Clarke and Groveland Beach Parks Joint Park Planning Effort

Design concepts for the Clarke and Groveland Joint Infrastructure Plan are now available for community review! The Berger Partnership, the City's design consultant for this planning process, developed three concepts for each park based on the site assessments and community engagement conducted in 2023-2024. Review the concepts and provide feedback for one or both parks by completing our survey:

Take the survey here:

https://letstalk.mercergov.org/clarke-groveland-planning/surveys/cgip-concepts-survey

A variety of ways are available to review the concepts before you take the survey. Learn more below!

Watch the "Virtual Open House" Presentations for Each Park

City staff and the Berger team recorded presentations that share the existing conditions and walk through the design concepts for each park. Learn about the concepts through the "virtual open house," then take the accompanying survey.

Clarke Beach Park Virtual Open House

Groveland Beach Virtual Park Open House

View the Digital Concept Boards

Digital boards for each concept are also posted on Let's Talk. Each concept board includes an overall plan and a shoreline enlargement to share more detail about features proposed for the waterfront areas. Review the boards first, or refer to them as you take the survey.

Clarke Beach Park Concept Boards: 1 | 2 | 3

Groveland Beach Park Concept Boards: 1 | 2 | 3

Meet Us at a Community Event

Visit staff at two community events this October:

• Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday, October 5, from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
• Town Center Trick-or-Treat on Friday, October 31, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm at Mercer Island Town Center

More pop-up opportunities will be added as they become available.

The survey is open through November 3, and we encourage you to share this opportunity with your neighbors. Thank you for providing feedback!

On Tuesday, March 18, the City Council will receive an update on the joint planning effort for Clarke and Groveland Beach Parks (AB 6642). Staff will review the preliminary site assessments and background survey conducted in 2023-2024; provide an overview of the planning approach; and summarize the scope of work and community engagement plan for developing the Clarke and Groveland Beach Parks Joint Infrastructure Plan. More details for joining the meeting are provided below.

City Council Regular Hybrid Meeting

The hybrid meeting will be live streamed on the City Council’s YouTube Channel.

Individuals wishing to speak live during Appearances (public comment period) must register with the City Clerk at 206.275.7793 or cityclerk@mercerisland.gov before 4pm on the day of the Council meeting. Each speaker will be allowed three (3) minutes to speak. A timer will be visible online to speakers, City Council, and meeting participants.

Written comments may be sent to the City Council at council@mercerisland.gov.

Join the meeting at 5pm (Appearances will start sometime after 5pm) by:

• Telephone: Call 253.215.8782 and enter Webinar ID 840 2356 6333 and Password 730224
• Zoom: Click this link (Webinar ID 840 2356 6333; Password 730224)
• In Person: Mercer Island Community & Event Center – Slater Room Council Chambers (8236 SE 24th Street, Mercer Island, WA 98040)

The City received more than 220 responses to the background survey on current uses at Clarke and Groveland Beach Parks. Thank you to all the community members who shared input! Now the Berger team is analyzing the results, which will be combined with other background assessments to develop an existing conditions report for the parks.

On March 18, staff and the Berger team will present the existing conditions summary and recommended planning approach to the City Council as well as seek their input for the public engagement plan. Details about this public meeting will be shared here on Let's Talk when available. Thank you for following along on this project!

A new survey to learn more about how community members currently use Clarke and Groveland Beaches is now open! The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete and includes general questions as well as space for park-specific comments.

Take the survey here through October 31!

Community input will be combined with other background data, including site surveys, in-water structure assessments, accessibility audits, and other technical analysis conducted by the Berger Partnership over the last year, to inform the scope of the Clarke and Groveland joint park improvements plan.

Stay tuned to Let's Talk to learn more about survey results and next steps for this park planning process.

Tucked into two Mercer Island neighborhoods, Clarke and Groveland Beach Parks are much-loved public waterfronts. This post provides an overview of each park.

Clarke Beach Park

Once home to the Girl Scouts' Camp Tarywood, Clarke Beach is a 9-acre park located at East Mercer Way and SE 77^th Place. The park was acquired by the City in 1969-1970 using Washington State marine recreation funds and was developed in 1971. Clarke Beach features fishing and swimming piers, an enclosed swimming area, restrooms (open in summer), picnic tables, paved walkways, open space/natural areas, and wildlife habitat. Park-goers use the parking lot off East Mercer Way and descend a steep, paved trail to access the beach.

Despite boasting the most shoreline of Mercer Island’s public beaches, Clarke Beach is the Island’s quietest waterfront. The beach loses sun earlier than the Island’s west-side parks, and visitors are more likely to see dog walkers than sunbathers and swimmers.

In recent years, volunteer forest stewards have hosted regular events to restore natural areas at Clarke. Work includes removing ivy and blackberry and replacing it with native trees and shrubs.

Groveland Beach Park

Groveland Beach is a 3-acre park located at SE 58^th Street and 80^th Avenue SE. The City acquired the property, which was originally a summer camp for religious groups, in 1965 and developed the beach park in 1967. It features a concrete bulkhead, swimming beach, pier, and sand volleyball court as well as restrooms (open in summer), picnic tables, and a playground. Like at Clarke Beach, the paved path from the parking lot to the beach is very steep.

As Mercer Island’s only west-side beach, Groveland sees high visitation in the summer months, including during the annual Seafair summer festival.