The Flower Mound Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to recommend approval of a permit to add a dozen pickleball courts at the River Walk.
The proposed pickleball courts would be painted over some parking spots on the top level of the River Walk parking garage, 4110 River Walk Drive. The top level of the parking garage, which has 147 parking spaces, would be closed to vehicles when the pickleball courts will be used, during slower times for the River Walk restaurants: weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and extended evening hours on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-9 p.m. The applicant and town staff believe that there is currently sufficient parking at the River Walk during those times without the top floor of the parking garage. If parking demand increases, the pickleball hours would be adjusted to ensure that there are enough parking spots at the River Walk to meet demand.
Randi Rivera, land planner at McAdams Co., said during the meeting that the owners of River Walk F&B, Greg Retz and Michael Beaty, came to McAdams to see if the company could help them bring more people to the River Walk, using the space they currently have.
“They said, ‘The parking is under-utilized at the River Walk right now,'” she said. “‘We don’t want to propose any use that takes away the right to use this parking, parking will always be the primary use for this garage, but while it’s being under-utilized and while we’re needing to bring more foot traffic to the restaurant, let’s propose a dual use for the upper level deck of the parking garage and stripe some pickleball courts.'”
To use the pickleball courts, players would need to bring their own equipment, including a net, and they’d need to go to one of the restaurants to sign up for one of the courts and pay a small fee, Rivera said.
Commissioners agreed that the pickleball courts would be a good use of under-utilized space and would help increase foot traffic at the River Walk. Retz said he hoped that giving people a place to play pickleball will not just increase the number of customers at the River Walk restaurants, but will let some people know that the River Walk is open and serving customers, something he has described as his biggest challenge since buying the River Walk restaurant row last year.
After P&Z recommended approval, the request will go to Flower Mound Town Council for consideration.
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