Like much of the country, Flagstaff has embraced the pickleball craze. On Wednesday, the city opened eight new courts as part of a park improvement project that cost more than $2 million. Neighbors and some city leaders were opposed to the project but others said it was long overdue.
Pickleball is popular enough here that the city allowed some of its tennis courts to be used for the game like this one underway Wednesday morning ahead of a ribbon cutting ceremony at Bushmaster Park.
And like many cities, not all Flagstaff residents were supportive of having pickleball courts. In this case, park neighbors were opposed in part because of the noise.
Councilmember David Spence voted against the project.
"I voted against the $2 million contract because I felt there were other city owned parks where pickleball could be established without being close to the neighbors," Spence said.
The city mitigated for ball noise by raising the height of the courts and opted to move them 30 feet away from the neighbors to the south.
"But that puts it closer to neighbors from the north," Spence said.
Flagstaff Vice Mayor Miranda Sweet said she is satisfied with the mitigations put into place and supported the project because much of the public wants it.
"So yes there was a lot of back and forth for what are the trade-offs for adding this to this area versus the homes nearby and finding that balance," she said.
The expanded complex also includes updated tennis and basketball courts.
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