As pickleball’s popularity continues to surge, the City of Azusa is experiencing an unprecedented demand for court space. Our existing public facilities are no longer keeping pace with our active community. Currently, severe overcrowding at Memorial Park’s existing pickleball setup regularly leaves residents waiting on the sidelines, often managing to play only two games in an entire night. Furthermore, the intensity of this demand is clear on weekends, where the courts are consistently full starting at 7:30 AM on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

     To address this bottleneck and support a healthy, thriving community, we respectfully urge the Azusa Parks & Recreation Commission to evaluate a low cost, high efficiency optimization of our existing park infrastructure:

Memorial Park: Convert the 2nd tennis court (out of the 3 original courts) into 4 additional pickleball courts. This expands the park’s capacity to 8 total pickleball courts while still preserving 1 dedicated court for tennis enthusiasts.
Northside Park: Convert 1 of the 3 existing tennis courts into 4 dedicated pickleball courts to distribute community recreational play more evenly across the city.

Proactive Solutions for Park, Neighborhood & Traffic Impact: We recognize that facility expansion requires careful consideration of the surrounding neighborhood and park ecosystem. We propose the following solutions integrated into the conversion plan:

Synchronize Restroom Access with Active Court Hours: Memorial Park's restrooms are located a significant distance from the active court zones (200–400 ft from basketball, 500–600 ft from pickleball, and 600–760 ft from tennis). Because this requires up to a 1,500-foot round-trip walk between matches, reliable daily access is essential. Currently, the security gates remain locked during peak hours because the manual unlocking schedule is tied to field sports rather than daily court usage. We respectfully request a consistent, daily operational schedule: ensuring the restroom gates are unlocked by 7:00 AM and remain open until the court lights turn off at 10:15 PM, seven days a week. This simple operational adjustment would better support residents, improve park usability, and ensure that all court users have access to basic public facilities.

Targeted Noise & Wind Mitigation: To protect neighbors and optimize playing conditions, we request the installation of commercial-grade Acoustic Sound Dampening Fencing (e.g., Acoustifence) on the perimeter. This targeted setup will effectively contain court noise, prevent echoes, and provide a windbreak for players. The material cost for installation is estimated at $2,500 to $12,000 depending on layout coverage, and can be installed directly by city public works staff using standard wind relief flaps to ensure structural safety.

Parking Infrastructure: Memorial Park's robust parking capacity, offering 50 dedicated spaces on 4th Street and 106 spaces on Orange Avenue, can seamlessly absorb the minor vehicle volume generated during peak hours.

    The creation of additional pickleball courts has the potential to attract more residents and visitors to our parks, fostering a sense of community while promoting an active lifestyle. We urge the City of Azusa Parks & Recreation Commission to consider this proposal seriously as an opportunity to enhance recreational facilities for all age groups. By diversifying the opportunities available at our parks, we support a culture of inclusivity and well-being.

   Signing this petition is the first step toward encouraging our local government to prioritize the needs and desires of its citizens. Please add your name to show your support for expanding pickleball facilities in our beloved city of Azusa.