Short detour coming to Burke-Gilman Trail in Lake Forest Park for hazardous tree removal

Over two weeks beginning October 26, King County Parks will remove 40 dying and unsafe Lombardy Poplars and replace them with more suitable trees.

Beginning October 26, King County Parks will set up temporary detours around segments of the Burke-Gilman Trail in Lake Forest Park while crews begin removing 40 hazardous Lombardy Poplar trees.

The hazardous trees are located along the Burke-Gilman Trail between Ballinger Way NE and NE 165th Street in Lake Forest Park. After a portion of one of the trees fell onto State Route 522 during an August windstorm, King County Parks investigated other poplars along this stretch of trail. The 40 trees were assessed as dying and a threat to public safety. 

The trailside trees will be replaced later this year at a ratio of 1:1 with tree species that are more suitable to the location. 

The temporary closure will take place mid-day Monday through Friday and last for two work weeks. The trail is expected to be open in the evenings, with closings lasting from 7am to 3:30pm. There are two trail segments that will be affected. To minimize impacts to adjoining neighborhoods, only one trail section will be closed at a time.

One detour will start at NE 165th Street and route trail users along Beach Drive NE before rejoining the trail at NE 170th Street. The other detour will start at Brentwood Place NE and route trail users along NE 171st Street before rejoining the trail at NE 170th Street.

King County Parks is working with the City of Lake Forest Park and is doing outreach to neighbors to let them know about the detours. King County Parks has obtained a tree permit from the city and has hired a professional tree contractor to perform the work.