Titlow Park

Location
8425 6th Ave.

What's Planned for Your Park
Develop a Master Plan (completed 01/11/10) and begin implementation with sprayground/playground, new restroom facilities, Lodge improvements, expanded irrigation systems, lagoon restoration, landscape enhancements, new fencing, new picnic facilities and trails, improved site lighting, repaving parking and roadways, or other improvements to be determined.
The Pool: The existing Titlow Pool will remain in place while MPT works with the aquatics community to develop a strategy for replacement. A $125,000 capital project is being carried out to address the worst code and leaking problems allowing operation in the 2009 season. It is likely the pool will be needed to provide aquatic programs in 2010 and perhaps 2011 and beyond but MPT's ultimate objective is to remove the pool.

Budget
The Parks Improvement Bond Measure, approved by the citizens of Tacoma in November of 2005, provides $3,000,000 for this project.

In addition, the governor signed a budget bill on April 1, 2008 which included $51,860 in the 2008 for Titlow Beach Pocket Estuary Restoration. The funding is included in the Puget Sound Initiative for Nearshore Salmon Restoration.  Titlow is considered a significant site for salmon habitat recovery.

Current Projects
Park Improvements
Lodge Improvements
Railroad Safety Fence
Lagoon & Fish Passage
Park Improvements
07/02/10 Meetings with the project Steering Committee and public have been concluded and a review with the Park Board is scheduled for July 26. Staff review of Design Development documents begins today. Site Workshop is preparing the materials for an application to the City for Shoreline, Conditional Use and Critical Areas/Wetland permitting. We remain focused on completing land use permits this year and being able to have documents availble for bidding in the spring of 2011.
- Play & Spray Area is arranged north of the existing swimming pool. The small addition on the north end of the pool house becomes the restroom. The existing picnic shelter and small children's play area are integrated into the design. The two new picnic shelters will not be rental venues, but rather seating areas in support of the play/spray feature.
- Restroom utility services will be re-done entirely, allowing the building to be independent of the rest of the pool house. There will be a men's and women's separate restrooms which allows for more turnover during spray ground use and a higher volume of service. A sliding grating will secure the restroom at night.
- Lodge area improvements are mainly beyond our current capital budget and will need to be deferred for another phase of the work.. We will move forward with permitting. Relocation of the garage, re-configuration of a service parking area, and creation of the lawn court are all desirable elements that may bot be possible to provide in the current project. Pavement to meet the stairway at the new west deck on the Lodge will be provided. The tennis court and basketball court will be ground down, overlaid and a new court surface provided. Fencing and other items will be replaced. The row of existing poplar trees will be removed and replaced with a row of new trees and plantings on the steep hillside adjacent to the sidewalk.
- Central Field, Meadow and Creek - It is desirable to concentrate any new plantings and/or removal of invasive weeds in a corridor going north from the play/spray area. It would be desirable to replace the waterline running east-west through the meadow due to its poor condition. People with the Puget Sound are providing a new interpretive sign to be installed in the existing frame on the east side of the lagoons.
06/25/10 A Steering Committee meeting was held on 06/15/10 and the project was presented to the CIC on 06/16/10. 90% Construction Documents for the Lodge will be submitted 06/25/10. Design Development documents for the Park are to be presented to the CPG on 07/02/10. There will be a presentation to the Park Board on 07/26/10.
05/14/10 A public review of the park design will be held at the West End Neighborhood Council meeting 05/19/10. Another Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for 06/15/10. A complete Design Development review with the CPG is scheduled for 06/25/10. Proposed improvements: Sprayground/playground including two new shelters and renovation of the existing restroom on the north end of the existing pool building ($1.2M); a terrace and pathways around the Lodge to complement the new west deck and new parking and entry at the south end of the building ($500K); re-location of the storage garage, screening of garbage cans and creation of a service court; re-paving of the tennis and basketball courts including repairs to fencing ($100K); forest, lagoon and meadow planting and improvements including items that can be considered mitigation offsetting impacts of other development in the project; and new rail safety fence on the west side of the BNSF tracks ($25K).
04/23/10 Site Workshop is developing designs for the park improvements. 

03/11/10 Despite the poor weather, People for Puget Sound had a successful restoration work day. They installed 132 native plants along the upper lagoon shoreline: 8 Douglas Fir, 30 Oceanspray, 29 Snowberry, 11 Nootka Rose, 6 Red Alder, 38 Coastal Strawberry, 1 Pacific Crabapple, and 9 Red Osier Dogwood. They marked trees and shrubs with orange pin flags and roped off two densely planted areas with temporary stakes and line to reduce trampling by park users. Thank you! 
01/25/10 The board adopted the Titlow Park Master Plan during their regular board meeting. Adoption of the Master Plan sets the long term vision for improvements to the park. With this high level planning finalized, staff will now turn its focus to detailed Design Development phase which outlines improvements to be made with designated 2005 Park Improvement Bond funding.
01/22/10 The sprayground/playground and picnic area will be constructed and we hope to be able to do some of the improvements around the Lodge. The pool will stay for now, with the sprayground restroom constructed in the addition at the north end of the existing pool house. The poplar trees can be taken out and replaced with new trees that will have fall color. The Park is likely to take longer to design and obtain permits. We anticipate bids in early 2011. The sprayground would open in the spring of 2012. There is the potential for an RCO grant application for removal of Kay's House, the existing park structures combined with forest improvements, beach access improvements and possibly North Beach Access.

Park Improvements Schedule
• Planning - 05/01/09
• Initiation of a Professional Services Agreement - June 2009
  SiteWorkshop/BOE Architects
• Presentation of Master Plan update and Schematic Design Phase - Oct. 2009
• Presentation of Design Development Phase - March 2010
• Completion of Construction and Bidding Documents -Sept. 2010
• Estimated Date for securing of all permits - Oct. 2010
• Estimated Bid Opening - Dec. 2010
• Construction Notice to Proceed - Jan. 2011
• Completion Substantially Complete by - Oct. 2011
Railroad Safety Fence
04/23/10 A $20K grant application for funding of the BNSF fence was approved by WUTC.
03/26/10 Railroad Safety Fence - We are working on installing a safety fence between the walkway/driveway and the railroad tracks. We have a WUTC Grant application in progress with a decision expected in April. The grant amount is $20K maximum, which would be less than half of the total cost. MPT will be responsible for the M&O of the fence. The fence will belong to MPT, but the Railroad has the right-of-way for the property. Our original agreement with BNSF was made in 1978 and included a requirement for a fence that was never installed. BNSF is considering whether a new agreement will be necessary. The City is likely to require a Shoreline Permit for construction of the fence. If the railroad requires a fence higher than 8 feet they will also require a building permit. After the fence is built, the walkway will be narrower - allowing pedestrian access and the use of a gator, but not a larger vehicle like a pickup truck. We have been working on securing a permit to do shoreline armoring. They would like to get that work done before the fence is erected since the fence will reduce the working area.
10/23/09 Staff has prepared a draft application for funding assistance to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission/BNSF Railroad to install a fence along the south access on BNSF land to protect the public from the active rail line. WUTC can provide up to $20K for rail safety improvements. The shoreline permit will take up to a year to obtain.
12/11/09 Our application for a fence/safety barrier is being considered by BNSF. If approved it is likely that WUTC will authorize a grant to help pay for the fence. The preferred fence design is a WSDOT standard 6' high chain link fence with a top tension wire no closer than 8.5' off the closest rail. It may be possible for us the install the fence this spring - that will require BNSF and WUTC approval and is subject to City permits (COT permits cost approx. $6K).
Lagoon & Fish Passage Project
05/07/10 People for Puget Sound (PPS) have been working with MPT on environmental stewardship programs at Titlow. A current grant needs to be used entirely by the end of June. They have proposed spending approx. $4,000 to produce an interpretive sign describing the unique value of the Titlow Lagoon and its potential to be restored for salmon habitat. COT will not allow new signs of any type to be installed in the wetland buffers unless they are specifically identified in a wetland permit. The current proposal is to utilize the existing interpretive sign frames located along the east side of the Lagoon to display new mesages produced by PPS. There are currently two 24" x 36" signs that were installed in early 2000. Another signage issue at Titlow is the exercise 'Par Course.' Rotary 8 initially installed the Par Course in 1972. It was renovated by MPT in the 90s. There is quite a bit of support for keeping it, however, many of the stations are in poor condition and lack graphics.
01/25/10 The board adopted the Titlow Park Master Plan during their regular board meeting. The plan pays special attention to the park's lagoon, which a staff member representing People for Puget Sound described as a key migration corridor providing foraging and resting habitat for fish.  The lagoon is considered a high priority site to receive competitive restorative funding as part of the state's effort to improve habitat for salmon.
01/22/10 Krystal Kyer of Tahoma Audubon is advocating for saving Kay's house for a future marine science interpretive facility. The South Sound Salmon Enhancement Group is working on moving ahead with the lagoon and fish passage project.
04/10/09 There is a lot of interest from environmental groups in the area in making this into an environmental learning site similar to Luhr Beach on the Nisqually Delta. Use of Titlow Lodge has been limited to day camps and occasional rentals for weddings. A suggested use is as a scuba dive center. Last year staff helped Bellarmine students put together an RCO grant to provide enhancements to the Titlow dive site with construction of an artificial reef.

Completed Projects:
Master Plan - 2010 
Storm Sewer System Upgrades - 2006
Tacoma City Council approved more than $985,000 to upgrade the storm sewer system to alleviate flooding on Titlow Road and Highway 16. At the same time, the 230-foot creek was 'daylighted' (exposed instead of running in an underground tube or pipe) and transformed into a little meandering creek with a rocky bottom after it crosses under Sixth Avenue. It now curves around the east side of the tennis courts and flows into Titlow lagoon. Landscaping  and a footbridge were added. With the addition of the above ground creek, Titlow Park lost an estimated 17 parking stalls. Construction started after Labor Day 2006 and extended into the first part of October 2006.

Community & Board Participation
Metro Parks' Public Participation Policy.
Send us your comments about this project.

Last Updated: Jul 13, 2010 1:07 PM