A Big Stairway Loss - Eagle Landing, Burien

The centerpiece stairway in Chapter 23, "Burien: Eagle Landing Stairs," has been closed indefinitely, for safety reasons. Quiet, lovely Eagle Landing Park is still accessible, and well worth a visit. But stairway walkers can no longer descend the spectacular zig-zag steel treads at the end of the park's single trail.

This stairway was designed to "float" above the landscape, in hopes that it could withstand the slow movement of the steep slope beneath it. However Burien city engineers recently shut it down, finding it was no longer safe for pedestrians (see slides below for further explanation).

Slope movement is not the only damaging force this stairway has faced. High tides and strong winds have repeatedly walloped it at the base. There's no word when, or if, the stairway will reopen.

Here's some of what you'll see if you go there now. But take heart: there are lots of other stairway adventures awaiting you all over the city!