Reader: Will Pickleball Courts Be Completed Before Trend Passes?

The city has long wondered what to do with the vacant space at the corner of Broadway and Colfax, by the bus station.

November 23, 2024

Could this empty space become pickleball courts? Catie Cheshire

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The empty gravel lot at the corner of Broadway and Colfax adjacent to the bus station has long been a point of concern for the City of Denver, which has had to handle complaints about the vacant space attracting vagrants and crime.

That corner could now become home to six pickleball courts, according to documents submitted by engineering firm Stantec to the Denver Department of Community Planning & Development. The city itself is partially behind the designs, which call for a detention pond, decorative lighting and colorful fencing or a mural surrounding the pickleball courts.

In their comments on the Westword Facebook page, many readers make sport of the suggestion. Says Nate:

We hit a new level of gentrification, y'all.

Adds Eugene:

Pickleball, pickleball, pickleball. Get a life, people.

Offers Michael:

I wonder if it will be completed before the trend passes.

Responds Amy:

Gosh darn you people who want to get outside and be communal with others while getting a little exercise!

Counters Melissa:

Ah, yes, outdoor exercise while inhaling all the exhaust fumes from Broadway and Colfax.

Adds Kyle:

Sounds like an incredibly dumb idea, so I'm sure it's what will happen.

Suggests Earl:

What this corner needs is a public bathroom with showers that charges maybe 25 cents so that homeless people can wash up and the city is incentivized to keep it clean while keeping active drug use out.

Concludes Rae:

I have an idea. Why don't they turn it back into a bus depot area with seating? That would be ideal.

What do you think of putting pickleball courts on that corner? Post a comment or share your thoughts at [email protected].

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