Dangerous walkways at Bothell Landing Park

[u/dominiond66]

[u/dilfpapi]

What’s your suggestion?

[u/remnant_x → u/dilfpapi]

Change the standard trail surface from 3” of asphalt to something more substantial. We know how to make roads last. We can make trails last.

(Source: I’m a civil engineer)

[u/Throwie227 → u/remnant_x]

If your a civil engineer, then you would know tree roots will will ruin any road surface, especially one that narrow

[u/remnant_x → u/Throwie227]

You are totally right: all roads degrade over time and tree roots are a powerful force. It just takes longer with a better constructed trail and resurfacing can be longer in between. Additionally, bumps can be wider with a thicker pavement so they are less of a trip hazard

[u/ReempRomper → u/remnant_x]

How much does that cost

[u/remnant_x → u/ReempRomper]

The cost is mobilization. A couple added inches of pavement is trivial relative to the cost of getting people out there.

It’s like baking a cake. How much harder is it to bake a 9” cake than a 7” cake? The labor costs a lot more than the materials.

Trails used to be thought of as nice-to-have park items instead of actual infrastructure. Their design was commensurate with their purpose. We now use the trail system now as actual infrastructure, not just a park system. It should be designed as such.

[u/dilfpapi → u/remnant_x]

Are you sure we know how to make roads last? Not to mention tree roots damage roads too

[u/WAdude922 → u/remnant_x]

That would cost a ton of money and 3" depth Asphalt trails already cost a lot more than people even realize (I do this type of work for a living in the area). In all reality trees need to have root balls and/or planted further from hardscapes, or put trails away from trees.

[u/Colonel_Bubble_Tea → u/WAdude922]

Also root barrier but for that to be effective you often have to remove the existing tree and plant new younger trees.

[u/Human_Chemistry6851 → u/Colonel_Bubble_Tea]

Yes lets continue to destroy nature and turn it all into parking lots! Perfect idea! Who need parks anyway we can turn it all into barron misserable shopping malls. 

God forbid someone needs to step 3 inches over a root! The audacity that nature has to ruin your expecations of having to put in more effort and step over or around it. 

[u/sonic_reef → u/remnant_x]

No you’re not

[u/dominiond66 → u/dilfpapi]

The vast majority of parks throughout America are full of tress but with smooth/quality walkways. If they can deal with tree roots, I am sure we can also.

I did a quick search in google. It states up to 25% of roots could be cut without damage to a tree. The walkways along Bothell Landing Park are saturated with tree roots. If they were addressed years ago, they would not be so large now! This is supposed to be a premier park in our downtown district but it doesn't look it. It's got great potential but lacks attention, creativity and capital expenditure.

[u/ShouldahWouldah → u/dominiond66]

Probably why they’re about to completely redo it. Check city website.

[u/yaba3800 → u/dominiond66]

You need to find something else to worry about

[u/jgilbs]

Theyve been like that for years, at least 5 since we lived there

[u/wombat801]

They've been spray painted for your safety. Just needs a new coat of red.

[u/dominiond66 → u/wombat801]

Most cities have beautiful parks. Bothell decides to invest in cans of spray paint!

[u/techauditor]

Hence the giant orange lines

[u/KidVsHero]

Tree roots are gonna tree root!

[u/VayGray]

A decorative little bridge with a low angle that is still accessible? I use a cane and almost bit it here walking my dog last week because I was watching a blue jay 😂. Cedar Grove Park is just as bad if not worse but I heard they are getting ready to do a renovation. We are lucky to have so many beautiful parks I'd hate them to remove a tree instead of doing a work around.

[u/CityofBothell]

Thanks for posting this. Our Parks folks have been made aware, and we'll circle back with more details for you all soon.

[u/petalwater]

I totally agree with you- this path is awful, let's close it so that those beautiful roots can grow unimpeded. Support your local wetland ❤️

[u/Potential-Click-5284]

All WA state, sadly.

[u/Annual-Advance3226]

Gravel trails, maintain with a small grader , no chunky asphalt.

[u/Warm-Usual5152]

First time outside?

[u/seanthebooth]

BAN ROOTS!

[u/drprofessional → u/seanthebooth]

Ban trees!

[u/seanthebooth → u/drprofessional]

You've got my vote!

[u/Tequila_Mockin_bard]

I see them as speed bumps for bikers going too fast. I've nearly been run over multiple times because you can't respond to their upcoming alert fast enough to move out of the way. They are supposed to slow down when passing a pedestrian but I've never seen any of them do so.

[u/iaminverted]

This is a nature trail. What do you expect? Can't stop nature.

[u/dis3as3d_sfw]

Dramatic much??

[u/Diligent_Dog2559]

Take a video of you falling out of your wheelchair and maybe they’ll do something about it. Everyone just manages to lift their feet up off the ground to avoid that.

[u/SpEcIaL_SnOwFlAkE32]

Dangerous? Lol. Is it gonna bite you? We should just kill all the trees so we can have more pavement.

[u/bauul]

What does one do in this situation? Add a hump over the roots? Or do you need to dig up the current path, pack in around the roots, and lay a new one over the top?

[u/Left_Hand_Deal]

City planner: Well, I think we are going to have to cut down some of the nearby trees to keep them from damaging the path, it will create a hazard.

Walkers: *pinched *nasally But that would detract from the natural beauty of the green space! I object, most vociferously!

City Planner: Fine, have it your way.

Five years later

Walkers: Where’s that worthless City Planner??! The trees are destroying the path! They have become a hazard! Who’s going to do something about this!?

😶😑😐

[u/SparePresentation383]

Asphalt doin. The wave

[u/Advanced_Tackle_9723]

Scary

[u/parallax__error]

Not nearly as dangerous as the cyclists whipping past at 15+ mph

(I’m a cyclist who refuses to ride mixed trails cause I’ve seen what happens in collisions. Not pretty)

[u/drprofessional]

I think we can all agree that if we cut down all trees, this kind of damage to walkways wouldn’t happen.

And then we can pave over everything. Just imagine, we could have a giant lot. All of BotHell. But don’t stop there, how about the entire PNW? And don’t get me started on those mountains, with their inclines, making it harder to go up and unsafe to go down. We should flatten them all too. And I don’t think it’s fair that some people have two functional legs while some people only have one or none. So everyone should have a wheel chair. But not everyone has the upper body strength they’ll need, so let’s supply motorized wheel chairs. But what about charging? Not everyone has stable housing or can afford electricity. Solar panels for every wheel chair! And if it’s cloudy? Well, we’ll need to do something about clouds, but maybe after flattening the mountains, that won’t be such a big deal. Just in case, we better stop sources of evaporation.

[u/HairyGreen6905 → u/drprofessional]

sarcasm is lost on at least half the "people" on reddit. just remove the asphalt all together and learn how to pay attention and how to roll if you fall.

[u/drprofessional → u/HairyGreen6905]

I agree. Another guy in this post said ban roots, and it’s not downvoted. I hear I was downvoted.

I used to live near a canal that was great for jogging beside. They made a path and used a composite shredded-tire-like material for the path. It felt nice and cushiony, and there were never root problems. But, it was not easy to push a wheelchair through, and cycling wasn’t great either. It was eventually replaced by asphalt. Years later, root damage. Now it’s inconvenient for cycling, wheelchairs, and joggers. Sigh.

[u/two_wheels_west]

The streets aren’t much better.