HomeMy WebLinkAboutWaterfront Shore Protection & Enhancement 1984, nE.
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l$ay 3, t98tt
CIIY 0F PORT rcI^INSEND
540 Water Street
Port TownsenrL, WA. 98368
Att: Ted Stricl{ln
RSI I,IATERtrBONT SHORS PROTMTION & EOHANCS,IENf
Gentlanenl
r arn pleaseci to submlt prelirninar'Jr designs and locations
' of storm-protectlve betm beaches and associated ndni -
par{<s for the clty waterfront. Opportunitles exist here
for the tax dol-Lar to brly nnrltt-puryose, rather than
single-purpose shore erosion protection. The various re-
uraini.ng gaps betlreen existlng buildings and on street
ends prorirlde here a most urdque occaslon to focus on the
townfs seascape locatlon and herltage; provide green
mbi-beach-par{<s to offset l-ack of a oentfaL rdorrntown pad(i
ard, at the sare tlrne create dryl abovE-tlde driftwood
bEaches !fiithi.rr an ur4can envirorment.
fhe basic deslgn approach inc}rdes the followlng critertal
1. A beach-berm that ls porous ln order to absorb
we\re runup ard, badswash cu:rents wtrich normalJy
tear down a beach. Thls ls actdeved by closely
sized gravel naterLal.
/2
2. A berm crest elevatlon that Ls abovE hlghest
tidel ard rrtde enough to disslpate stor:n raves
?rith t.}re help of drd'ftrvood and planted dunegrass'
3. A shorellne re-orLentatlon by ld.rtue of stnategl-
ca3-\y loeated enchor grolns and buri.€d drlft
s11Ll to reduee lateral beach naterd-al noveaent
out of the beach 8?€8o
Mater{.el requlraents cannot be flxed wrtlL foreshore proflles
ane made at each Locau.on. As a prelin5-narXy rough estfunate,
you nlght gsslme e vo}rme of about I cqblc yard,s of gravel per
foot of beach firont es tbe rnaJor cost ltan.
It wogld be velf extrrensive to create a beech envi.rorment bettreen
Qulncry and Madison streets ln vLew of the tx|gh and non-productLve
cost of removi.ng e:d.stlng r.l.prapl p1L1ngs1 doakagel and other
necesserxr slte preperatlon. r do not wlsh to offer deslgns or
value Judgaments for thLs locatlonl but have s5:nply lndlceted a
possible alter.matj.ve and errang€ment. There ls also a good opPor-
tuntty to locate e sea-promenad,e conneeting the several beach
par.ksl and also to bring merchants and restaurants lnto a sltrlmer
trunerourd. orLentatlon to seaslde plazas; tetracesl and actlvltles.
In othercwordsl I suggast to you to. stop hrrtrtng your colleetj've
badcs on your rnost precl.ous esthetlc and econmlc shorescap€ ?e-
source, and start creating here an anblent resortFt1tPe atnosphere
for the spring, Sl&ttt€F1 and faIL seBSoIlSr The econmic Spinoff
3,
from such a resort-type urban envl'rormEnt ls wel1. docu-
mented. Iou have both the cllnrete ard resource base.
I tmst that this prellnS-nary lnfor-natlon nlLL aid you
ln both short and long-tem pLeruring for the ueterfront'
I appreclate belng tnvlt€d to aont'rlbute'
Gordta{y f,ours; /" Z
ryaa#LWol-f Bauer I
lJBslIiilJr 3 (In'[e No. cpf-8l+t)
ShorE-Resouree ConsuLtant
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H0l(E - l(rsou l(Lr): ccr l{s'uLlaNl-
"/June t2, 1985
l,lr. Brent Shlrleyl i{ayor
Clty of Port Tomsend
Clty HaIl
Port Towneendr WA. 98368
Dear llayor ShirIeY:
Encloeed ara the deeigmer sP€cificationg, and report of
the Port Townsend Beach Enhancement Study authorized
under Coaatal Managen€nt Grant No. G0850168'
Ttre writer la prepared to diccuae the varloua facete of
auch propossd ehore proteetlon and waterfront enhancsnent
plan with your city councl-l.at your convcnienc€'
It haa bean a coneiderable gatiafaction to be aeked to
contribute to the futurc develoFrnent of yotrr CLtyre
rhore reaourcetr tnd t vant to thank you for havl'ng had
thEt opportunity through thia lnvcltigatLon. I trult that
you rill flnd thc resulta of thle effort exltlng ard ugc-
ful in your futurc plane for th6 clty.
Ve.ry elnccrelY
, --:'!*-.
,
Wolf Bauer
shore-Retourcc Consul tant
MANAGEMEilT AIID 6Y€TEttl
I
PORT TOI.INSEND WATERFRONT EROSION CO}TTROL AND SHORE ENHANCEMEMT
'Thepreparationofthisreportrraafinancia}lyaidedthrough a gnant from the Washington State Department of
Ecoloiy witfr funae obtained from the National oceanic
and i-tmospteric Adminietrationl and appropriated for
Section 306 of the Coastal Zone Managenrent Act of 1972'
PRO''ECT COMPLETION REPORT
WOLF BAUER
SHORE RESOT'RCE CONST'LTAFT
1 985
cRAvr NO. G0850168
t'UMMARY ACCOUNT
The f,'4crk under Grant No. G0850168 ie baeed on a preliminary atudy of
th€ port rownsend downtor*n waterfront which asseeaed opportunities for
reducing erosion through creation of etorm - resistant berm beachea'
The report and map for thic evaluation are lncluded in thie report in
the form of the tlay 3d letter to the city of Port Tor*nsend titled:
rWaterfront Shore ProteCtion & Enhancementr. Ttre map for that report
has b€en updatedl and ia included here ae an index map. Dl{G' No' cPt-841 r
titled rpotential Taterfront claes r Beach Sites'.
fhe city of Port Twnsend determined that particular attention ahould
be directed to the shore problems and correction opportunitl'es at the
Adans street and $ler stteet shore termlnalel aa well ae shore erosion
aouthwegt of the now ferry dock. ttre latter eite includea a reetaurant
being underminedBrrttorm-tid. ,"*r. action. A potential undercutting of the
new aearrall centef eection along t{ater Streetlrr further defined the ex-
tent to which a proteetive beaeh Eystem can be provided here'
Desigins and specifications uer€ Prepared for these three eitee in the form
of drawinga No. cPT-852'Adams S'treet Beach Plaza Site'; DWG' No' cPI -
853r$terStreettlaterfrontEnhancemgnt.'andDt.lG.No.cPT-854rFerry
Beach - Park Siter aa the primary produet of thie grant application' Ag
euch, theae desiqfna and approachea are to serve aB a praetical shotreaee
for further apptication to other erosional shore reachee withln the city
waterfront.
t
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
In evaluating the Port Tpwneend waterfront between Point ttudeon
and th€ Port l,larina, it ie evldent that th€ lnter-tidal foreshore
has 4reen invaded and inpacted by various butldinge and faclllties
resting on ancient foundations snd pllinga. Many structures and eroding
banks have been revetted with riprap armor, while eon€ other fill and
natural eacarPmente continue to erode and reeede landward.
Beaeh maintenace gravel no longer suppliee the present ghoreline aa
protruding etnreturea and bulkheads internrpt littoral drift along the
upper foreshore. ThuB the foreehore haa elorly been lorpred in eleva-
tionr and gtorm wave6 find increasing acceaa to backehore atructurea
and urban facilitlee. Slnce it is not feaeible to Provlde further eet-
back for auch exposed etncturesrit is nevertheleee poseible to re-
eatabliah hiatoric beach berme such aa Btill exist along the east gide
of Point Hudaonl and the aouth beach of Point Wileon. Such porous gravel
beach berme abaorb deatnctive atorm wavear inhibit backahore eroeionr
and at the aame tinre create a dryl above-tide beaeh environnrent for
publlc use and esthotic enhancement. It was tath qbir goal in mind
that the ahore bathymetry and geohydraulic environment wag evaluated
at these three chogen beach - restoration siteg. A case can be made for
eimilar solutions at several other waterfront locationa, eap€cially
where future private ahore-gide developrnent would normally lead to
bulkheadlng and riprapping for stonn protection.
It must be cautionedl howeverrthat not all shore locations lend them-
6eves to the airnple instaUation of auch protective berm beaches' It Ls
important that any particular shor€-front ie oriented ae eloeely aa
poeaible to the major wave-front in order to prevent exceBeive loga
via longehore material movencnt. ft is for that reagon:-that the pro-
po8d doryntorn berm beaches have been pocketed betrrcen drift-gills or
barriere that help to re-aligrn and orient each beaeh-front to the major
wave-ffont.
Storm protection wittr euch beaches is achieved not so truch by the height
pf.the. baFn erest above hlgh tidel ae it is by the porosity and width of
6";; to abaorb wave runup. Wave erogion is further redueed by the use
of a backshore root systenr in the form of E\uopean beach graaa planting'
ac nell as allowing driftwood to accumulate belotr the backghore elevationt
and aeaward of the berm cregt above the 9' tide elevation.
By obaerving atorrn-rave action along the south beach of Point l{ilson1
the public can handily obgene hou the lan&rard !:unup swaeh currentg
of each breaker navs are partly abeorbod ln the porous grravel bartn.
Such a parcolation cffect reduces the aeaward erogion.of the returning
gwagh current.
Whlle gand sill tend to fill the porouo gravel during the eultrner
months, thia sd y-d.LI be again pulled sea]tald during storm actlonr
leaving the coarser gravel to pile up on the backshore berm. Sueh na-
tural beacbes are maintained and nurtured by sand and grravel drift from
nearby feeder bluffs. Since the propoaed urban beacheg are self-contained
pocket beachca, occaal.onal additions of aome gravel ie part of their up-
keep reguirement.
ADN,IS STREET BEACH PLAZA Ttre Adams street ehore site repreeente the
wideet 'shott windotr to the sea" Here there
ie an open gap between bulldlnga of about 180 feetr'and a potential
pocket bsach length of twice that width. It would eeem an obvloue aacri-
iege thit such a ready-made beach plaza be uaed fo. parking cars.
fn view of the protnrding old maaonry-wall ghed to the eastl and the
piling - eupported sea Galley restaurant to the weatr a gtorm - protective
pocket beach can be ideally fitted into thie apace. A porous grravel berm
beach sith duneg:raas creet and graaay backahore fringe could form a natu-
ral seascape to a landscaped 'Beach Plaza' sLthin the bueineee center of
Port Tornreend. Such a mini-park would enhance the eeaport image for both
touriate and citlz€nar and yould introduce an original eea environnent
directly into the city core aa no other Rlget Sound tot,n eould equal'
IYLER STREEr WATERFROITI'I ENHANCET'IENT A potential $Ier Street beach
Park and mini-Plaza is a logical
and feaaible exteneion of a Adans Street beach plaza with ready pede-
etrian connecting walkway between the tvo. l{hile the etreet-eide plaza
would here be . f""a deal gmaller than at Adane stre€t, there iel on the
other handr over 300 feet of potential beach-scape with anple backehore
parkland acceegible fron three eldes. Here tool the proteetive berm beaeh
can be readily pocketed between protruding bulkheads and foreghore piled
buildinge. Unlike the Adams Street siter here the beach iteelf l-a also
open and and accessible on the j;est Eider and ite backshore park can be
made to blend into the bare and bleak parking lot aa ghoryn on DwG No' CPt
853. ft ehould be obvioue that at thege streot-end locational the city
hae a golden opportunity to turn potentially troubleeome shore conditiong
into multi-faceted aaaeta.
'f
PERRY BEACH PARX A emall beach park at the new ferry landing would
bearrattractiveandpractica}op€nspaceaddition
to the weatcrrr boundary of the dotrntosn district. Not only will arriving
ferry paBEengere get a good city ahoreline impreeaionl bnrt the waiting
p""""rrg"rs and public will especially enjoy guch a facility and beach
at thie ideal location.
The rock rubble revetrnent along the ferry caua€way can be softened by
both partial burial and vegetation alongeide the park beach, while the
new aeawall along l{ater Street can be protected from future undercutting
by carrying a low gravel berm westward along ita to€'
while a corner pocket beach can be readily deeigned and maintained at
this eite, a protective beach berm propogal has also been included to
cover the expoeed ehoreside reetaurant to the we6t. Holding and etabilizing
a beach at thia location Ls more difficult becauee of the angled orientation
to th€ major wave front. Thus the use and poaltLoning of proper drift-aiIIe
here ie propoaed aa a shore treatrnent demonetration for poeeible future use
along aimilarly eroding shores of this waterfront. Here the beach berm
extension frqn tjre feery beach park to the restaurant forms a natural
crescent beach bay that adde to the total protection and reaource value of
this ahoreline.
CONCLUSIONS
The protective bsach desigme and specifications repreeent minirmrm reguire-
menta for the purposeg stited. It is nevertheless poasible ''be phase the
basic beach elementa in terme of reduced eize and material volumes while
retaining Bome measure of ehore protection. Ho*ever1 it would be rry
recommendation to make a full sho11caee project out of one of these eites
in order to prove the deeirability and advantagee for such a dualEPurpose
approach to ehore protection and uee.
The Port Torrnsend corrm.rnity has already been guceeasful in cashing in on
ite legary of hietoric buildings. Rehabilitating its rdaterfront shoreline
to what rtere once accretion beaches is also of historic value' Here the
tax dollar ean not only create functional shore protectionl bnrt produce
esthetic and reereational urban amenitiea. In the final analysisr Prrblic
funds can act as a pump prlmer and catalyst for private investrnents in
such a aeaaeap€ environrnent and reaource. IE is a time for retrieving a
lost ehore heritager one that can bring a more attraetive seaeide resort
character to this cltY.