view the presentation and event video from the meeting below.

Warren G. Magnuson Park Circulation, Comfort Stations, and Signage & Wayfinding

Since the early 1990s several master plans were developed for the park and surplus navy properties. However, none of these plans took a comprehensive look at the roads, streets, paths and how people entered and moved around the park. Early development of the eastern portion of the park included public restrooms in both new and reused buildings. As other areas were improved public restrooms, a.k.a. comfort stations were included in plans but not necessarily funded. In 2004 a signage and wayfinding plan was developed through a public process and funding was included for partial implementation.

This project will produce proposed plans for three park components:

1. Circulation
   Within the park and historic district there are approximately 5.8 miles of existing streets, 12 miles of pedestrian and bicycle paths, and more than 2700 parking spaces (on and off-street). Of the existing streets, more than one mile is within public right-of-way with private streets comprising 4.7 miles. Of the private streets, almost four miles are owned by SPR, almost a half-mile by Solid Ground and less than an eighth of mile by the University of Washington and Mercy Housing. The consultant team will review these plans and develop plans and projects to improve vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle circulation and safety and include conceptual design and cost estimates.
   
   A goal will be to develop concepts on how to separate pedestrian/bicycle facilities from the vehicular network and how to connect adjacent neighborhoods to the pedestrian/bicycle network. On-street and off-street parking resources and capacities will be reviewed relative to completed and potential future development projects.
2. Restrooms a.k.a. Comfort Stations
   The consultant team will conduct a feasibility study and propose a recommendation to locate a new public restroom within Magnuson Park, outside the historic district. Public restrooms exist in several SPR-owned buildings within the historic district and two comfort stations are located in the central and eastern part of the park. The one located adjacent to the Sports Meadow was constructed in the 1980s, and the one located next to the Lake Washington swim beach was constructed in the early 2000s. A third comfort station (a.k.a. navy Building 315) existed until 2016 until it was destroyed in an arson fire.
   The consulting team will assess the feasibility of two sites:
   1) at the south end of the Merriam Athletic Field Complex as identified in the Athletic Fields Master Plan (Ordinance 121502); and
   2) adjacent to the Junior League Playground, Off-Leash Area and north Merriam athletic fields.
3. Signage & Wayfinding
   The consultant team will review the 2004 Signage & Wayfinding Master Plan relative to the new circulation plan and make recommendations for improving wayfinding in the park and historic district. The 2004 plan selected a design for all signs within the park and historic district and created a hierarchy of sign types, including building identification, park amenities, directional signs, and tenant (on-premises) signs. The main effort of this task is to identify how locations, sites, within the park may best be communicated to visitors, residents, recreation users, employees. This may include the identification of sites for wayfinding signs, or the use of new technology including smart phones. The team will also consider themes and locations for historic and cultural interpretive signs. This project will not include a redesign of existing sign graphics although this could be included as a recommendation. They will also develop cost estimates for recommended improvements and consider the constructability and cost of future signs.