The rising cost of construction materials forced Seattle Parks and Recreation to scale back the design of Puget Boulevard Commons, a tiny public park next to Delridge Way.

An outdoor basketball court, skateboard features and hundreds of yards of drainage pipe were eliminated from the design to bring down costs. Many of the shrubs and other landscape improvements also were reduced to save money.

The small park is being developed with money from the Pro Parks levy approved by Seattle voters in 2000. Included with the Puget Boulevard Commons project are improvements planned at two adjacent parks, Greg Davis Park and the Brandon Minipark. The idea is to create a single, contiguous park among the three small parks.

Earlier bids came in at about $1.2 million, partly because the project went to bid in August at the height of the construction boom, said Andy Sheffer, project coordinator. Fourteen contractors showed an interest in the project but eventually only two contractors submitted bids, which were too high.

So the project was shrunk and put out for bid again. That produced a lower bid of $815,000.

Most of the cost, about $436,000, will go to develop Puget Boulevard Commons. Approximately $355,000 will be spent on the Brandon Street end of the park, while about $45,000 worth of work is set for Greg Davis Park.

The Puget Boulevard site has included a P-Patch garden for many years. The revised plan is to formalize the P-Patch with walkways among the planting beds and a smooth-rail fence around the garden area.

Seat walls had been planned in Puget Boulevard Commons with reinforced edges, along which skateboarders could "grind" and do tricks. But the reinforced edges were taken out of the plan to save money, Sheffer said. A picnic shelter, some climbing structures and part of the planned sidewalk also were removed to lower costs.

A flat grassy area planned along 26th Avenue will be suitable for bocce and other lawn games.

Some of the biggest savings came from elimination of an underground drainage system that would've required extensive trenching, manholes and "several hundred yards of pipe," Sheffer said. Taking out some of the hard surface areas planned for the park also reduced the need for an underground drainage system

Instead, a natural drainage system of swales and check dams will be created on the site, he said. Planners also will minimize the amount of soil that's moved on or off the site to save money too.

Drainage will be among the first tasks done when construction begins.

They also eliminated many of the shrubs planned for the site. That includes plantings along Brandon Street. However the number of new trees - river birches, oaks and elms among others - was not reduced.

Planners kept alive an idea to build a small plaza near Puget Boulevard and 26th Avenue Southwest.

New sidewalks are still planned along the north side of Brandon Street, west of Delridge Way.

Some of the previously planned ideas for the project could be added to the park later as money becomes available, Sheffer said.

If the changes are approved, construction could begin in March, Sheffer said.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at 932-0300 or tstclair@westseattleherald.com