On December 9, 2020, as part of our regular play area regular safety checks, King County Parks found that the surfacing under Dockton's main play structure did not adequately meet safety standards.

King County Parks immediately closed off public access to the play structure to prevent any risk of injury. This area of the park will remain closed until further notice. The park’s swing set does not have any safety issues and will remain open.

The surfacing under the main play structure was installed in 2005 and is nearing the end of its engineered life. Dockton Park’s play area was scheduled to be replaced in 2024 as part of the 2020-2025 Parks, Trails, Recreation, and Open Space Levy. With the emergence of the surfacing safety issue, Parks is advancing the project timeline and planning for construction in 2021, when we will replace the equipment and surfacing in the play area.

We will continue to post play area updates to this newsletter as the project develops.