South Lynnwood Park Renovation & Renewal

South Lynnwood Park is a 4.2-acre neighborhood park. It is in the City’s most racially diverse neighborhood. Developed in 1978, this park has many amenities which are beyond their useful life. Many of the amenities don’t meet the community’s need for physical activity and community gatherings. This project will provide accessible and close-to-home recreation opportunities for South Lynnwood.

This is the only active park within walking distance in the neighborhood. We’ve focused on meeting the needs of different user groups with many recreation opportunities. Outreach was undertaken to ensure this project will meet the needs of the community. The project will transform the park into a community hub. It will support active lifestyles for people of all ages and abilities.

Design is complete, and the project has been submitted for state, federal and local permits. The design incorporates community feedback with geotechnical, critical areas, and arborist assessments. The design uses the site’s natural features and drainage properties to create recreation and gathering spaces.

The project will:

• Replace and expand the playground area
• Add a new picnic shelter and seating
• Resurface the tennis/multi-sport court
• Make ADA improvements to the restrooms and pathways
• Improve the drainage of the grass lawn and natural areas.
• The basketball court will be moved and replaced with an artificial-turf soccer field
• A new bike station for park and trail users are planned

An exciting feature of this project will be a new mural. This will be painted on the restroom building next to the playground. This mural will be created by muralist Gabrielle Abbott. Gabrielle provided nature-themed art instruction to 5th graders at College Place Elementary. Drawings and ideas were collected from these students for the mural design. Gabrielle will begin painting the mural in late September.

Her design titled, Grateful Steward, takes inspiration from First Nations cultures. The First Nations see themselves as stewards of the land, not owners of it. As our modern society grapples with the effects of climate change and globalization, we can take guidance from the wisdom of the indigenous cultures whose territory we share. This mural will remind us that caring for the earth is a privilege and honor. A concept of the mural design will feature animals and plants that were part of the daily lives of the First Nations people. The illustration shown is a detail of the design that will evolve to include more animal and insect friends.

Portions of this project are made possible through the contributions of The Trust for Public Land and Kaiser Permanente, a Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office grant, a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation.