Metro Parks: Low priority for repair and maintenance

After reading about the Tacoma Outboard Association bridge closure due to disrepair (TNT, 4-26), I wondered whether Metro Parks had inspected and performed maintenance on a routine basis.

Just take a look at the pedestrian bridge at the Point Defiance boathouse that crosses over the the area below the Pagoda. It's sagging with rotten beams.

The old bear grotto has a orange construction fence surrounding the back to keep people from falling through decaying wood flooring. There isn't even a sign to explain the history of the grotto should visitors walk up the slope from the Rose Garden.

Metro Parks also doesn't maintain trails it considers too much trouble. Its solution is just to put up a "Trail Closed" sign.

Wander over to the trail that goes up the hill next the concession stand at Owen Beach for easy access to a trail not maintained. This trail is a safety problem with railings missing and timbers rotted. These trails have been let go for many years, not just months.

If Metro Parks ignores small repair and maintenance obligations, what else does it ignore? What proof is there that Metro Parks routinely performed repairs and maintenance on the TOA bridge?

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Metro Parks: Low priority for repair and maintenance."