Elston et al.,

What's being missed in this conversation is that the *road* to the
lighthouse is officially closed to public access. The permits that are
loaned out at the visitor center are not parking permits - they are access
permits that include parking. There are big signs pointing this out where
Discovery Park Boulevard splits from the road going down to the north
parking lot. Those signs are widely ignored, but that is still the rule.

The park is intended to be largely vehicle-free, with the exception of
access to the main parking lots and residential and water treatment plant
in-holdings. The permits provide access to people who would otherwise have
difficulty getting to the beach area. The park's original 1972 master plan
features this explanation: "There will be great pressures to open up the
park to automobiles, motorcycles and motor bikes. One of the greatest
values of the park is, however, that it will afford the people a refuge
from the noise, air pollution and danger of the automobile. We believe,
therefore, that park patrons should not be permitted to drive their private
vehicles through the park." There's more detail on implementation of this
principle in the 1986 Development Plan, which you can find here:
https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/Parks/MasterPlan1986.pdf
.

As for how to get to the lighthouse, there are lots of potential routes.
For pre-dawn visits, I take one of two approaches. The first starts at the
south parking lot, and goes north along the west side of the parade grounds
to Discovery Park Boulevard, then generally west down the road to the
point. The second starts at the visitor center parking lot, and goes west
along either Discovery Park Boulevard or the paved roads/trails that
largely parallel it a little to the south until those trails hit the road
at the north end of the parade grounds. On either route, keep your eyes
and ears out for Barn and Barred Owls. Also, in addition to the park map
that Jane Hadley shared, I created a birding map of the park, which you can
find here: https://tinyurl.com/y8dv2axr.

I hope this is helpful.

Matt Dufort
Seattle

On Tue, Oct 29, 2019 at 12:21 PM Elston Hill <elstonh at yahoo.com> wrote:


> >

> > Message: 1

> > Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2019 17:27:32 -0700

> > From: Hartmut Peters <tuoichen at gmail.com>

> > To: birders wa <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

> > Subject: [Tweeters] Discovery Park - how to get to the lighthouse

> > Message-ID:

> > <CALv4JExwRzxVwuc=FoTY+6=

> QNOS_h-Y-mLpUtmLP-ZLh05_cSQ at mail.gmail.com>

> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

> >

> > The small parking lot down at the South Beach is by permit only for most

> > excellent reasons. If you are able-bodied, it will NOT hurt you to walk

> the

> > mile to the beach and the lighthouse from the south parking lot. We

> > regulars do it all the time. It helps keeping up our health. Walking from

> > the south parking lot is easier than from the north parking lot. For

> > navigation, google Discovery Park and get the park map - or get it at any

> > one of the parking lots on paper. Also, all the trails in Discovery Park

> > have posts marking trails and destinations. Look for "South Beach".

> >

> > --

> > Hartmut Peters

> > Seattle, Washington; tuoichen AT gmail.com

>

> As someone who does hike a lot, I appreciate the benefits of hiking.

>

> BUT, I think I raised some legitimate issues. What is the point of

> restricting the parking so that no one can use the parking lot by the

> lighthouse when the visitor center is not open? There are many reasons that

> people who are fit and like to hike might like to be able to use those

> parking spaces when they are just sitting empty. For example, stopping by

> on the way to work when one does not have the time to hike two miles both

> ways.

>

> Sometimes government gets obsessed with rules that make no sense. For

> example, one person replied to me that the park did not want to allow early

> morning parking because of a problem with break ins. Somehow it seems to me

> that a car parked nearby at the lighthouse in the dark is less like to be

> broken into than a car left in the south parking lot in the dark.

>

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>

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