Under the Bridge: Interpretive Park
Location: Seattle, WA
Project Study

The Salmon Bay waterfront is a scenic waterway in a densely populated urban environment.  It is also a highly productive maritime industrial zone, supporting a regional economic engine.  Residents need points of public open space where they can safely linger to enjoy the water, without interfering with industrial operations.  For millions of salmon, Salmon Bay is the only point of connection between their freshwater rearing grounds and the saltwater of Puget Sound.  Armored shorelines, over water structures and untreated storm water are environmental factors that make this passage inhospitable to migrating salmon.

Under the north end of the Ballard Bridge is a publicly-owned site with the potential to provide and oasis of restored habitat for salmon, public access to the water’s edge for residents and an array of information for visitors.  This site is at a point of convergence of transportation modes (cars, trucks, busses, trains, bicycles, pedestrians, ships and small boats), land uses (industrial, maritime, commercial, institutional, retail and residential) and ecological struggles (juvenile salmon vs. predator fish and birds, native vegetation vs. invasive weeds).

This project attempts to ease some of the pressures caused by this convergence of uses, within a dynamic public space.  A habitat restoration project is proposed, with native plants providing food and shelter for wildlife.  A water quality system would naturally filter the polluted storm water runoff from the bridge deck.  Interpretive panels present an array of individual site-related facts, allowing visitors to weave their own stories from the rich history of influences on this place.