Pro: Improvements will serve children, help preserve park's natural resources

By Stuart Kahn
Special to The Times

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My family lives in View Ridge and we are blessed with a wonderful view from our home of Lake Washington, Kirkland, the Cascade Mountains and Sand Point Magnuson Park. We especially value our proximity to Magnuson Park, where my wife and I and our two children can walk, jog, cycle, swim, watch birds or play sports.

Magnuson Park is one of Seattle's priceless natural jewels that families and all of our community deserve to enjoy. I am also acutely aware of our need to provide additional athletic fields for our children. I have carefully reviewed the plans for the further development of Magnuson Park, and I am confident that the plan can provide a much-needed modest increase in sports fields, while preserving and enhancing the natural assets of the park.

Our 13-year-old son has played baseball and soccer with local organizations for the past eight years. As a coach and a father, I know that the quality and quantity of available fields in Seattle are insufficient to support youth sports.

Furthermore, as a pediatrician, I know that youth sports programs provide benefits of exercise and activity that help prevent obesity, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and related personal and social problems.

As a member of the Northeast Seattle Little League (NESLL) board of directors, I know that NESLL has successfully increased its numbers of players over the past five years, in large part due to welcomed growth in girls' softball, but we have not found sufficient fields for our players.

In the spring, baseball and softball teams must share practice fields: two teams per field; one in the outfield, one in the infield for 45 minutes; then they switch. Neither team has the needed time. In addition, congestion from other field users on the adjacent spaces causes confusion and possible danger.

Similarly, for years my son's soccer teams have practiced in small corners of parks, sometimes in the dark. On weeknights, four teams use a single field. No team has sufficient space to practice. When the rains begin, the fields turn muddy, smelly and develop dangerous potholes. We want youth sports programs to grow with demand, and we must provide sufficient, safe fields.

The current redevelopment plan for Magnuson Park has several features that will improve field availability while preserving our park's natural assets. First, the new configuration offers a modest increase in sports fields. Second, the implementation of artificial turf and lights will permit children and adults to play for many more hours. With the rains, the artificial-turf fields will not turn muddy and smelly, nor require closure. Moreover, the lights will permit adults to play later in the evenings, and thus provide youth teams with many more daylight and early evening hours.

Will these changes increase traffic in the area? Sand Point Way Northeast is a major arterial. Most of the sports activities will occur during non-peak traffic hours. The environmental-impact statement indicates that traffic will increase by only 3-4 percent during peak hours. Adult sports activities at night will not lead to significant increases in traffic on Sand Point Way.

Will the artificial turf or modest increase in sports fields disturb the ecosystem of the park? I don't think the replacement of 11 acres of grass fields that are covered with geese droppings, with 20 acres of artificial turf will upset the ecosystem.

In fact, the artificial turf's gravel and sand under-drains will filter storm water and provide high quality recharge to the wetlands. Furthermore, the modest increase in field acres comes largely from the removal of 8 acres of parking area that generates poor-quality runoff. Moreover, the plan increases the wetlands from 56 to 65 acres and provides for high-quality wetlands rather than the current scattered, low-functioning wetlands. I favor funding to ensure proper maintenance of the wetlands, as do the field-user groups.

Will the lights affect the ecosystem? The science remains unclear, but the plan calls for shielded lights and tall trees to minimize effects on adjacent areas and neighborhoods. To further minimize the possible effects of the lights, I favor a seasonal approach for baseball with later lighting hours during the season, and earlier lighting hours from mid-October through mid-March. It is still possible that some animals will be affected, and thus I favor careful monitoring. My family and NESLL will support the monitoring effort.

Will our views be affected? Yes, our night view of the neighborhood lights and the lights across the lake will change slightly, but that change will remind us that we are working hard together to maintain Magnuson Park as one of the city's jewels, while we also provide needed sports fields for our children and ourselves.

The current plan for Magnuson Park redevelopment will permit us to protect and improve the natural resources of the park for all users.

Stuart Kahn is president of the Northeast Seattle Little League and a pediatrician and physician scientist currently working at the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle.

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