Gas Works Park safety review
Officials are considering removing ladders and metal pipes from the towers at Gas Works Park after recent safety concerns, with local reporting and video highlighting potential hazards. The proposal reflects a localized push to reduce risky public access to elevated structures (x.com).
Seattle officials have ordered safety changes at Gas Works Park that could strip ladders, catwalks and stairways from the park’s landmark towers by May 15. (kiro7.com) The order came from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, which said the cracking towers, catwalks, piping and ladders are unsafe because people keep trespassing into the fenced area and climbing them. Seattle Parks and Recreation now has a deadline to remove or fix the hazardous features. (kiro7.com) Seattle Parks had already asked the Landmarks Preservation Board in December 2025 and January 2026 for permission to remove what it called “pedestrian appurtenances” from the two south towers. In that filing, the department said it wanted to make the towers less climbable and reduce the risk of more deaths. (seattle.gov) The fight has centered on a landmark that is both a park and a preserved industrial site. Gas Works Park sits on the former Seattle Gas Light Company plant on Lake Union, and the cracking towers are part of the historic machinery kept in place when the park opened. (king5.com) The safety push accelerated after 15-year-old Mattheis Johnson died in July 2025 after falling about 50 feet from a platform following a concert at the park. Parks officials told the board last fall that three people had died and 11 had been injured in climbing-related falls since October 2008. (king5.com) The Landmarks Preservation Board rejected a broader removal plan on October 15, 2025, saying the ladders and walkways have historic value and asking the city to look first at lighting and security cameras. That left Seattle Parks searching for another route to make changes. (king5.com) Parks records show this is not a new problem. The city’s January 2026 application says staff sought removals in 2015, hired engineers for a climbing and safety evaluation in 2016, won approval for limited changes in 2019, and replaced fencing and cleared vegetation again in 2023. (seattle.gov) Opponents of major alterations have argued that the towers’ ladders and walkways are part of what makes Gas Works Park a landmark. Parks officials have said the features are beyond repair, still attract climbers, and no longer work as a barrier against falls. (king5.com) The next step is practical, not theoretical: Seattle Parks must meet the May 15 deadline or face enforcement, while the city decides how much of the towers’ climbable steel can stay in place. (seattletimes.com)
