As part of the Lowman Beach Park restoration project Seattle Parks and Recreation recommends either adding a pickleball court (as seen above, and saving the swings) or allowing for no additional change than the beach restoration project.
Photo courtesy Seattle Parks
information from Seattle Parks and Recreation
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and Seattle Sports Complex Foundation invite the community to participate in an online meeting on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to learn to learn about the project to date, review the consultant work and community input, and discuss the feedback and recommended direction from SPR. Please register at https://tinyurl.com/Lowman-Mtg3 Password: a6MWeF3Aff8. Or, join by phone at 206-207-1700 Code: 1872 55 9987.
At Lowman Beach Park, 7017 Beach Dr. S W., the existing tennis court will be removed as part of the Shoreline Restoration and Seawall Replacement project. The Seattle Sports Complex Foundation applied for Neighborhood Matching Funds and hired HBB Landscape Architects to prepare a study and lead the public engagement to discover if a tennis court (or other racket sports) could be added to the park.
Two public meetings have been held and three concepts were reviewed. After reviewing the work from the community and the design team, SPR recommends either adding a pickleball court (and saving the swings) or allowing for no additional change than the beach restoration project. SPR does not support the tennis court concept.
SPR’s recommendation takes into account the park location, its unique characteristics, proximity to other tennis courts, and future maintenance impacts. In addition, SPR reviewed the images from the public meetings, phone calls, emails, and the extensive community outreach to inform this decision. The decision also supports SPR’s Strategic Plan as the Healthy Environment section calls out preserving a healthy ocean and marine environment that contribute to the health of the Seattle and Pacific ecosystem and a balance between active and passive recreation.
SPR did hear from the community about the importance of racket courts and has worked out an agreement with Seattle Public Schools to open the six courts at the Southwest Athletic Complex. The courts are free for drop-in unless reserved at the Amy Yee Tennis Complex. Information about court reservations can be found here:
https://www.seattle.gov/parks/reserve/tennis-court-reservations#City%20Parks%20Courts
For more information, please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/lowman-beach-racket-court-design or contact Pam Kliment at pamela.kliment@seattle.gov or 206-684-7556.
