Quick fix sought for shoreline and beach erosion at beloved Bellingham park
Erosion at Boulevard Park is forcing Bellingham officials to quickly make $1 million in shoreline repairs.
Strong waves over the past year have undermined a sidewalk and are threatening the popular South Bay Trail south of Woods Coffee.
Pounding waves also washed away part of a sandy beach near the walking trestle at Paddle Point, said Nicole Oliver, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
“It’s quite alarming,” Oliver told the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee in a meeting Monday, March 28.
“We’re experiencing some really significant high tides down at Boulevard and a lot of erosion. This area of the beach is just not protected,” she said.
City Council members voted unanimously Monday to authorize a $500,000 grant application with the state Recreation and Conservation Office and use matching funds of $500,000 from the city’s Greenways levy.
Shoreline repairs were made from Woods Coffee north in 2013, creating a beach and adding rocks to protect the waterfront park, which is among the city’s “most loved” public spaces with its panoramic view of Bellingham Bay, Oliver said.
But there wasn’t enough money at the time to similarly protect the beach inland from the walking trestle, Oliver said.
Further work is planned along the waterfront north of Boulevard Park toward a planned new park at the south end of Cornwall Avenue as part of a separate project.
“Once we do this, the whole beach and the park will be protected,” Oliver said.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 10:48 AM.
