Boulevard Park Shoreline Improvements, Revitalizing an Urban Park
Presentation Abstract
Coastal Geologic Services as the lead consulting firm with Alexis Blue as the project manager and coastal engineer produced a design for partial shore armor removal, beach enhancement, and erosion control for the majority of the shore of Boulevard Park in Bellingham. Boulevard Park is the most popular park in Bellingham with over 800,000 visitors yearly. The shore of Boulevard Park is sawdust and industrial fill contained by a failing and poorly installed concrete slab and rubble revetment with landward lawn. The project area’s shore length is approximately 1,050 feet and the project includes debris removal, beach nourishment, relocated trails, shore armor design, and increased elevation for sea level rise considerations. CGS successfully balanced the urbanized nature of the shore with its numerous impairments to natural processes, adjacent cleanup site, a limited construction budget, and the small size of the park to produce a design that creates new beach areas and allows for enhanced nearshore recreation and habitat. The beach enhancement approach and design elements were determined based on the site survey, wave modeling, review of aerial and ground photos, reference beach analysis, and professional experience with numerous similar restoration projects in the Puget Sound region. The goal of this work was to stop beach and upland erosion, provide recreation access, and enhance habitat benefits. A minimum thickness of beach gravel and appropriate beach slopes are critical to the function of a gravel beach at being able to absorb wave swash while allowing water to percolate into the beach and drain waterward. Beach nourishment gravel design at the project site is also critical for maintaining a buffer for sediment porosity over time without exposing underlying wood waste and other industrial fill. The nourishment gravel is contained on the down-drift end by a drift sill. A drift sill is a low elevation rock groin designed to stabilize placed nourishment sediment without intercepting natural littoral drift sediment. Phase 1 was constructed in summer-fall of 2013. Construction and as-built information to be presented includes before and after pictures, encountered logistical issues and how they were overcome, as-built cross sections, and initial community reaction to beach public access and habitat enhancement.
Session Title
Session S-02G: Reimagining Shorelines
Conference Track
Shorelines
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
30-4-2014 1:30 PM
End Date
30-4-2014 3:00 PM
Location
Room 6E
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Shorelines--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Parks--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Environmental impact analysis--Washington (State)--Bellingham
Geographic Coverage
Boulevard Park (Bellingham, Wash.); Bellingham (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Boulevard Park Shoreline Improvements, Revitalizing an Urban Park
Room 6E
Coastal Geologic Services as the lead consulting firm with Alexis Blue as the project manager and coastal engineer produced a design for partial shore armor removal, beach enhancement, and erosion control for the majority of the shore of Boulevard Park in Bellingham. Boulevard Park is the most popular park in Bellingham with over 800,000 visitors yearly. The shore of Boulevard Park is sawdust and industrial fill contained by a failing and poorly installed concrete slab and rubble revetment with landward lawn. The project area’s shore length is approximately 1,050 feet and the project includes debris removal, beach nourishment, relocated trails, shore armor design, and increased elevation for sea level rise considerations. CGS successfully balanced the urbanized nature of the shore with its numerous impairments to natural processes, adjacent cleanup site, a limited construction budget, and the small size of the park to produce a design that creates new beach areas and allows for enhanced nearshore recreation and habitat. The beach enhancement approach and design elements were determined based on the site survey, wave modeling, review of aerial and ground photos, reference beach analysis, and professional experience with numerous similar restoration projects in the Puget Sound region. The goal of this work was to stop beach and upland erosion, provide recreation access, and enhance habitat benefits. A minimum thickness of beach gravel and appropriate beach slopes are critical to the function of a gravel beach at being able to absorb wave swash while allowing water to percolate into the beach and drain waterward. Beach nourishment gravel design at the project site is also critical for maintaining a buffer for sediment porosity over time without exposing underlying wood waste and other industrial fill. The nourishment gravel is contained on the down-drift end by a drift sill. A drift sill is a low elevation rock groin designed to stabilize placed nourishment sediment without intercepting natural littoral drift sediment. Phase 1 was constructed in summer-fall of 2013. Construction and as-built information to be presented includes before and after pictures, encountered logistical issues and how they were overcome, as-built cross sections, and initial community reaction to beach public access and habitat enhancement.
