City of Boise Settles Lawsuit, Pickleball Courts at Two City Parks Transitioning Again to Tennis Solely | Information

Following a authorized settlement, Boise Parks and Recreation has closed the pickleball courts at Willow Lane Park and Manitou Park. The courts at each places will transition again to tennis solely, per the phrases of the agreed upon settlement. The pickleball courts at Manitou Park are included within the metropolis’s determination attributable to comparable neighborhood issues and proximity to residents.

The courts at Willow Lane Park had been initially transformed from tennis to pickleball courts in 2018. The reputation of pickleball has grown exponentially throughout the nation since 2019, and the will for locations to play quickly accelerated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Boise, like different cities, addressed this elevated demand by changing sure courts from tennis to pickleball. Unfortunately, a few of these court docket conversions haven’t been as profitable as our workforce hoped, and one such conversion led to litigation.

“The decision to close popular pickleball courts at two park locations has not been made lightly and comes after years of sincere attempts to find a compromise for everyone involved,” stated Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway. “Our team is working on a set of pickleball court siting guidelines to aid the placement of future courts within our park system, and we will continue to look for opportunities to meet the recreational needs of all users, including pickleball players.”

The City of Boise made the troublesome determination to settle the case so as to keep away from ongoing litigation prices and preserve its give attention to serving residents and park customers of all types throughout Boise. This end result follows greater than two years of negotiations, compromise proposals, pilot packages, and good-faith efforts by Boise Parks and Recreation to steadiness the wants of neighbors with the citywide demand for pickleball play (particulars of those proposals are included within the Tort Claim filed by the Plaintiffs). Additional makes an attempt to resolve this difficulty outdoors of court docket included limiting hours of play at each court docket places and shutting the courts three days throughout the week. Boise Parks and Recreation additionally added sound limitations at Willow Lane Park to mitigate noise. Ultimately, these efforts had been unsuccessful in stopping authorized motion.

The courts at each park places are actually closed for building as they transition again to tennis solely. This timing was primarily based on contractor availability and the necessity to full the court docket transition earlier than December as outlined within the agreed upon settlement. Boise Parks and Recreation is constant to search for alternatives so as to add pickleball courts at park places to fulfill demand for the game, whereas conserving the outcomes of this settlement in thoughts.

To learn the division’s settlement assertion in full, click on right here.

For extra info on different locations to play pickleball at City of Boise parks, please go to the Boise Parks and Recreation pickleball webpage.