Waypoint park to break ground Thursday

It took less than a year for islanders to do it, and it wasn't easy. But by the end of September, the Citizens Park Task Force will finally start construction on the Waypoint park.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the park will be held at the corner of Winslow Way and Olympic Avenue at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27.

“The focus of the Waypoint project is the spirit of welcome and the natural beauty of our Bainbridge Island community,” said Johnpaul Jones, the architect on the project.

"It will have a lovely, simple design that allows a moment of pause among daily comings and goings on the island,” he said.

The Waypoint won't be much of a recreational destination like other island parks, rather, a simple trail with greenery that will lie at the entrance to the city by the ferry terminal. It will replace a chain linked fence that screens a vacant gravel lot at the corner of Winslow Way and Olympic Avenue.

The Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island is leading the fundraising effort for the park and has contributed $80,000 to the new gateway attraction. The service club will also act as project manager for the duration of the park's construction before it is turned over to the Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation District for administration and maintenance.

Organizers of the park project said an additional $200,000 is needed for completion of the project and will be raised via donations as well as sponsorships of several site components such as historical markers, memorial benches, stone walls, boulders and wayfaring signs.

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