Last I saw, there was a Metro bus to the North parking lot, where it idles
for a long time. It would be so very excellent if it ran down to West
Point instead of just sitting there!

- Michael Hobbs

On Tue, Oct 29, 2019, 4:07 PM Matt Dufort <matt.dufort at gmail.com> wrote:


> 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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>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

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>>

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