TACOMA, Wash. — Love ’em or hate ’em, a roundabout will soon become the new entrance to Point Defiance Park.
This one promises to ease congestion at the sometimes confusing who-goes-next intersection where Vashon Island ferry lanes, marina parking and park entrance meet up at North Pearl Street.
This week, only a line of Jersey barriers and a few survey stakes were in place.
The work should be completed within four months, Metro Parks spokesman Michael Thompson said. Though park-goers won’t see major construction start until February, tree removal will begin as early as next week, Thompson said. None of the trees being removed are old-growth specimens.
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When the new entrance is unveiled, it will be heralded by a new welcoming sign.
Park attractions, the ferry entrance and everything now open inside the park will remain open during construction. Temporary detours will keep traffic flowing in all directions, Metro Parks said.
Park visitors will be seeing double when it comes to roundabouts. Another one farther east on North Park Avenue will provide access to the new multipurpose parking lot.
Wilson Way, the new pedestrian bridge that crosses over that parking lot, won't open until late 2018, Thompson said. That's a year behind estimates from last April.
Also opening late this year is the new 11-acre still-to-be-named peninsula park and the trail leading to it.
Weather, construction delays and the need to open the bridge, trail and park simultaneously has pushed back the openings, Thompson said.
An open house on Feb. 10 will provide a question-and-answer opportunity for park-goers on these and many other subjects.
Metro Parks offers these tips for entering and leaving the park:
▪ Pedestrians should follow signs near the construction area.
▪ The best option for drivers entering the park will be to use the Mildred Street entrance. It can be reached from North Pearl Street by turning west onto North 51st Street and following the curve at the end of North 51st Street to Mildred Street.
▪ Drivers will still be able to enter the park from Pearl Street and access the ferry entrance and marina parking with slight detours.
Drivers will have two ways to leave the park:
▪ Via Mildred Street.
▪ By way of the Point Defiance Marina. From the park’s bowl area, the first right turn after the Pagoda takes traffic downhill to the Marina. From there, share the southbound lanes with Vashon Island ferry traffic to exit onto North Pearl Street.