Neighbors fight for more parking at Lakefront Park

By Oliver J Moffat

Lakefront Park funding is at risk after a hearing examiner found the plans don’t meet the city's parking rules.

A proposed Lakefront Park site plan shows the ten-car parking area and public dock opposed by neighbors.

Lakefront Park neighbors challenged the LFP park project and after nearly 50 hours of testimony over 9 days, a hearing examiner found the city had violated its own parking rules. 

Funding for the Lakefront Park project could be at risk as the city must redesign the park before a grant deadline. 

Nearly 90% of the $14.7 million park cost will come from federal, state and county grants.

The planned park would combine the Lyon Creek Preserve with two adjacent properties to create a 3.9-acre park on Lake Washington and include a community center, a playground, and a dock for swimming and paddling.

But only ten parking spaces were planned. 

An aerial view from the LFP website shows the location of the Lakefront Park site near LFP Town Center

Thousands of cyclists and walkers pass by on the nearby Burke-Gilman Trail and Sound Transit will build BRT stations nearby.

But the project is now at risk after a hearing examiner sided with neighbors over car parking and dock sizes.

Neighbors who live next to the future park site hired an attorney to appeal the project plan and testified they are worried about noise, traffic, and people trespassing. They also said they want nearly a hundred parking spaces paved at the site instead of ten.

Park designers testified that filling the site with more parking would damage the environment and would leave no room for the playground or trees.

In his recent ruling, the hearing examiner rejected the neighbors environmental complaints, but agreed the plans don’t meet the city's parking and dock rules.

The city said a grant for $1.04 million must go out for bid by summer 2026 or risk funding.