Key points:
• Residents at Tucker City Hall reviewed the results of a sound mitigation study that says Tucker Recreation Center isn’t the best place for pickleball courts.
• Henderson Park would be the best location, sound experts say.
• The city will explore other options at an undetermined date.
A resounding feeling of “finally” was heard as Tucker residents reviewed the details on the Pickleball Sound Mitigation Study at City Hall Monday, Sept. 29 that says Tucker Recreation Center isn’t the best location for the courts.
The public information open house took place just one week after Tucker City Council voted 6-1 against moving forward with a bid to build pickleball courts at the Tucker Recreation Center. The 68-page study completed by PSM Consulting detailed what sound mitigation measures would be required at Tucker Recreation Center and an analysis about locating the courts at Henderson or Rosenfeld parks.
Rip Robertson, Tucker parks and recreation director, asked the council to kill the bid for Tucker Recreation Center, citing concerns about safety and liability issues.
Tucker resident Ivy Beaufort, who was one of about 20 people attending the forum, said she had been waiting for the city council to get more “creative” with their planning for the pickleball courts. After reviewing the study findings Monday, Beaufort is convinced that Henderson Park would be the best option for the new courts.
Related stories:
• Opinion: Tucker needs pickleball
• Tucker Recreation Center pickleball plan scrapped for safety, liability issues
• Letter to the Editor: We stand against the pickleball complex
“I think that the sound mitigation study was overdue,” she said. “Henderson Park, for me, always made sense. It’s already developed, there’s already a lot of space around it. To me it just made more sense in general. I hope they take the information and data that’s been provided seriously.”
While Tucker Recreation Center would’ve required the installation of 12- or 14-foot barriers to reduce sound levels, Henderson Park would not require mitigation, considering its 125 acres is surrounded by underbrush and mature trees and has about a 300-foot distance from neighboring homes.
PSMC offered a digital display and several poster board presentations for residents to review, which was affirming for District 3 resident Vicki Warren. She had been one of many complaining to her representative, Council Member Alexis Weaver, about the lack of transparency about the pickleball courts plan. She lives a few homes away from Henderson Park. The vast amount of space at the park and limited noise pollution makes it her pick for the pickleball location.
“To me I’m like ‘cut the check,’” Warren said after reviewing the study. “There will be more room for parking, it’s so far from either side of the houses, except for the ones right around the entrance. The tennis courts have been there forever, so they’ve dealt with some noise.”
Robertson said that Henderson was not originally considered due to the existing tennis courts, but his ultimate plan for the recreation program is to implement smart growth that won’t be costly or cause major traffic or parking issues for those utilizing the facilities.
“I’m hoping that we find a successful solution to what we do at the rec center,” Robertson said Monday night. “We’re going to go back to the drawing board, and listen to the community and see what we can do.”
The full PSMC Tucker Sound Mitigation Study findings are available here.