(The Center Square) – Seattle officials have decided to shut down plans to build a children’s playground near a LGBTQ nude beach following pushback from a number of residents.
The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation had originally planned a children’s playground project at Denny Blaine Park as part of the city’s goal to address a gap for play areas in the Central District. The project was expected to cost $550,000.
The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation held a community feedback meeting on Dec. 6. regarding the proposed playground. Members of the LGBTQ community spoke out against the project, saying that Denny Blaine Park’s nude beach is a place for queer and trans people to feel confident in their bodies and feel safe.
“While this area of our city still lacks accessible play equipment for kids and families, we understand the feedback that this particular park is not the best location, and we will evaluate other location alternatives,” the department said in a statement.
The department added that it is planning to meet with LGBTQ community members to better understand the importance of the Denny Blaine Park to the community.
Some commenters at the community feedback meeting urged 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.
Washington state law does not make being nude in public a crime. However, a person is guilty of indecent exposure if they intentionally make “any open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm,” according to state law.
