Under Construction, part IX: Pickleball v. Tennis

Dear Diary,

I identify myself, politically, as a "radical conservative leftist".  I ask dumb questions, which is the hallmark of a radical; I'm suspicious of change, which is the mark of a conservative; and the things I want not to change make me a leftist.

All this to say that the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation has recently admitted to a mistake, but it's a mistake of which I approved.  I'm discussing the topic in "Under Construction" partly because it's in the project list and happening in 2026 (that is, the plans linked to, which this whole part is based on, are being revised this year), and partly because some of it involves actual construction.

See, dear Diary, tennis is a game codified in the 1870s, played on "courts" with "racquets"; as those names suggest, its origins are in mediaeval France.  Pickleball is a vaguely similar game invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island here in Washington state.

So when pickleball surged in popularity, Parks pointed out that parks don't change very fast, and shouldn't recognise fads.  I completely approve.

When the surge didn't abate, in 2017 they started adding pickleball striping to some of their existing tennis courts, then calling these courts "dual use".  Now, they say, dual use was a reasonable plan:

New courts require significant space and funding - for acquisition of land and/or development of facilities at existing parks.  Furthermore, many of the existing parks currently without courts were purchased with grant funding that restricts active recreation and/or impervious coverage.  Therefore, dual striping was an effective tool to add pickleball courts quickly and economically.

They ended up with twenty dual use courts, five of which are in North Seattle.

However, as dual use increased, so did complaints; they imply, but don't state, a correlation.  So pickleball and tennis are breaking up.  Of the dual use courts in North Seattle, Bitter Lake Playfield and Ravenna Park are designated for pickleball, while Gilman Playground, Soundview Playfield and Wallingford Playfield are (re-)designated for tennis.

As part of this process, they also started designating "hubs", including one for tennis in Woodland Park, and one for pickleball at Green Lake Park.  They're considering designating more hubs, including Laurelhurst and Meadowbrook playfields for tennis and Magnuson Park and Bitter Lake Playfield for pickleball.  One element of "hub"ness for pickleball is allowing "open play"; in contrast, Ravenna, Laurelhurst, Greenwood Park and Maple Leaf Reservoir Park will be reserved for "closed play". 

They warn that expansion is a tough row to hoe, but in 2027 they'll explore adding tennis courts to Froula and Magnuson parks, and look for room for pickleball courts at Gilman and Magnuson.  They also say that Bitter Lake and Maple Leaf may have room for expansion whenever their courts are resurfaced.

Wow, dear Diary.  I had no idea sports at the parks were so complicated.  Anyway, I've now cleared the decks for Bitter Lake's "Building a Baseline" part, so I'll see you tonight or tomorrow with that.  Until then, happy times, dear Diary.