Anyone who thinks ribbon cuttings aren\u2019t fun, action-packed events must have missed Highland Park\u2019s celebration of the new pickleball courts at Prather Park.<\/p>\n
There was a speech by Mayor Will C. Beecherl, who then cut a ribbon. But the real excitement happened on the courts when residents picked up paddles \u2014 some for the first time, others with more experienced hands \u2014 and enjoyed the country\u2019s fastest growing sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like pickleball,\u201d said 9-year-old Julia McDaniel, who took on the competition with her big brother, Alex. Julia added that she would probably come to the courts often. Her mom, Tanya, agreed that they will become a neighborhood gathering place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe courts are beautiful. The landscaping is beautiful. It\u2019s intimate, very inviting for the community to come together,\u201d she said while enjoying the scenery from a shaded bench. \u201cThere are places to sit, walk, watch. It\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four pickleball courts were formerly a tennis court. Highland Park initially planned to reconstruct the court as part of a larger effort to continue the legacy and enhance the natural beauty of Hackberry Creek, especially by rebuilding failing creek walls.<\/p>\n
But then the town realized that the court\u2019s location would be ideal for pickleball. The racket sport may be one of America\u2019s most popular, but it\u2019s not the country\u2019s quietest. The pop of a pickleball can be heard from hundreds of feet away and has generated noise complaints in cities around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Highland Park\u2019s courts are as far as possible from houses, while still being easily accessible from the city\u2019s pool, Beecherl explained during the dedication.<\/p>\n
In addition to the court conversion, the town constructed a ledgestone wall and flagstone path, replaced the sidewalk, improved lighting, reconstructed a section of the Hackberry Creek wall, and installed a park bench and ledgestone seating.<\/p>\n
As part of its commitment to preserving the natural beauty of Hackberry Creek, Highland Park planted 36 trees and made landscaping enhancements throughout Prather Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe total cost of the project was a little over $1 million, which is a big investment for us,\u201d Beecherl said. \u201cBut we think it greatly benefits residents of all ages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the newcomers to the sport in attendance at the Aug. 8 dedication was town administrator Tobin Maples. He won a friendly competition as one-half of a doubles team, a feat he attributed to high-quality coaching from neighbors.<\/p>\n
Although I didn\u2019t try pickleball \u2014 I am lethal at racket sports, just not in a good way \u2014 my 12-and 15-year-old daughters both picked up paddles, one for the first time. Pickleball, they said, is easier than tennis and very fun. They\u2019d play the sport again.<\/p>\n
The courts are reserved for Highland Park residents, so as University Park-ers we won\u2019t be serving any aces in Prather Park (or, realistically, anywhere else) anytime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Highland Park-ers can reserve an hour of court time on a pickleball or tennis court each day by visiting hptx.org\/recreation and signing up for a tennis permit. The town also has pickleball striping at tennis courts in Fairfax and Abbott parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPickleball is a fast-growing sport in the US. We hope to give (residents) an opportunity to come and play pickleball in a dedicated workspace,\u201d said Chelsey Gordon, the town\u2019s director of policy development and strategic initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that if it turns out that pickleball is just a fad, the town can switch the courts back to tennis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anyone who thinks ribbon cuttings aren\u2019t fun, action-packed events must have missed Highland Park\u2019s celebration of the new…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":194233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-194232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115135000987083844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}