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What are “Neighborhood” Parks?
If you’re a Bellingham resident it’s more than likely you’ve visited one of the 46 parks sprinkled throughout the area. The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department organizes these recreational spaces into one of three categories: special-use sites, community parks and neighborhood parks.
Almost half of the parks in Bellingham are neighborhood parks. These parks are characterized by their size, as they are located on small plots of land and contain fewer amenities. Bellingham is unique for its high parks and trail mileage per capita. Parks Operations Manager Steve Janiszewski doesn’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.
“We have a standard where we’re shooting [for] to have either a park or a trail or some sort of open green space, so all residents live within a half mile of whatever that thing is,” says Janiszewski. “Small neighborhood parks that exist so people can just walk out their door, go to a park and have a recreational experience.”
These parks are designed in different shapes and locations, and not all neighborhood parks have playgrounds. One of Janiszewski’s favorite parks is a sculpture park called Big Rock Garden Park, in the Silver Beach neighborhood.
Growth and Development
The steady growth and upkeep of parks can be accredited to Bellingham’s Greenways Program and the funds that are drawn out of it. The parks department in Bellingham has about $22.7 million set aside in greenway funds, and a large portion of that is set aside for the acquisition of future parks.
The parks department’s newest foreseeable development is called Northern Lights Park. It will be located among the townhomes north of Costco, near Cornerstone at Aurora. Northern Lights is different from other traditional neighborhood parks, built into a long, rectangular green space confined by homes.
This development will have unique play features like a bamboo forest and rocky climbing structures. Amid construction, the parks department is trying to find ways to incorporate the land’s natural features, which will include the implementation of a boulder (the size of a small car) that the work crews recently discovered.
Funding for parks is also poured into updating play structures. When a park is being redeveloped the department reaches out to the local neighborhood, holds public meetings and gets input from the kids at local schools. A new slide at Lorraine Ellis Park was vouched for by the neighborhood kids and is one of the tallest slides in the city.
Above else, all the parks department values safety and accessibility.
“Our goal in park operations is to maintain parks equitably across the system and make sure they’re all maintained to a certain level and that they’re safe for people to use,” Janiszewski said. “It doesn’t really matter which neighborhood the park is in; we realize that all neighborhoods are important.”
One of the next parks on the department’s list to get a facelift is Rock Hill Park, which will have a new play set installed in the near future.
A Brief History
The history of neighborhood parks is best relayed in the book “A history of Bellingham parks,” written by Aaron Joy in 1999. It is one of the only in-depth historical accounts of the Bellingham parks system.
Fouts Park
The lot that is now home to Fouts Park was acquired and developed in 1979. The park is named after William Henry Fouts, the school superintendent when the Whatcom and Skagit counties were combined, and the first public school teacher of Whatcom.
Previously, a courthouse and garage resided on the land until the buildings were demolished in the mid and late 1900s. When construction first started, the earth of the park had to be re-soiled because it was made of organic debris, tile and concrete from the demolition.
There was a great debate over the dedication of the park, but the name Fouts was finally decided upon in May of 1979. The park still stands today and is a lovely partially-tree-covered plot of grass in the lettered streets neighborhood.
Walnut Park (Peabody Plaza)
The earliest recording of this park dates back to 1913, where the triangular oak-lined land is simply labeled on a map as “park.” Though it was originally named Walnut Park, the property was renamed Peabody Plaza, most likely after Russell Vallette Peabody.
In 1956 citizens attempted to have the land transferred to the fire department to create a new fire hall. Other residents however felt the lot should remain a park. After some thought, a petition against the fire hall was signed by 67 residents and submitted to the city. The mayor at the time, John Westford, assured citizens that the park would remain under parks department’s control moving forward.
Though its amenities are practically non-existent, the land remained a small patch of grass for local individuals, children and families to enjoy.
Carl Lobe Park
Uniquely small in size, Carl Lobe Park was named after Carl “Bud” Lobe Jr.
Bud Jr. was a Bellingham High School graduate and grew up across the street from the plot of land. He died at 23 years old while serving for the US military during World War II in 1944.
The land was donated to the city in the spring of 1950 and a plan of restoration was solidified in 1978. The dedication remains in the park to this day and serves as a permanent reminder of the young man’s life.
Get Involved
The parks department holds work parties Saturdays in September through May. Volunteers clean up the land, remove invasive species and replant the area. Popular times to volunteer are during annual events like Earth Day, Arbor Day and Make A Difference Day, which can bring in up to 300 volunteers.
Janiszewski emphasized that park maintenance and care is not about the money, it’s about the staff and volunteers who dedicate their time to the parks system.
“We have a lot of people that just care about their parks and green spaces, so they’re willing to invest their time,” Janiszewski said. “We support them by providing the tools and a project plan—and pizza and coffee.”