“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone. Pave paradise, put up a parking lot.” – Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
Although this famous song told a sad tale; here is happy story, that remarkably, also features a parking lot.
Union Bay Natural Area in Seattle was a garbage dump for forty years that finally closed in 1966. One year later, the University of Washington put forth plans funds to restore the notorious Montlake Fill into the marshland it used to be. Successful fundraising and years of dedicated effort by faculty, staff, students, agencies and volunteers led to the transformation that is still underway at the 74-acre Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA). Currently, UBNA it is managed by University of Washington Botanic Gardens to maintain and enhance its plants, wildlife and landscape values.
A spectacular step in this direction occurred in the last five years when a gravel road and 20-acre parking lot were removed in order to restore the area to wetlands. This visionary project was a product of required mitigation for the Highway 520 bridge replacement over Lake Washington. Washington Department of Transit and University of Washington worked together to make it happen in 2018.
How gratifying to see the Union Bay Marsh brought back as close as possible to its natural state!
Now the old parking area has been extensively planted with native trees, plants and shrubs. Invasive plants are continually being removed. Meanwhile, birds, amphibians, and a wide array of other organisms, including Homo Sapiens, benefit from this dramatic restoration — a big part of the larger UBNA restoration.
It is hard to imagine that UBNA used to be a garbage dump. Instead, as the authors of “Union Bay Natural Area – How a Landfill Formed the Foundation for Learning and Restoration noted: “The natural beauty of the UBNA stands out within an otherwise urban setting of parking lots, stadiums, and shopping complexes.” – UW College of the Environment Field Notes
Sometimes it is not only possible but beneficial to restore paradise by taking out a parking lot. This could and should be replicated in many places throughout the world.
