The BMX dirt jumps have been officially saved after Seattle Public Schools abandoned its plans to build a football field next to the soccer field in Lower Woodland Park.
In a letter to the Lincoln High School community, SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said the district will build a new football/soccer field on a gravel lot at 50th and Aurora and hopes it will be open in 2029. This means the area around the existing soccer field, which includes the dirt jumps, a skate park and a paved path, will remain unchanged. Woodland Park would also get a second soccer field, which would be great since the current field is heavily booked.
Due largely to the need for some significant retaining walls, the chosen Option B is estimated to cost about $815,000 more than the dual-field Option A that the district had previously preferred and also take about a year longer to build and open. But following significant backlash, including organizing efforts and a Save the Greenlake Jumps bike jump jam led by Greenlake BMX, Option A shifted to the east where it would remove some big trees. Option A also would have crowded the area around the skate park and squeezed the width of some of the paths. It fit, but just barely. Greenlake BMX urged people to support Option B.
An Option C, which had gained some public support and was featured on flyers around the neighborhood, would have been similar to B but with soccer field at 50th and Aurora and a football field in Lower Woodland Park. However, even though a soccer field is shorter than a football field and may have made the 50th and Aurora project a little easier, the need to rebuild two fields instead of one put the cost of Option C at nearly $11.5 million, $2 million higher than Option B and $2.9 million higher than Option A.
The “loss” of the gravel parking lot at 50th and Aurora will affect cyclocross and cross country events in the park since they have typically used that area for staging. It will also remove some overflow parking for major zoo events. However, the gravel lot sits empty 99% of the time, which is a terrible use of public space. Hopefully the cyclocross organizers can figure out how to work around the loss of the gravel lot since the Woodland Park race has become a beloved tradition.
The Option B plan as currently envisioned will require some changes to the paths and the ring road in the upper Woodland Park picnic area. These changes could affect people who bike though Woodland Park or are headed to the secret bridge and tunnel shortcut to the zoo and rose garden. The renders all show a new parking lot along NE 50th Street, which pushes the field further into the hill. Perhaps SPS and Parks can work together and instead find ways to modify and share the copious amounts of existing parking in the loop around the picnic area, which could reduce the costs and impacts of the field.
The 2029 date could also give SDOT time to implement much-needed safety improvements for people crossing Green Lake Way N and NE 50th Street. The need for safe crosswalks on Green Lake Way especially is already a worthy project, but the prospect of Lincoln students walking to the new field makes it even more important. There are currently zero safe places to cross Green Lake Way between N 46th and N 50th Streets. The street has a four-to-five lane design that is known to increase serious injuries and deaths. But the multi-lane design is especially nonsensical on this street because each end is connected to a single lane of traffic. There is no reason to widen the street to two lanes only to bring it back down to one a few blocks later. It creates a lot of traffic danger, destroys walkability and bikeability, and all for zero traffic benefit. I have long been a fan of the idea that Seattle could delete this street entirely since it causes more traffic problems than it fixes by creating overly complicated intersections at 46th and 50th. Green Lake Way N was a mistake from the early days of highway planning. Deleting it would open up new public land for building homes or parks while also simplifying the street grid and traffic patterns. However, short of deleting the street, the city can easily reduce it to one lane in each direction with turn lanes, crosswalks and perhaps even bike lanes.
Congratulations to everyone who fought to save the dirt jumps. You deserve to take some victory jumps.
More details from Seattle Public Schools:
Dear Lincoln families and staff,
Thank you to everyone who has been part of the process to locate and build a new athletic field and track for Lincoln High School. Lincoln is an amazing school, and I’ve come to understand that a core part of what has been missing is a place for Lincoln athletes to call home. After many years of conversation about this, it was clear when I arrived as superintendent four months ago that it was time to act.
After reviewing community input, working with Lincoln’s administration and athletics staff, and talking with a number of community groups, I am asking Seattle Parks and Recreation to partner with us on designing and building a full-size, multi-sport athletic field at N. 50th Street and Aurora Avenue N, along with a planned renovation of the track at Lower Woodland Field #7.
Today, I made sure Lincoln students heard that news first, because that’s who Seattle Public Schools is here to serve.
This option is the right one for Lincoln students because it:
- Expands access by adding a new full-size athletic field available for both Lincoln and the broader community
- Meets program needs for soccer, football, Ultimate Frisbee, and lacrosse without displacing other users
- Minimizes disruption at Lower Woodland to focus on what’s needed for the track upgrade
- Preserves capacity by avoiding overcrowding at Lower Woodland
We still have work to do in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation.
One of the most important parts of the design process will be determining the best orientation for the field within the site with the goal of reducing impacts on tree canopy and surrounding natural areas. We heard that feedback clearly, and it will guide our work. The process will also include planning to support tree canopy and the forest floor, a traffic and parking study, ADA compliance, and an environmental impact statement that will include public comment. We’ll also be looking carefully at impacts to cross-country and cyclocross use of the area.
Community input has shaped this from the start, and I’m grateful to Lincoln families, Friends of Lower Woodland, Tree Action, and so many others who have stayed engaged along the way.
Today, SPS is submitting a letter to the Director of Seattle Parks and Recreation to move forward. We’ll present to the Parks Board this summer. We anticipate the field being ready for fall 2029 and the track sooner than that. I know 2029 feels far away. We will move as fast as we can and keep you posted along the way because our students deserve it.
Thank you to every student, parent, staff member, and community member who helped us reach this moment. We look forward to ongoing collaboration.
Sincerely,
Ben Shuldiner
Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools