Cordata Community Park Phase 2

I want to commend the planners, developers and community members who made Cordata park a reality. It is truly a gem. What a wonderful way to combine wetland preservation and community recreation. The playground is world class with a variety of options for kids of all ages. I love the number of families that take advantage of their new local park. In fact, I know of some families that drive in from other areas to use it. And I see a lot families walking from their home to the park, which is great, and that is what I would like to comment about. I'm surprised that with the obvious emphasis the city has on making Cordata a walkable, runnable and bikeable location, that the speed limit on the main arterials were left at 35 mph. All these streets have lots of pedestrian and and bike traffic, but have to contend with fairly fast vehicles, who often go above the speed limit because the roads are broad and no stop signs. I appreciate that the area adjacent to the park has the special flashing crosswalks, and that really does get driver attention. But there are many other crossings on the way to those crosswalks where the traffic is moving full speed and not expecting to stop for pedestrians. I would really recommend bringing the speed limit down to 25mph as is true of most of the streets in Bellingham that have homes either fronting the street or very close. And even consider traffic calming (speed bumps) to help force the issue.

Please add more space and obstacles for skateboarding!

I'd love to see a little basic disc golf course. Plenty of open space, a 9 hole course would be perfect. Something like Cornwall park or vanderyacht park. Maybe phase 3

Bellingham needs a public food forest. These areas require little maintenance and produce a lot of joy and food value. There are many permaculturists in the area who can design one for the specific area. Volunteers can prepare the area and plant it. The area can be used to educate the community as well. I see the requests for shade from other commenters. There would be plenty of shade in the food forest.

I'm copying Jasmine Fast's comments because she nailed it -- Food forests, a public permaculture bioswale, pollinator gardens, and some connection to the various stated City of Bellingham goals of food access and security seem really obvious for this site.

Here is what Fast said, and worth repeating at least as monomaniacally as these pickle paddle people: "Included in the Greenways Levy IV were the goals to promote community gardens. I would love to see Greenways funding go toward this promise. It would take absolutely no additional space to simply include native fruit and nut bearing trees in the landscape design of Cordata Park Phase 2. This was a missed opportunity in Phase 1's landscape design and I would hate to see this lost again. These trees are a very simple and passive way to provide for a Community Food Forest model."

Cordata Park is another jewel and enhancement to our community. As a few others have commented. There is definite a need for a forest area for walking and picnicing. Also, other areas of shade. I do have one request. I would like your committee to re-evaluate the exercise equipment for seniors. I have used many types of equipment. But, the ones that were chosen for the park are not friendly and easy to use. They are not adjustable for various size individuals. The foot press, needs a stool or landing to actually get the legs up and over. It's quite difficult to get off of. I don't think there is much space to get long legs in. And, when pushing back, the back is very uncomfortable. and hard. The other equipment for arm exercises, doesn't make much sense either. And, there is no large print instructions, for those seniors who would like to try the equipment. I would love to see an exercise bike, also. I wonder if a Sports Physical Therapist would be a good resource to consult on user friendsly exercise equipment. Thanks for listening. PlayArt

My wife and I discovered Pickleball this summer and it's been a real game changer for us; we are back to being active, meeting active fun new people, and we simply love this game. We play at least 3 times a week through the Bellingham Pickleball Club. The game is off the charts in popularity for good reason, it's fun, challenging, accessible, and enjoyed by every age group. The need for more courts, and more importantly lighted covered courts, so play may continue through our long Winters is imperative. Cordata Park courts are timely and welcome, thank you so much for these! Other than encouragement for more Pickleball facilities in general my wife and I ask specifically that Pickleball courts be installed at the new Squalicum Creek Park where the baseball diamonds are now being completed. As this particular park has been developed with a third baseball diamond, further closing it off from general use so that it is less usable as a neighborhood park and now another fenced off baseball field, we feel that it is time to balance out the park with the addition of uses more people in the community want. In addition to covered Pickleball courts, beach volleyball courts are sorely needed and would get a lot of use. I'd like to add that it is our opinion that the more a park is used the safer it will be (much as what's happened in Cornwall Park with Frisbee Golfers and Pickleball players being there). And, last but not least, the Cordata park is beautiful, thank you all for your good work there!

There is no uniquely winter activity designed into the park. A low shallow area in the park (preferably a loop around a center land mass) should be allowed to flood and freeze over in the winter for ice skating. I know it won't happen very often, but when it does, it would be truly unique, fun, and exciting. And when it's not frozen, it's a good wetland for the critters. This is actually an ideal location for this since it's open and gets hit pretty good by the cold winter northerlies compared to the south end of town. It would certainly be safer than skating on Lake Padden which was AWESOME a few years ago. If a wetland area cannot be used for such purposes, can the basketball court be designed to allow it to be flooded in the winter when long cold spells hit in the winter?

Although having some of the park be rolling hills is pleasant open space, please plant some trees where possible to provide shade (as many others here have requested), especially for HOT summers. Thanks.

Agree with other commenters on the need for more shade.

It would be great if the city could somehow work with WTA to get a bus stop on the same side of Cordata as the park, and a route to run north on Cordata. Right now, going south to or from the park is straightforward, but reversing a route can get complicated or time consuming.

We recently moved into the Cordata neighborhood in part due to the park system. As a former Park Commissioner and Park Foundation board member in other cities I say keep up the good work. I do agree more shade would be good on the paths and a community garden is needed in this area. The kind of community energy I saw at Make a Difference Day could do a lot for Cordata Park. I for one would like being able to walk rather than drive to such an event. Wes Reynolds

We very much appreciate the new Cordata Park. We love the trails; it is an excellent place to take a walk.

Our only concern is the serious lack of shade along the trails and resting areas. This makes the park as it exists now mostly unusable during the daylight hours, especially during Spring and Summer months. Trees and other foliage will help eventually, but more overhead coverings will always be needed.

I love the Cordata park, the expanse of open ground, the 3 seculptures marking the entrance, the quite creative playground.
I would love to see some space for community gardening.

I appreciate all that has been done to provide pickleball courts with the Cornwall 6 and look forward to the expansion of our sport through new courts at Cordata Park. Pickleball promotes and supports an active lifestyle, physical/mental health & well-being, exercise and fitness, sports tourism, and economic impact. These benefits are being experienced in cities throughout North America, where pickleball is the fastest growing sport. I know from personally speaking with and playing with players that pickleball has literally been and continues to be a lifesaver during the pandemic for the social connections it enables people to have through outdoor play. I could give you a “Rah, Rah, I love pickleball” commentary because I am indeed a pickleball fanatic; however, as the USA Pickleball ambassador for Whatcom County and a former coach in a major sport, I hope the following will give specific and substantial support for why I believe Bellingham can and must do “bigger and better” when it comes to pickleball. This approach might better serve Bellingham in an overall way, particularly economically. 

Bellingham has a population of 92,314 (of as 2019), more than 4 times the population of Griffin, GA. (population 22, 813 (as of 2019). They built a world-class facility (Spalding County Pickleball Complex in Griffin, GA) with both covered and uncovered courts which you can see in a review at https://pickleballrocks.com/2019/09/how-to-layout-the-perfect-pickleball-complex-or-venue/. This review by Rocket (unbiased as he has nothing to do with the facility) explains “How To Lay Out The Perfect Pickleball Complex or Venue.” There is a video within the article where he takes you through the facility, pointing out its attributes. 

The following will give you an idea of the impact of pickleball on that community. I would suggest that we have much to gain in all the above stated benefits should we work together to expand our commitment for pickleball in Bellingham. Again, the economic benefit alone is undeniable. 

Spalding Co Pickleball Association (SCPA) reaches well beyond Griffin-Spalding County as reported by by Peter Phelps, SCPA President 
Consider the following: • Our facility is a world-class pickleball complex. We have been rated (by tournament directors, players, and pros) as one of the finest pickleball facilities in the nation. • We were in the March/April 2017 national Pickleball Magazine (a feature article about our extraordinary facility). • In 2017, we had four tournaments at the Spalding County Pickleball Complex, even though the facility was not completed until late August 2017. • In 2017, we partnered with the USAPA to host one of their regional tournaments (one of eight across the country) and we partnered with the Super Senior International Pickleball Association(SSIPA) to host the World Championships. • The Spalding County Pickleball Association just completed a very successful year (2017) at the Spalding County Pickleball Complex in Griffin-Spalding County, Georgia. We had four tournaments in 2017, with the total number of players at 932 (an average of 233 per event)! In every case, we exceeded expectations in terms of participation. The GA State Games and the USAPA Atlantic South Regional (at least) doubled participation from the prior year (at other sites). The Doc Holliday Shootout exceeded our intended cap, and was a great number for the first time out of the box, in the hot month of August. Please note that the GA State Games and the Doc Holliday Shootout were held while construction was still going on ... quite a feat! The SSIPA World Championships was also a first-time ever tournament, and despite being up against the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah, it drew a remarkable number of participants. • In 2017, 26 states were represented in our two majors; approximately 40% of our participants were from Georgia; over 50% of our Georgia participants were from the Atlanta Metro area. • In 2018, we have six tournaments scheduled (most venues have no more than two per year), including two state-level offerings and two majors by the SSIPA and the USAPA. We are also in the process of negotiating for the World Team Pickleball — Sectionals (leading to the National Championships). We expect to break records, again, in terms of participation. Thousands of people will be visiting our facility. • We are having a genuine economic impact on our community. We expect that to generate over a million dollars of economic impact by the end of 2018. The Georgia Department of Economic Development says that Pickleball is a Game Changer for sports tourism and economic impact in Griffin-Spalding County. 

Perhaps this report from Lincoln, Canada will also be of benefit to your planning. https://uwaterloo.ca/work-learn-institute/sites/ca.work-learn-institute/files/uploads/files/real_thing_pickleballs_report_2019_al_2.pdf

Thanking you in advance for taking the time to assess the value of these resources in determining the future of pickleball for Bellingham.

Great to include pickleball courts, but four are not enough. We were told at the initial planning meetings that everytime a park was being considered pickleball would be a priority. Yet we have not increased any more pickleball courts since Cornwall and we are not even allowed to spray paint on the courts so there are less courts than there were two years ago, yet the need has exploded.

Given how crowded the pickleball courts are at Cornwall, I'm delighted that there are more courts going in here. It looks like a beautiful area, although I'm wondering how windy it might get. I see people commenting about covered pickleball courts. I've played at some of the covered play areas at local elementary schools and even gone up to Lynden Middle School. But having dedicated covered pickleball courts would be totally AWESOME! Thank you for being part of making Bellingham such a wonderful place to live!

I'm delighted to hear there will be Pickleball Courts at Cordata Park. You did a beautiful job creating the courts at Cornwall Park and my group played there all through the winter last year and will do so again this year. We need more Pickleball courts in Bellingham though! 8-10 courts at Cordata would be awesome. If it's possible to cover them and have lights that would certainly add to the hours they could be used. I think it's time to turn some of our local tennis courts into Pickleball courts too. People of all ages and abilities are coming to this game and Bellingham could be a real leader if we had more courts to meet the ever growing need for places to play. Many thanks for reaching out to the community and for building more Pickleball courts!

Thank you for phase two of the plan—so glad you included pickleball. If budget were not a constraint though, I would add more pickleball courts. If you include covers then we can make it a Pacific Northwest year round sport.
Thanks for the beautiful courts at Cornwall. Most times that I go they are full and have a waiting line. So having 8 or 10 courts added at Cordata would provide more opportunity for the USA’s fastest growing sport. It appeals to all ages. Internal fences are a smart design feature to keep from disturbing the neighboring court. I love living in Bham and appreciate the parks department’s ongoing improvements!

Thank you for including pickleball courts. May they multiply!

My 12 year old son is a dedicated pickleball player and he uses a wheelchair. Thank you for making pickleball more accessible and for giving us more courts. I am glad to hear that the courts will have fences to help us all chase stray balls. LIghts for night play and covers for rain play would certainly be welcome in the future.