Indian School Park renovation pondered

East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)
·3 min read

May 21—One of Scottsdale's largest and most popular parks may be getting a makeover.

No Big Surprise Department: People have expressed wildly conflicting views of what they want.

Indian School Park runs east of Hayden Road between Indian School and Camelback roads.

Various options are on the table to give the park a makeover, with the city looking for input from citizens.

The next opportunity will be a June 14 virtual public workshop, following an in-person workshop at the park last April and a virtual meeting last June.

According to a city staff presentation, a park master plan "will provide a conceptual plan for what amenities and services should be offered at Indian School Park over the next 10-15 years. It's a broad plan that covers multiple projects.

"Community feedback will guide the planning of the park, which will be included as part the Scottsdale Parks and Recreation Master Plan."

At its March 20 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission pondered the Indian School Park plan.

Marissa Pellegrini from Kimley-Horn gave the commission a review of public feedback to date, offering four versions of plans "that were developed based on citizen and staff input."

According to minutes of the meeting, "Extensive discussion ensued regarding relieving traffic at Chaparral Park; pros and cons of removing the professional baseball fields at Indian School Park and replacing them with amenities that can be used by the public; benefits of linear park connectivity; ingress and egress off of Hayden Road; and parking and park access."

Nick Molinari, director of Scottsdale Parks and Recreation, told the commissioners their comments will lead to "refinements" of the concepts.

Ultimately, he said, elements from each of the options "will be married into one final concept," which will be put through the public review process and brought to City Council for final review

The 50-acre park features:

—Two "professional-

level" baseball fields;

—Two basketball courts;

—Four racquetball courts;

—Four sand volleyball courts;

—Thirteen tennis courts.

The park also has a horseshoe pit, shuffleboard area, bocce courts and a cornhole court — as well as a small lake and playground.

Comments/requests from participants at previous Indian School Park workshops included:

—Please add more sand volleyball courts.

—Does the lake provide opportunities for kayaking or small boat games?

—Add pickleball courts to the park.

—Add an amphitheater.

—Improve the bocce ball courts.

—This park has fantastic ball fields and are some of the best in the Valley.

—I would like wider sidewalks and designated areas for bikes vs walkers.

—Improve the shuffleboard courts.

—Convert some of the tennis courts to pickleball.

—Provide bleachers and shade for tennis courts.

—Add a restroom near the tennis center.

—More sand volleyball courts.

—More shade overall in the park.

—Replace the shuffleboard area with pickleball courts.

—Add more parking, it is difficult to park here during tournaments on weekends.

—Add a dog park with a water play component.

—Protect the tennis courts and add pickleball courts without converting tennis courts.

—Don't add a dog park.

More information: indianschoolpark.com.