Our photo shows the spot in Lincoln Park where Seattle Parks says it will convert former tennis courts into new pickleball courts, photographed late in the day last Sunday. In the nine days since we last checked in on the controversy, there’ve been a variety of developments.
First, the backstory: We reported in August that Parks planned to add pickleball striping to three of the six tennis courts at nearby Solstice Park during upcoming resurfacing work. After feedback including tennis players’ opposition, Parks changed its mind, announcing – though not widely – that it would keep Solstice tennis-only while creating a pickleball-only site in Lincoln Park.
This did not go over well with the pickleball community, whose leaders say they had no warning the Solstice plans – months in the works – were being reconsidered, nor with a community of Lincoln Park devotees who are worried pickleball will be too noisy and disruptive for wildlife and peace-loving parkgoers. Both of those groups are represented in online petition drives; local wildlife biologist/advocate Kersti Muul started this one voicing opposition to the Lincoln Park pickleball plan (and potential off-leash area), with more than 1,200 signatures as of this morning, while the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association‘s petition, approaching 500 signatures at last check, asks the city to stick to the Solstice-striping plan.
Right now, though, Parks is standing firm. Its decision has been made, and it’s not reopening the discussion, according to what spokesperson Rachel Schulkin told us when we asked. She says the department’s position remains what she wrote in an email response to opponents of pickleball at Lincoln Park, including:
… This is an existing court, and the work is categorically exempt from SEPA [environmental study] requirements as maintenance of an existing facility. A landscape architect has been assigned to the development [of the] Lincoln Park tennis courts, and they have reviewed the site and will be using best management practices to implement courts here.
We plan to offset bringing another active use to Lincoln Park by relocating the SPR grounds storage facility to the crew headquarter location. This will remove trucks, along with their emissions and traffic, driving in and out of this actively used part of Lincoln Park.
We are committed to communicating our plans for pickleball courts in Lincoln Park frequently. While there are no opportunities for public engagement, we can answer any questions you have and share any concerns you may have with Parks and Recreation leadership. In addition, we’ll install a project sign near the site to share project and contact information.
Parks says it expects to complete the grant-funded conversion by “late fall.” Possible lighting is being considered separately; one reader who asked what was being taken into consideration for that was told, “At this point we are assessing the cost, what work would be needed to be done to install lights, and what type of lighting would be most appropriate for this space.”
All the while, the Solstice Park resurfacing hasn’t happened yet: “There isn’t a date set for Solstice resurfacing. We are still awaiting supplies coming in to the contractor, and then will have to plan for a stretch of drier weather.” Pickleball advocates say that project was at one point expected to be complete by the end of summer. The association’s official position:
Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is supportive of SPR’s plan to build dedicated courts for pickleball. We support the Lincoln Park site selected by SPR. We also believe they should put pickleball lines on the Solstice courts. We understand plans can change, but in this case, there was no visibility into the decision-making process, nor was it known that the Solstice plan was even being reconsidered.
Parks has said the Lincoln Park site was at some point considered when the Outdoor Pickleball Study was under development a few years ago, though that plan landed on Hiawatha as a pickleball-only site, and “public engagement” regarding that proposal is still expected.
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