Share your thoughts Aug. 6 on restoring the lagoon, replacing the Hidden Beach bridge and stormwater management improvements
Like so many of Tacoma’s public lands, the rich past of Titlow Park is reflected in the rare natural and historic assets found within the 75-acre park.
The historic Titlow Lodge once drew visitors to a posh shoreline resort offering rooms with both saltwater and freshwater. Today, it serves as a beloved venue for weddings, family gatherings and as the homebase for popular summer camps.
Among the longtime visions for the park has been a desire to return the intertidal lagoon that once served as the swimming hole for resort guests back to its natural state as a vital resting place for juvenile salmon as they migrate through Puget Sound. Also along the shoreline, Metro Parks Tacoma is continuing to enhance access to Hidden Beach – a tranquil, waterfront park area which reopened to the public in 2017. Previously, a 63-year lease had granted exclusive use of this uncommon, forested shoreline experience to a private group.
The community and Metro Parks have dreamed big about these and other aspects of Titlow Park for more than a decade and a half. The master plan guiding the long-range visioning for the park is continuing to take form.
On Aug. 6, Metro Parks will host a workshop from 1-3 p.m. at Titlow Lodge, followed by a lagoon tour. Presentations and discussions will center on three proposed projects: replacing the Hidden Beach bridge, restoring the lagoon and trestle, and improving stormwater management.
“These projects tie into priorities centered on improving safety, enhancing visitor experiences and restoring and protecting the environment at Titlow Park,” said Kristi Evans, project manager. “We’re eager to hear what the community thinks.”
In addition to its importance as a park supporting community and wildlife, Titlow plays a significant environmental role in the upstream watershed, naturally filtering stormwater to reduce the impact of pollutants and run off from reaching Puget Sound. In conjunction with master plan improvements for the park itself, the City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services division is assessing projects to enhance the park’s stormwater and wastewater management systems.
Parametrix Inc., an engineering, planning and environmental sciences firm, will take feedback from the Aug. 6 workshop and incorporate it into park designs that could be completed by the end of the year.
The enhancements all stem from the Master Plan, which was updated in 2010 and affirmed with the community through a two-year master plan update prepared in 2020. As Metro Parks works to identify funding for master plan projects, we want to discuss the status of the following initiatives within the park:
· Lagoon/trestle restoration: The priority is providing unhindered fish passage from the lagoon to the Tacoma Narrows, which will be done by deepening the lagoon and replacing the culvert and tidal gate with a new railway trestle bridge.
Other improvements could include adding pedestrian bridges, improving walkways, putting an elevated boardwalk over the high marsh, and relocating active recreation and picnic areas.
· Bridge replacement: The bridge to Hidden Beach closed to vehicle traffic in 2019 because the creosote-soaked wooden bridge was determined to be structurally unsound. It also does not meet BNSF standards, which have expanded since the bridge was built. The new bridge must be elevated by 3-5 feet to provide proper clearance over the rail lines.
A prefabricated steel truss bridge is recommended for the replacement. The bridge will serve primarily as a pedestrian connection and will remain closed to traffic other than emergency and maintenance vehicles.
As part of the project, the path to North Beach will be widened and re-routed to be ADA compliant.
· Stormwater management: This is a City of Tacoma project that will place several constructed bioswales and stormwater enhancement features along 6th Avenue to capture runoff and direct it into the lagoon and Puget Sound.
Titlow Park offers the only beach park on Tacoma’s west side and is one of the city’s five signature parks. It boasts 75 acres, extensive beach frontage, estuary lagoon, several playfields and sport courts, sprayground, trails, a playground and picnic areas. Titlow Lodge, a 1 ½-story Swiss-chalet style building constructed in 1911, was added to the Tacoma Register of Historic Places in 2018.
Learn more about the projects: Titlow Park Improvements – Metro Parks Tacoma
WHAT: Community workshop and guided lagoon tour
WHEN: Aug. 6, 1-3 p.m.
WHERE: Titlow Lodge, 8425 6th Ave., Tacoma
