Crowds at Bellingham parks with water access sparking COVID-19 concerns
Concerned about people crowding into Bloedel Donovan Park on hot days to hang out and cool off in nearby Lake Whatcom, Bellingham officials have been out this week trying to remind people to recreate responsibly.
Those reminders include keeping 6 feet from others who aren’t in your household, wearing a mask when you’re not in the water, and being willing to leave if there are too many people.
Bellingham employees also have been at Lake Padden and Boulevard parks — two other highly popular city parks near water — to push that message, but Bloedel Donovan is a particular focus as warm temperatures continue in Whatcom County.
“It’s a very popular place to go when it’s hot outside,” said Nicole Oliver, director of the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, of Bloedel Donovan, which is located off Electric Avenue. “We’re trying to remind people of the rules and trying to be positive and just have more of a presence.”
The effort has included handing out masks to people at those three parks in recent days and enlisting help from more Parks staff as well as Public Works. People also can expect to see Bellingham Police on patrol there, starting Tuesday and Wednesday, July 28-29, according to Oliver.
Police won’t ticket people who aren’t wearing masks or socially distancing, she said, adding that it’s people’s responsibility to decide whether they’re going to hang out with people in their own households or not.
“We can’t force people to wear masks. We can offer people information and encourage good behavior,” Oliver said.
Police at Bloedel Donovan, Boulevard and Lake Padden are meant to help by providing a presence, reminding people of the rules and providing enforcement for other issues, such as an increase in partying and alcohol consumption, which also is being seen in other parts of Lake Whatcom, Oliver said.
Drinking alcohol is not allowed in the city’s parks.
The Parks Department has no authority to issue a warning or a ticket for the city’s parks, including Bloedel Donovan, according to Oliver.
“It’s a wonderful place to be,” she said of Bloedel Donovan. “It’s popular, especially with the younger crowd. We’re really kind of an all hands on deck to try to get a handle on what’s going on there.”
Focus on Bloedel Donovan
Oliver said the Parks Department and the Mayor’s Office have received many complaints since last week, but especially over the last weekend from the public about people not wearing masks and not socially distancing.
“It’s a hard position to be in because we want to encourage people to go outside. It’s wonderful that we have this amazing park system and it’s wonderful for everyone’s health and well being,” she said. “But a crowded park is not a great place to be. We have not traced any COVID spreading to parks or beaches but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.”
She said the Parks Department wants to encourage better behavior than what it’s seeing.
Bloedel Donovan is of greater concern than the other large parks in Bellingham for a number of reasons, as explained by Oliver. They include:
▪ There’s less room for people to physically distance by spreading out, compared to Boulevard and Lake Padden. People are crowded together in the swimming area, especially, at Bloedel Donovan.
▪ More people are jumping from the Electric Avenue bridge into Lake Whatcom below. Kids lining up at that spot are near vehicles driving by Bloedel Donovan. That behavior hasn’t just been happening this year. “It’s a long-standing problem,” Oliver said.
▪ An increase in drinking, based on the number of alcohol containers in the trash.
▪ Parking that overflows into nearby residential areas because the parking lot is full, creating concerns about safety. There also has been some aggressive behavior from people who are upset that the parking lot is full, according to Oliver.
Parking congestion has been an issue, in part, because the lot is shared with vehicles pulling boats on trailers. Bloedel Donovan has a boat launch into Lake Whatcom. Oliver said more of the park’s field has been opened for boat-associated parking to help relieve congestion.
The city’s parking enforcement, now that it’s working again, also will help with what Oliver called “dangerous parking.”
Other measures being considered include making the bridge access more difficult and putting down visual cues, perhaps circles, for social distancing.
Oliver also is reminding people to visit other parks that aren’t as crowded.
“Those are wonderful places to go and explore right now. It’s a great time to check out other places,” she said, referring to other parks with public water access such as Silver Lake, Semiahmoo and Birch Bay.
Whatcom County also has posted signs reminding people to socially distance on its public parks and trails.
Whatcom County parks officials haven’t had a lot of complaints but some people have expressed concern about crowding, including at Semiahmoo Park, which offers a hiking trail and shoreline access, according to Michael McFarland, Whatcom Parks and Recreation director.
“We’ve told folks if you don’t feel comfortable, you need to make that decision on your own and either find other areas or different times when it’s not so busy,” he said.
“It is challenging,” McFarland said, adding that when the weather gets warm, people want to be closer to the water.
Back in Bellingham, some people on social media have called for the Parks Department to close Bloedel Donovan because of crowding.
Oliver said there’s been talk of maybe controlling access by saying that parking was full but wondered how that would work given how many from the neighborhood walk there. And, she said, they want to keep parks open because it’s one of the places where everyone has access to public beaches.
“Our mantra since this started was ‘help us keep the parks open.’ And Bellingham has done an amazing job. Our community has done an amazing job of ensuring we can do that,” she said.
Oliver said she was convinced that if they provide a little more oversight and information, that they can manage the situation without closing the park.
