PICKLEBALL: Parks says Lincoln Park decision due soon

Though Seattle Parks paused the plan to set up pickleball courts on a Lincoln Park slab that once held tennis courts, its final fate has yet to be announced. Last night, before giving the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners a presentation about Parks’ “Pickleball and Tennis Vision,” deputy superintendent Andy Sheffer said they were “on the cusp of a decision” about it. Superintendent AP Diaz also promised that “more information on Lincoln Park is coming.” But that was all meant mostly to make sure those in attendance who were interested in LP – the subject of several public comments at the meeting’s start – knew it would not be specifically addressed in the presentation. Here’s what was:

Parks officials said that pickleball is growing, and while they said their presentation did not include “solutions” for addressing the need, they promised it would lay out a “path to find solutions.” That path includes designating four “hubs” around the city, two each for pickleball and tennis. Locations were listed for three, but not for the south pickleball hub (which would be for the area including West Seattle, though not necessarily in West Seattle):

Here’s how a hub would work:

No prospective sites for the “south” hub were mentioned; early in the presentation, this slide showed where dedicated pickleball and tennis courts are located in the city now:

You can see the full slide deck here. There was a heavy emphasis on encouraging use of pickleball rackets using noise-reduction technology, as part of the “vision,” to address persistent concerns about the sport’s noise; the Parks officials also promised to improve communication, in part by setting up online and in-person groups.

No timeline was mentioned for the next update.

64 Replies to "PICKLEBALL: Parks says Lincoln Park decision due soon"

  • K April 26, 2024 (6:49 pm)

    Parks already made a decision, but some people who can’t tell a public park from a bird sanctuary decided Parks needed to spend a bunch of time and money talking about it even more in hopes that the site will remain a maintenance storage facility.  Congrats on slowing things down and making it harder for other people to enjoy the park, guys!

    • Mike April 26, 2024 (7:19 pm)

      Haha nailed it! bunch of money wasted now. Parks are for the people and birds to coexist- sports, picnics, squirrels, partiers, kids, birds, pinecones….

      • Santa Cruz April 26, 2024 (9:43 pm)

        @Mike don’t forget bicycles!

        • Rick April 27, 2024 (7:55 am)

          And keggers behind the horseshoe pits.

    • Alki resident April 26, 2024 (8:01 pm)

      Exactly K, it’s been proven the NYC parks and birds can cohabitate and they have in Lincoln Park as well. This got so blown out of proportion it’s unreal. All the way down to personal threats by the one guy who staged a sit in. 

      • Alki April 26, 2024 (9:23 pm)

        You constantly have terrible logic to springboard your opinions. New York City, you know the city part means it’s an urban area. West Seattle is not an urban population, it’s a suburb. We should stop water protection of orcas and other marine life with your logic since they should adjust to humans not the other way around. Keep living in Alki but having no sense of intelligent ideas. 

        • Gaslit April 26, 2024 (10:57 pm)

          West Seattle isn’t an urban area? Last time I looked we are fully integrated into Seattle. Kids go to Seattle Public Schools, I pay the city’s share of taxes on my property, gas and had to put up with Lisa Herbold’s inane policy and the Seattle City Council for the last several years. I know everyone on Alki wants to cosplay that you’re in a gated community, new flash you aren’t. Another news flash- Lincoln Park isn’t a wildlife sanctuary, it’s a city park. 

          • MJ April 27, 2024 (11:53 am)

            I think you’re confusing urban with metropolitan. West Seattle is definitely a metropolitan offset of Seattle city but it’s not an urban environment. 

        • Alki resident April 26, 2024 (11:00 pm)

          You’re clueless where I live first of all. Secondly, I couldn’t care less what you think about my comments. You’ve clearly not lived in West Seattle long enough to know how busy and noisy it is in Lincoln Park all year round. You probably don’t even patronize the park. It’s not a bird sanctuary with quiet meadows. It’s always has been a park for everyone to enjoy and make NOISE. Oh the horror 

          • NYC native April 27, 2024 (7:26 am)

            Compared to uptown Manhattan, West Seattle is definitely a suburban area. I grew up in the NYC, and West Seattle and Lincoln Park are not comparable to Manhattan and Central Park! I keep seeing this comparison and it’s completely inaccurate. Central is huge, like 7 times larger than Lincoln Park. Yes, there are pickleball courts there, but there are also quiet spaces to bird watch and to escape the noise of the city, and those places are separated by about the equivalent of at least 3 Lincoln Parks. It’s not a good comparison. West Seattle is not a dense urban area like NYC, and most residents don’t want it to be. Pickleball players have plenty of options, there is only one Lincoln Park. Go play somewhere else. BTW, I have lived here for 25 years, so don’t come after me for not knowing West Seattle. The bullies here hate facts. 

          • Alki resident April 27, 2024 (10:38 am)

            West Seattle is not suburban and I’ve been here 54 yrs, I have family in NYC and they also compare Lincoln park to Central Park where there are birds everywhere. Do you think the birds just hang around quiet areas in trees? No they do not. And since you’ve only been here 25 years, you’re unfamiliar with the tennis’s courts in Lincoln Park that turned into a parking area for parks dept trucks and supplies. Looking forward to it being revived into a once very active play space. There’s no reason not to get pickleball there. That area used to be well used by so many types of activities and I can’t wait to see it busy again. 

          • nonono April 27, 2024 (11:44 am)

            I’m in Lincoln Park everyday there every day and it IS a sanctuary for wildlife and humans – with quiet meadows.  I’ve never heard LP described as a place to “make NOISE”. LOL “Hey, I wanna make NOISE! Let’s go to the heart of Lincoln Park cause that’s where all the folks go to make NOISE!” It has and always been a nature park. It’s where people go to look at the water and bask in the shade of giant heritage trees. There are occasional soccer and baseball games, but they aren’t that regular and they aren’t that loud. I rarely see anyone on the zipline and usually less than 10 kids on the playground.  The sounds of kids and parents playing field games like soccer is not nearly the same as the incessant 70+DB pock pock pock of pickleball on SIX side by side courts that would be unpalatable to most of us and the animals in the area. People pushing for PB in Lincoln are in the minority and they are acting that they are entitled to the land.  Absolute bully behavior. Find another place.

          • Flaco April 27, 2024 (1:37 pm)

            I assume it has been a while since NYCNative has ventured through either Lincoln Park or Central Park.  
            Yes, a visit to Central Park in the heart of Manhattan’s skyscrapers is unique.  
            My visit  last month confirmed a park with dozens of baseball fields, dozens of tennis courts , dozens of pickleball courts, 3.8 acre pond, a skating rink, a castle!, restaurants, roads with horse drawn carriages and omnipresent electric pedicabs…
            Or officially,
            Arguably one of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a manmade wonder.  Not only is it the first public park built in America, but it is also one of the most frequently visited, with over 25 million guests per year.Set in the middle of bustling Manhattan, its grounds serve as a safe haven, not only for athletes, daydreamers, musicians, and strollers, but also for teems of migratory birds each year.  One can spend an entire peaceful day roaming its grounds, gazing upon nearly 50 fountains, monuments, and sculptures or admiring its 36 bridges and arches.With recreational facilities abounding, the more energetic won’t have a problem finding a spot to skate, pedal, row, dribble, or climb to his or her heart’s delight.  Although Central Park has 21 official playgrounds, we like to think of it as one gigantic jungle gym in its peak season.”

            Compare any map of Central Park to Lincoln Park.  
            There difference is obvious.  
            Central Park is finely laced with hundreds of trails and roadways. It was fully planned by Olmsted not to be a nature preserve, but a park for all of the people, with activities for all.  
            It does not have any large contiguous forests like Lincoln Park.  
            NYCnative’s claim of Central Park having “also quiet places…and those places are separated by at least 3 Lincoln Parks,”  is geographically false as shown on maps.
            The point being that parks can be successful with birds, wildlife, and the diverse sporting and recreational activities of all peoples.

          • NYC Native April 27, 2024 (3:55 pm)

            Flaco the Central Park Owl died after slamming into a high rise building on 89th Street. If he hadn’t died of the collision he would have died from the rodenticide he had previously ingested. 

        • MrsT April 27, 2024 (8:35 am)

          West Seattle is absolutely not a suburb. 

    • Patty April 27, 2024 (10:14 pm)

      I love pickleball, but I love keeping Lincoln Park a rare and special sanctuary with beautiful, wild and quiet spaces, in our city-filled lives, even more! Thank you to all who are speaking out in support of preserving this amazing park for future generations!

  • Carole April 26, 2024 (7:07 pm)

    No. Just say no. No more noise.  

    • Seth April 27, 2024 (2:43 pm)

      I live next to a pickleball court I promise you’ll live.  Y’all so dramatic I swear

    • WS Troll April 29, 2024 (9:24 am)

      Lincoln Park is already loud, all the time.  Some pickle ball is not going to make any difference

  • Erik April 26, 2024 (7:18 pm)

    I don’t have a problem with them being in Lincoln Park. But I’m suprised that they didn’t think to put them in Westcrest. Big open space. Plenty of parking. Already loads of screaming kids and dogs…would have been worth looking into at least.

    • nopicklesinlincolnplease April 26, 2024 (10:15 pm)

      Yes, this was a lazy move by Parks because there is already a slab of concrete there. It has been the endless efforts of many to just get them to try to consider an already noisy area, with no forest canopy to drop debris and moisture on the courts, and parking within a short distance. Andy spends all his time justifying his decisions and not asking people what they want. AP just backs him up and is arrogant and condescending. Parks is really on my s*** list right now. 

      • WS Troll April 29, 2024 (9:27 am)

        Andy is a good guy doing his best in an impossible situation, and he still has to deal with your disrespectful trash talk.  Why don’t you go complain about ice cream shops at the Junction and let the people play pickleball. 

  • Latchkey April 26, 2024 (7:46 pm)

    Batten the hatches WSB, comments incoming!

  • NoseyNeighb April 26, 2024 (8:52 pm)

    Nothing gets a Westsider more fired up than dog poop and pickleball courts 🍿👀 

  • B M X April 26, 2024 (8:55 pm)

    let the people PLAY! obesity at an all time high. drug pandemic no end in sight. depression & suicide rates thru the roof. child birth rate plummeting. people in a CITY need to get out, get moving, stay in shape, meet new people and have FUN! And really, the park will still have 97% woods and quiet and plenty of places for birds and squirrels to do their thing. 

    • Herongrrrl April 26, 2024 (10:15 pm)

      Let’s demand a study about the links between pickleball court access and human birth rates before any further action is taken! (Ducks and runs)

  • Mike April 26, 2024 (9:01 pm)

    Would be such a shame for people to get away from their phones/computers/TVs and go play some pickeball in the park……… :/

  • penpal April 27, 2024 (12:23 am)

    the problem I see with using the old tennis court in Lincoln park is it is very far away from the parking lot, their really is not a direct lighted trail to it and the court is not lighted at all. if you have ever been their you know what I mean….not a good choice for a “hub” but that is just my opinion. 

    • Bill April 27, 2024 (8:06 am)

      I didn’t realize that Pickleball was a drive-up sport.  How do the soccer and baseball players do it? What with the parking so far away.  Also, lighting is unnecessary because Lincoln Park is closed at night.

      • nahnah April 27, 2024 (11:35 am)

        Bill – outdoor courts are usually in sight of the road. People can drive by and see how crowded it is and decide if they want to play. I don’t know how long you’ve been in Seattle, but for many months, the sun sets early. Pickleball players play into the night often and that requires lights.  The REAL deal here is that there are other options for court locations and no pickleball players I’ve met personally want courts in Lincoln Park.  Just a few internet forum folks seem to want them and it seems to be same folks every time, many of whom don’t play PB at all but like to mouth off (Alki Resident) and talk ‘murica and freedom and NIMBY and Central Park and whatever BS comes to mind. We are democracy and the public has spoken – nearly 10k people have signed petitions blocking 6 courts in the heart of LP. Andy, AP, and a handful of internet bullies shouldn’t supersede the desires of the neighborhood majority. 

        • Flaco April 27, 2024 (12:53 pm)

          nahnah, these repeated claims that the public has spoken in a democracy are false.  
          No ballot was voted on.  

          Yes, perhaps thousands of people all over the world responded to a largely false digitized scare  campaign of  Lincoln Park’s doom with massive tree removals in an ECA and establishment of an off leash dog area in the “meadow.”
          Neither were true.  
          Such online petitions do not replace our representative form of government.  
          It saddens me that in this case a false online petition that anyone, anywhere in the world,  can “sign” has led to delays and attendant costs.  
          “Concerns” about birds and noise are easily trumped by examples of birds in urban environments such as NYC’s Central Park with hundreds more bird species than Lincoln Park and dozens of pickleball courts. 

        • K April 27, 2024 (4:10 pm)

          There are well over 50,000 people in West Seattle and many of the 10k you cited don’t live on the peninsula.  That is not a neighborhood majority by anyone’s definition of the word.

        • Alki resident April 27, 2024 (6:50 pm)

          “ No pickleball players you’ve met personally want  courts in Lincoln Park”. Wouldn’t that just be funny if that was true? There are over 36 million pickleball players in our country and many of them spoke up during the hundreds of comments during the petition ordeal. Perhaps you never met any of those people purposefully. But I don’t blame you because a lot of people make things up to fit their agenda here in West Seattle. And being a very long time resident of this area who’s actually used that concrete slab with lights at one time, feel  very excited to play pickleball with friends and family at Lincoln Park in the near future. Not sure why you feel the need to insult other residents on this forum because they don’t match up to your likes and dislikes but it’s tasteless to say the least. 

        • Bill April 29, 2024 (9:02 am)

          Nahnah.  What are you even talking about‽ pickleball courts in Lincoln Park has not shown up on any ballot EVER.  Stop lying through your teeth and trying to pass off a poorly executed petition as any kind of proof that “the public has spoken”!!  You are here only to mislead and misinform. Take your alternative facts and your fake news someplace else.  May I suggest Reddit r/WestSeattle. 

  • Jackson K April 27, 2024 (6:14 am)

    I already have a tournament drawn up that will include West Seattle, Burien, Georgetown, and Beacon Hill teams. It will be a great way to welcome the new courts to Lincoln Park!

  • Denise April 27, 2024 (7:44 am)

    I’m glad Parks is taking the time to look into the issue more deeply. Lincoln Park is a jewel of a park, and if we ruin it, we’ll never get it back. 

    • Don’t be fooled April 27, 2024 (11:59 am)

      They already made their decision. They just are appeasing the people who object because they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar when they stood on their decision to forego an environmental study because of a loophole. If they had nothing to worry about regarding the noise they would have gone ahead with a study and shown the results by now to end the protests. 

  • MCV2 April 27, 2024 (10:59 am)

    I am very grateful that people are participating in the discussion of pickleball courts in Lincoln Park before they are installed and hope a better location for the courts other than Lincoln Park is found. Homes were built here decades before any idea of pickleball courts existed. If the quality of life of the neighboring homeowners and the real estate values are disturbed by the constant noise of new pickleball courts, the lawsuits will begin, and the costs will skyrocket until the courts are gone. I have seen neighborhood nightmares in other communities and do not wish it for Lincoln Park neighbors. 

    • Flaco April 27, 2024 (1:52 pm)

      No homeowners will be able to hear pickleball from Lincoln Park.  
      All homes are hundreds of yards away with sounds buffered through a thick dark forest and drowned out by the noisy truck, bus and car thoroughfare of Fauntleroy Way.  

      The Lincoln Park tennis courts are the most isolated from homes of any courts in Seattle.

    • WS Troll April 29, 2024 (9:34 am)

      Give me a break!  If half of what you say is true, where are the lawsuits around pickleball at Walt Hundley‽. Those homes are much closer than any kind of building is to the pickleball courts in Lincoln Park. You are spreading lies in hopes of getting a reaction!  Reminds me of a four times indicted former president of ours. I hope your lies and deceit go about as well for you as they have gone for him. 

  • Rick April 27, 2024 (11:11 am)

    It’s time to address the elephant in the room: pickleball is an obnoxious name and it gives people the ick. If you want people to respect your game and not respond with knee-jeek dislike, don’t give it a joke name.

  • TJ April 27, 2024 (11:13 am)

    If noise to homes is a issue then Lincoln Park would be a great choice. What about the sounds from pickleball at tennis courts? That would be louder for neighborhoods. Lincoln Park is a city park for human recreation and isn’t a wildlife refuge or sanctuary. 

  • JayDee April 27, 2024 (12:25 pm)

    I live 1,300 feet from the Alki Whaletail park which hosts tennis and pickleball on the same courts. Mind you I have never heard people playing tennis, but can clearly hear people playing pickleball with its characteristic “plonk-plonk” sound of the rackets hitting the pickleballs. We don’t need pickleball courts in Lincoln Park. While it isn’t an officially designated “wildlife” park that doesn’t mean that wildlife, and birds, don’t live there.  People, me among them, protested the Parks former boondoggle idea for a zip line at Lincoln Park because the sounds of people screaming through the trees is not suitable for a woodland park. And neither is the literal racket of pickleball. We need the restorative peace of Lincoln Park to stay the way it is—it will not be improved by pickleball in the park.

  • flimflam April 27, 2024 (1:28 pm)

    People that claim the sounds of pickleball aren’t annoying are either being purposely obtuse or haven’t actually heard it. 

    • Flaco April 27, 2024 (2:11 pm)

      flimflam, the same claims have been made about jazz, country, rock and roll and opera!

      • Jim April 27, 2024 (2:58 pm)

        I don’t see the city building a stage and having obnoxiously loud concerts year-round in an environmentally sensitive area

        • Flaco April 27, 2024 (3:50 pm)

          Does still repeating one of the petition’s many falsehoods indicate Jim’s lack of familiarity or is it just misleading?

          The existing tennis court’s location (as opposed to the Troll’s location) is not in any Seattle or King  environmentally sensitive areas.  
          The courts have been paved for the
          better part of a century.
          Both of these are facts easily 
          confirmed by GIS Maps available to all.  https://seattlecitygis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f822b2c6498c4163b0cf908e2241e9c2

          And to be accurate Lincoln Park has historically built stages and hosted rock concerts in Lincoln Park (I attended).

          Though not a pickleball player, I encourage the multi-use open embrace of all that represents the spirit of  the Seattle and Lincoln Park that fostered so many.  

          This beloved treasure has and should continue to accommodate and service all people.

      • flimflam April 28, 2024 (8:30 am)

        Flaco, that is an awful analogy.

  • Denise April 28, 2024 (9:34 am)

    The park is indeed for all people. The park’s primary asset is the natural setting, which many people from all over the city value beyond measure. It is priceless. Those of us who use it and love it—and there are thousands of us—do not want it to be ruined. We want it preserved and protected so that all people can have it to enjoy in the future. Although there are some active uses in the park, there has never been an activity with the unique impact of pickleball. Pickleball would severely impact this precious resource we all love. And we would never get it back.. I sincerely hope Parks finds more suitable places for people to play pickleball. It is a wonderful sport. But it’s not for a place like Lincoln. 

    • Alki resident April 28, 2024 (4:52 pm)

      Where do you get your statistics that pickleball will severely impact this precious resource? 

      • Denise April 28, 2024 (9:14 pm)

        It’s everywhere. But I think you already know that. 

        • Alki resident April 29, 2024 (10:49 am)

          If it’s “ everywhere “ then why would it take time and money for parks to figure this out? If it’s fits your agenda it must be true. 

  • Steve April 28, 2024 (4:27 pm)

    Gonna pick up pickleball and no birds, squirrels, and sea lions better get in the way of my serve!

  • West Marge April 28, 2024 (6:20 pm)

    I wish people had the same passion about the environmentally devastating light rail that will displace hundreds of people, businesses, and wildlife. This includes the heron rookery on pigeon point. It will also break treaties held with the Duwamish.  rethinkthelink.com 

    • John April 28, 2024 (8:11 pm)

      I can assure you myself and many others are just as and even in the case of the light rail more passionate about putting a stop to that.

    • Arbor Heights Resident April 30, 2024 (11:44 am)

      Light rail will be a great asset to our community, and due to the required mitigation work will most likely improve wildlife habitat in the area. Lord knows that the West Duwamish Greenbelt could use some noxious weed control. Quit your fearmongering NIMBYism.

  • Arbor Heights Resident April 29, 2024 (11:36 am)

    Good lord, so much ado about nothing. Based on some of these comments, you’d think that Parks were trying to open up a rifle range or a dirt bike track, not a racket sport. I don’t play pickleball, but I doubt that Lincoln Park will be “ruined forever” by this 😂

  • Jeff April 29, 2024 (12:14 pm)

    PRO PICKLEBALL here. Let’s defeat NIMBYism for once! I will show up in support of Pickleball. 

  • JDB April 30, 2024 (12:49 pm)

    Just a fun addition here – our friends at Target have joined the debate and are selling Prince brand pickleball gear now. Guess they are anticipating the LP addition!

    • April April 30, 2024 (1:28 pm)

      As a person who has seen Prince  over 10 times and been at his private playing shows at his place in California, I can say that Prince would hate this!!! Shame on Target!!!

      • WSB April 30, 2024 (1:48 pm)

        This has nothing to do with Prince the musician. It’s a company that’s been in the racquet-sports business for half a century.
        https://www.princepickleball.com/aboutus.asp

        • April April 30, 2024 (2:03 pm)

          Noted. Than-you for responding. I appreciate you.

  • Foul or fowl April 30, 2024 (6:47 pm)

    The criteria for lighting may have just killed the Lincoln Park pickleball place. Perhaps it will be placed at the tennis courts across Fauntleroy way though the reference to Georgetown intrigues me. Get ready for all to cry “foul” or “fowl” after a decision is made depending on which side you are on. Sixty plus comments in and it appears that very few commenters actually read the article or pay attention to the graphics.

Sorry, comment time is over.