Summer at Maritime Heritage

This summer, Maritime Heritage Park will be hosting several community events in order to help improve park attendance and use. In the past, Maritime Heritage has had a negative reputation and the City of Bellingham has made efforts over the years to revitalize the park. This year, the city has teamed up with Levitt AMP to bring outdoor music to Maritime Heritage Park. 

Other events such as a mobile playground, food trucks and a children's art festival will take place at the park throughout the summer. For more information on Maritime Heritage events, see pages 58 to 59 of Bellingham's Parks and Recreation Summer Leisure Guide. Other events around Bellingham can also be found in the Leisure Guide.

Attendees are encouraged to walk, ride bikes and bus to events said Recreation Coordinator Amanda Grove. The Whatcom Transportation Authority offers a trip planner that will plan out alternative transportation routes.

What To Do?

With summer approaching, South Hill residents may find themselves looking for things to do as the weather warms up. Unfortunately, the neighborhood's popular Boulevard Park is out of commission for any large events as the sewer rehabilitation project continues.

This summer, outdoor concerts will be taking place at Maritime Heritage Park and not at Boulevard while the sewer line is under construction. The summer concerts will run from July 1 to Sept. 4.

The City of Bellingham is making an effort to revitalize Maritime Heritage and the summer concerts are a step toward increasing traffic through the park. Currently the park does not have a good reputation due to a history of crime in the park.

For more activity ideas around Bellingham such as outdoor films and disc golf, visit Be in Bellingham and for a calendar of daily events, see here.

Background on the Boulevard Park Sewer Rehabilitation

The torn up grass and dirt at Boulevard Park might be a temporary eyesore but the park’s outdated sewer system is long overdue for replacement. Sewage leaks at the park’s surface have been dealt with in the past and the current construction aims to eliminate future hazards.

Previously, overuse and overflowing sewer wells have lead to occasional pooling of water and sewage at the park’s surface according to Bellingham’s Parks and Recreation Department manager Marvin Harris. Without replacement, there is more of an environmental risk as the current sewer setup is nearly 45-years-old, Harris said.

Gina Austin, one of the project engineers, added that the current pumps “just don’t have the capacity” needed to service the park. Alarms have alerted of excess sewage in the past and the overflows have never had the chance to spread beyond the containment areas according to Harris.

“The current system is a rudimentary pump system like you would see on a home,” project manager Michael Olinger explained in an email. The new system, which services the restrooms and the Woods Coffee at Boulevard Park, will be much more industrial, Olinger said.

The new sewer structure will also include a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that will allow officials to “control and monitor the pumping system from the sewer treatment plant,” Olinger said. This will allow for close monitoring of the system and faster action in the event of a sewage overflow.

Austin confirmed that the entire sewer line is being replaced as well. This $587,918 project is being funded by the City Sewer Fund according to project signs posted in the park.

Harris explained that after almost nine years, the project “finally got funding” and “it is time to do some upgrading.” The replacement of the Boulevard Park sewer system will allow for a better park experience for future visitors because it will prevent restroom closures and potential sewage overflows, Harris said.

There is currently no health concern regarding the construction process according to Harris and Olinger. “The soils that have been excavated for the installation of the sewer line have been tested and were found to be classified as solid waste (garbage) but not hazardous waste,” Olinger clarified.

Inside of the fence at Boulevard Park, mounds of soil are visible and presently sitting, covered by tarps. Harris explained that there is a membrane under the contaminated soil and that this is standard practice.

“There is no health concern with things sitting there [in the park],” Harris said. He added that the reason for the fence around the construction site is partly to contain the contaminated soil and to prevent further contamination. Harris continued to explain that they are following the regulations of the Department of Ecology and the contaminated soil will ultimately be moved from the park in special containers to a recycling plant.

With the construction and landscaping projected to continue into July, some park-goers have expressed concern for the timing of the project. In April, a group of students who were slack lining at Boulevard Park said they were disappointed in having another summer of construction. Last year, shoreline improvements lead to limited access at the park.

“There are three seasons in Washington,” one of the students, Mel Vautaux, said. “There’s rain, more rain and construction.”

Due to permits, the sewer rehabilitation has to take place now, Harris said. “The dryer the weather, the better.” Harris explained that the soil must to be dry in order to excavate and replace the sewer line and pumps.

At the current time, the construction is ahead of schedule and some landscaping has already been completed according to Harris. He explained that “the project was in the design state for quite a while” and they feel “confident” that it’s ahead of schedule.

Currently, “the pipe is 90 percent complete with grass sod on top of it,” Harris said. He is hopeful that by June, everything, including landscaping, will be complete.

Boulevard Park Construction: A Necessary Nuisance

Looking out over Bellingham Bay, a popular waterfront park bustles with activity. Everywhere you look, people are playing, running, biking or relaxing—and they are all maneuvering around the large, fenced-off center of Boulevard Park.

In mid-April, a three-month construction project began to replace two failing sewer pumps at Boulevard Park according to the City of Bellingham Public Works project website. The project requires excavation and removal procedures according to the website. As a result, a long strip of the park from the outdoor stage down to the Woods Coffee has been fenced off.

On one side of the fence, next to the parking lot, Boulevard Park’s only playground sits in an alcove, surrounded by construction.

“If they have to do it, we just have to work with it,” Joni Park said, watching her grandchildren run around on the playground. She said she commutes from out in the county to come to Boulevard Park with her family. She is one of many inconvenienced by the construction but by not enough to avoid the park.

“If they had a gate to get through,” Park said, “it’d make it a little bit more convenient to get to the beach from this little playground.”

The only way to get to Boulevard’s waterfront side is to walk to the ends of the park and around the fenced area. Park said she hoped parents and children would be on one side at the same time in case anyone got hurt because it would take too long to get around the fence to someone.

The construction area has cut through a large portion of Boulevard’s grassy, open space and the view from either side of the fence has been obstructed. Children’s games of soccer and Frisbee have been pushed out to edges of the park to the remaining open areas that sit between trees and on the shoreline.

Even with the lack of a large open space, Boulevard Park still remains one of Bellingham’s most popular destinations. Project signs posted around the park boast of around 500,000 yearly visitors.

“This community is so amazing,” another park-goer, Jane Montague said. Montague grew up on the East Coast before moving to Bellingham. “There are a lot of parks and a lot of water access here,” Montague said. She said she believes that it is very important to have parks because kids need a place to play and climb around.

“When you know why it has to be, it’s a good cause,” Montague said. She said she agrees that the replacement of the sewer pumps is a necessary inconvenience.

This rehabilitation project will “insure the serviceability and reliability of the wastewater systems for current and future park visitors,” explains on of the city’s information signs posted in the park.

A group of students practicing on a slack line tied between two trees said they wished there could be a year without construction.

“It’s lame because it’s this, this year and the beach last year,” Mel Vautaux said. She explained that she and her friends come to Boulevard often and it seems like there has been constant construction.

This is the second major project that has occurred in the last few years. In 2013, construction on the shoreline began in order to minimize erosion and to create beach access according to the City of Bellingham’s project website. Landscaping that lasted into 2014 make this the third year in a row that park access has been limited.

Another one of the students, Derek Smith said the construction “definitely makes the park feel smaller and you can’t look straight out to the water.”

Even with the disruption, on a sunny day, people flock to the park and manage to work around the construction. On Saturday, Apr. 25, high school students on their way to prom wandered around the park. Avoiding the construction, they made the walk around the fence in dress shoes and high heels and snapped pictures in front of the sunset over the bay.

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Boulevard Park Sewer Improvements

http://www.cob.org/government/departments/pw/projects/boulevard-park-sewer-eu-0176.aspx

Boulevard Park Shoreline Improvements

http://www.cob.org/government/departments/parks/projects/boulevard-park-shoreline-improvements.aspx

Grassy Alternatives

Boulevard Park construction continues to take up most of the park's open green space.

The work to replace the failing sewer pumps at Boulevard Park continues to take up the park's open grass area. The fenced off portion of Boulevard Park is covered in machinery and mounds of tarp-covered soil. With Boulevard's largest open area fenced off, there is little space left for children and families to play games or run around.

Fortunately, there are several nearby parks that offer plenty of open space for Frisbee or soccer games. Forest & Cedar Park is only a few blocks away from Boulevard Park. Forest & Cedar offers a playground, picnic tables and restrooms and is a close alternative for an open place to play.

Fairhaven Park is a short drive away and offers rentable picnic shelters, a community building and trails along with its grassy fields. This large park is known for hosting summer events. Little Squalicum Park, though farther away, is another alternative for views of Bellingham Bay and waterfront access while views at Boulevard Park are limited.

For a full list of Bellingham parks, green spaces and amenities, visit the City of Bellingham's Park Guide.