Construction at Lake Geneva Park is anticipated to start in late 2024 to be complete spring 2025. Throughout the remainder of 2023 and 2024, there may be site work at the park including land surveys, critical areas identification, and geotechnical investigations, mainly occurring during weekdays.

Currently, Lake Geneva Park sees high rates of vandalism and dangerous driving at night along the road next to the park. Park operating hours are currently from dawn to dusk but hours can be extended for scheduled activities and by other use agreements.  Upcoming code changes will increase standard operating hours to 30 minutes before dawn and 30 minutes after dusk. By increasing the activity in the park during off-peak hours and adding security lighting to increase visibility throughout the park, the area will be less appealing for anti-social behaviors. Security lighting along pathways will be provided and will automatically turn on when light levels are below a certain threshold.  The lighting at the new picnic pavilion and sports courts will be available on-demand in situations when the park is open before dawn or after dusk.

King County Roads staff is being consulted to determine what safety improvements within the right-of-way surrounding Lake Geneva Park would be feasible. Requests have been made for the Sheriff’s office to increase patrols around the park.

The existing restrooms as Lake Geneva Park are available seasonally, from April 1st to October 31st each year.

The restrooms were vandalized by explosives in fall 2023 such that they were inoperable for several weeks. The required plumbing repairs will be made prior to opening in spring 2024. New locks that will allow access to the restrooms only during park open hours are planned to be installed prior to spring 2024 to reduce the risk of after-hours vandalism to the restrooms in the future.

Creating a new parking area is not feasible to include as part of the project. Increasing the activity within the park, and decreasing the frequency of vandalism, will allow the open hours of the existing parking lot to be extended.

The proposed sand volleyball court has been removed from the Site Plan because of the feedback received that grass volleyball is preferred. Most of the western grass field will be retained so that it may be used for either soccer or grass volleyball. On-demand lighting (available during park operating hours) will be added to the portion of the field that is for volleyball, adjacent to S 344th Street.

The intent of PB process is to fund projects that would be implemented in a timely manner. The proposed improvements were selected and located to minimize permitting requirements and timelines. Work within 200 feet of Lake Geneva would require a Shoreline Substantial Develop Permit and would increase the amount of time required for the project by more than an additional year.

The playground at Lake Geneva Park was originally installed in 2008. It is on Parks’ playground replacement/rehabilitation to begin design in 2027. Replacement of playground equipment will be evaluated at that time.

This project is specifically for sports courts and accessibility. Dog parks are eligible for future Participatory Budget funding. If you are interested in submitting this idea, visit the PB website.

Parks is in the process of creating a plan for new system of dog parks throughout unincorporated King County. This plan is expected to be available for public review and comment in 2024.

Plans for the project, to be submitted to applicable permitting agencies, will be available for review and comment in spring 2024. The project will undergo review for compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) at that time and part of that process includes a public comment period.