Seahurst Park

Seahurst Park in Burien is a strange blend of good, bad, and ugly. The stream mouth may be the most genuine one left between Seattle and Tacoma, though its original form may have extended north under what is now seawall, restrooms, and lawn grass. The perched beaches, built in the 1970s, are unique in Puget Sound -- probably for good reason. Someone's notion of enhancing high tide beaches has since become an eyesore and a liability. The gabion wall and the riprap at the south end came out three years ago and that shoreline now has a chance to become the forested beach that it once was (and that still exists farther south).

Interest has now shifted to the north end, where there are opportunities to both improve the park and to fix the beach. Maybe we can learn something from Seahurst that will eventually benefit parks and beaches elsewhere on the Sound.