Long-Overdue Blue Lake Repairs Nearing Completion

Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview has been closed since Sept. 15 of last year to provide much-needed renovations to its grounds and facilities. However, ongoing closures may be soon coming to an end, with the Metro agency stating it expects to wrap up work sometime by spring of this year. 

Visitors should see a lot of improvements when the park fully reopens to the public, including upgrades to the aging, unsafe fishing pier and new water and sewer systems to serve the park facilities. 

Funding for this project came from the voter-approved 2019 Metro parks and nature bond measure. Nearly $30 million is planned to be spent on improvements to Blue Lake Park, overall. One point of frustration is that during the renovations, parking for the adjacent disc golf course is nonexistent, due to parking on the street around Blue Lake Park being illegal. Players must walk in (the course remains open) using one of the access trails. 

While the wait goes on, the critical improvements should make the wait worth it. While some of the construction took place before the September park closure, officials needed to further limit access in order to replace the water and sewage systems, among other things. The water lines at Blue Lake Park were over 50 years old and were connected to a failing well. The park will now be connected with the City of Fairview water system.

The whole Metro park system will see improvements throughout, with the bond measure funding other modernized maintenance and numerous improvements.

While the Blue Lake work was paid for with taxpayer dollars, access to the park when it reopens will still cost visitors $5 per car. Within they can find a splash pad for kids, beach access, picnic tables, and walking paths. And those who want to access the park for free can do so by entering via the Marine Drive Trail.