A recent letter from Emelie McNett proposed a public park on Lake Burien, citing Arbor Lake as an example of a lake with public access.

I recently visited Arbor Lake, for the first time, and found what I expected to find at a public park in King County: graffiti, vandalism, trash, and evidence of illegal alcohol consumption.

I don't know how the residents of the shoreline of Lake Burien are taking care of the lake, but it has to be better than that. As a member of the public, I understand that the waters of Lake Burien belong to all of us, but I would rather that I never dip a toe in Lake Burien than see it ruined by uncontrolled public access.

The Burien Parks Department has rules in place at all its parks, designed to preserve the environment and protect both park visitors and neighbors of parks.

It is common knowledge that neither the Parks Department nor the Police Department will ever enforce compliance with any of those rules. Our parks are regularly used for off-leash dogs whose waste is not picked up, illegal drugs and alcohol, late night trespassing, graffiti, and littering.

It may be a small minority of the public that commits these offenses, but they do so with impunity. The Parks Department has no authority to enforce any rules, and the Police Department will always have higher priorities than writing citations for graffiti or alcohol consumption in public parks.

Animal Control will never write a citation for an off-leash dog in a Burien Park, given their current funding. To verify this for yourself, go to one of our parks. It won't be long before you see a dog off-leash, someone openly drinking alcohol on a park bench, or someone scribbling graffiti.

Call the police and see what sort of response you get. This is not a complaint against the police; they are merely providing the level of service that the citizens of Burien are willing to pay for, which is minimal. A Park Ranger program would help, but the city has no plans for that.

Given that the public has a history of not being good stewards of public spaces, the health of Lake Burien is safer in the hands of private property owners. I will be content to just see the lake as I walk my dogs along 156th Street.

As much fun as it would be to let my dogs swim in the lake, I know Lake Burien would be much better off without public access.

Pictures of Arbor Lake: http://picasaweb.google.com/pseudotsuga/ArborLake#

James Branson

Seahurst