Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture
Cal Anderson’s mix of play areas includes the skate park, the remaining tennis court that is also used for dodgeball, and the busy basketball court (Source: Google Maps)
Across the diverse communities that arise to defend it, what Seattle Parks has to say about Cal Anderson Park seems to barely matter.
Honor the name of civil rights hero Calvin Anderson!
The movement to “Save Cal Anderson skate park” has begun!
The thing is, the popular skateboard area probably doesn’t need saving.
A parks department spokesperson tells CHS there has been some “confusion out in the community about Cal Anderson Park.”
Last week, “standard maintenance and repair work” included a parks and rec crew removing the fence around the one-time tennis court that was officially transitioned to alternatives uses like skateboarding, dodgeball, and bike polo more than a decade ago.
Four weeks ago, CHS reported on the Seattle Parks process to overhaul its Racquet Sport Strategy that includes the possible conversion of several tennis courts across the city to full-time pickleball use. One of those courts would be in Cal Anderson.
“Cal Anderson’s special skate and dodgeball uses would remain intact, the parks department says,” CHS reported at the time.
Add those weeks together, throw in a person or two who read the headline and not the story, add a health dose of distrust and bad experiences with recent Seattle Parks decisions and you get the movement to save the skate park:
Please help save ALL THREE Cal Anderson Park multi-use sport courts from conversion to yet another pickleball complex.
The local community seeks immediate intervention and assistance in finding record of any lawful due process that would govern this process, such as proof of formal land use proposals or posted notices to the public, environmental impact and feasibility studies that would mitigate land use, or impact statements from the public (or any accessible lawful notification of such processes). We seek help in finding any trace of discernable notification of this land use proposal that is required to be widely posted throughout the area that would yield a required forum of public input and representation from the local community. Without due process, the community has been blindsided by this seemingly unlawful grab of public land and resources by wealthy special interests.
Cal Anderson Park sport courts serves the interests of the local marginalized and under-served population who heavily rely on this space for outreach as a community safety hub as well as existing as their only local sport court for safe and inclusive recreation. These courts are not up for grabs by outsiders who do not reside in this area nor contribute to the local taxes, infrastructure, nor the prosperity of the heart and soul of the local community that is being displaced. Cal Anderson Park sport courts are a safe harbor of vitality and inclusion that is by and for the people of this beloved community.
A kind of amazing AI-generated comic strip has accompanied the campaign. No, Cal Anderson Park was not named for Calvin Anderson — “a legend of fighting for rights & inclusion of ALL people.”
The petition has gathered more than 2,500 signatures.
A Seattle Parks representative says everything is going to be OK, the work will be complete soon, and the skate park isn’t going anywhere:
Seattle Parks and Recreation is conducting standard fence repair and maintenance work at Cal Anderson Park. This work is not changing the use of any amenity at the park. SPR does not have any current plans that would impact basketball, dodgeball, or roller sports at the park.
The tennis court?
SPR’s draft Racquet Sports Strategy, which has not been finalized or adopted, mentions the possibility of converting tennis courts at Cal Anderson Park to pickleball courts, with no changes proposed to other amenities.
That might need a petition.
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