Youth athletes who run cross country now face a new challenge after a homeless camp moved back onto the route of one of Seattle's premier racing courses.
Youth athletes who run cross country now face a new challenge after a homeless camp moved back onto the route of one of Seattle's premier racing courses.
Homeless people living in recreational vehicles have returned to a parking lot on the south side of Woodland Park near Green Lake.
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It is the same location that has been cleared out at least twice before in recent years.
“The RVs have come in at the end of August, and they have really put a footprint into the upper gravel lot, which is the area that the high schoolers crossed through,” said John O’Leary, who coaches and organizes several youth cross country teams.
The RVs are set up in a gravel lot that borders N 50th St. They have become a major obstacle for youth sports leagues that use the public park for competitive events as well as training.
O’Leary said he has tried to talk to some of the people living at the encampment but said he has been followed and intimidated.
“The few times we've tried to interact with the community, it's been very hostile. I've had to make two police calls already,” O’Leary said. “Two people from the encampment followed me about 400 yards down the trail, and I didn't even realize it until they were right up on me. They wanted to know if they could help me.”
O’Leary doesn’t want the youth athletes or their parents to have a similar experience given that the actual course goes right through the encampment. He’s also concerned about the off-leash dogs that live at the encampment and how they might react when the kids run past.
Most of the people living at the encampment refused to speak with a KOMO News reporter, but one man named Johnny was willing. He said there are a lot of misconceptions about the people living in upper Woodland Park.
“There's a lot of people who are homeless that give homeless a horrible name, but that's not everybody,” said Johnny, who declined to give his last name. “There's a lot of us out here that are strictly just homeless trying to, you know, get out of this.”
Johnny said he’s seen the cross country teams when they hold their competitions, and he thinks there is enough space at the park for everyone.
“I've seen when the youth league has been here,” Johnny said. “I've seen no issues as far as anybody, you know, acting up or intimidating anybody.”
In past years, encampments have grown so large at Woodland Park that coaches stopped having the athletes run the trails and moved their competitions to other locations. O’Leary doesn’t want to see that situation repeated.
“Once the RVs come in, they feel like this is their area and you should not be in our area,” O’Leary said. “Where it gets dangerous is when you have youth athletics mixed in with encampments and RVs.”
A spokesperson for the Unified Care Team, which handles encampment removals in Seattle, said they are aware of the recurring encampments at Woodland Park and the complaints that have followed.
“UCT routinely engages with individuals in this area to provide referrals to shelter and services and address public impacts, including debris accumulation and tents or other obstructions,” the spokesperson said in a written statement.
The spokesperson added that enforcement of the overnight parking restrictions at the park is the responsibility of the Seattle Police Department, “which has been working to enforce parking rules at this location,” the statement said.
