(The Center Square) – The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is looking to build a children’s playground next to one of the city’s LGBTQ nude beaches.
The project has a price tag of $550,000, with funds coming from public and private sources.
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant said her office was contacted by hundreds of people concerned about the proposed playground at Denny Blaine Park, which is Seattle’s historically LGBTQ nude beach.
According to Sawant, since Nov. 17, over 2,000 people have signed a petition opposing the construction of this playground.
The Save Denny Blaine petition is urging Seattle Parks and Recreation to consider other parks for a new playground including Lakeview Park, which is 850 feet away from Denny Blaine; Viretta Park, which is 500 feet away; William Grose Park; and Alvin Larkins Park.
“Nude beaches are a place for queer and trans people to feel confident in their bodies and be themselves in a world that frequently represses their identities,” the petition reads. “This move by Seattle Parks and Recreation is nothing short of gentrification and a continuation of the more and more frequent instances of the sanitization of queer spaces.”
During the Seattle Parks District Board meeting on Nov. 20, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent AP Diaz said the proposal is under consideration and is being evaluated.
“It is not our intention to make this a polarizing issue or to – at all – discriminate against any group,” Diaz added.
The move by Seattle Parks and Recreation is intended to address a gap for play areas in the city’s Central District.
Seattle residents will have the opportunity to provide input on the proposed project to the parks department on Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King FAME Community Center.
If the Denny Blaine playground goes through with construction, it is expected to begin in late summer or early fall of 2024.
