RENTON, Wash. —A peaceful area along the Cedar River between Renton and Maple Valley was about to take a turn for the industrial, but instead will become a park with trails and open spaces.
READ MORE:King County proposes former Cedar River asphalt plant site be permanently preserved
“Our river, beautiful river, we’re just now getting our sockeye back into the river. Our Salmon runs dwindled for many years,” said Bob Baker from the group ‘Save the Cedar River’.
An asphalt plant was planned to be built here by Lakeside Industries. For years, locals raised red flags, saying this was not the place for a pavement factory.
“The zoning may have allowed it, but it’s not good land use planning. Things like light pollution, noise pollution, traffic, all the chemicals involved in asphalt production,” said King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn.
But now King County has announced it has reached an agreement with Lakeside to buy the property and turn it into a park.
The goal is to protect the Cedar River corridor and its fish habitat.
The park should also connect to nearby open spaces and trails.
“It’s just a win win for everybody. The environment, the community, King County on the whole,” said Baker.
As a park, the land is expected to help with flood control. While the park is still likely years away from opening, knowing the destiny of the land has been decided is comforting for the people who worked to protect it.
“I put in 60 plus hours a week on this for eight years so I really want to thank everybody involved,” said BakerKeeping this special place from being paved over by a pavement plant.
트위터 공유: 시더강변 공원으로 변신 자연 지키는 킹 카운티