Last week, Burien resident Gregory Rehmke ventured down to Eagle Landing Park, where he discovered that the long-closed stairs appeared to be re-opened.
However, these stairs – which were very popular with health-oriented residents – were officially closed in 2014.
“I walked down to the stairs at Eagle Landing Park and it’s open, allowing people to walk down at least for five flights of stairs,” Rehmke told The B-Town Blog. “I can’t tell if this was official since there’s no official sign but there’s also no ‘No Trespassing’ sign for the open stairs.”
As many of our Readers may recall, the stairs at Eagle Landing Park were officially closed in Dec. 2014, “due to hillside instability and hazardous hillside conditions.” The city received grants of $1,671,227 from the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (including matching funds) in 2005-2006 to purchase and develop the park, including installing the much-used staircase.
Rehmke’s recent trip made him believe that the stairs had been re-opened.
“Fencing is lifted up so people can walk today (though the fifth or so stair is broken so be careful),” Rehmke said. “Wondering if this is official or was opened ‘informally’? I walked down just one flight to take a picture.”
But that’s not the case, according to City Manager Brian Wilson.
“The fence has been damaged and a hole cut to enable entry,” Wilson said. “The signs preventing entry have been stolen.”
Wilson added that city staff are taking steps to prevent access and replace the signs.
However, Rehmke disagrees with Wilson’s assessment about a hole.
“…by the way, there was nothing that looked like ‘a hole cut to enable entry,'” he said. “Instead it looked sort of official with the whole fence section lifted up and set on top. The ‘No Trespassing’ signs were clearly on the sides, referring to the areas outside of stairs. I hadn’t been down the trail in some months so I thought maybe the stairs had been partially opened for a few flights to allow better viewing.”
Regardless, seeing how the stairs are still officially closed and the hillside is dangerous, it’s best not to tempt fate by walking on them. Plus, we expect that signage and fences will be re-installed soon…
