Petition to Convert Jefferson Field Courts to a Dedicated Pickleball Facility

We, the undersigned, request that the Department of Parks and Recreation revise the Jefferson Field renovation plan to convert the existing space into six dedicated pickleball courts. Jefferson field is an ideal location for a pickleball hub, with a large, active, and diverse player community. We thank DPR for their efforts to increase recreation in Ward 6, and urge DPR to use the Jefferson Field renovation as an opportunity to create a space that will meet the community’s needs. 

Current situation

• Two dedicated pickleball courts are supplemented by 4 courts shared with tennis. Pickleballers regularly fill all six of these courts on the days designated by DPR for pickleball, with 30-40 people showing up for open play.This is consistent with the excessive wait times and overcrowding of pickleball courts city-wide.
• The current renovation plan is to construct 4 dedicated courts, a reduction from the 6 currently available. This does not address the community's actual usage patterns, as demonstrated by attendance records and as expressed at DPR’s community engagement meeting held on November14th. 
• The planned court layout is poorly designed, squeezing thepickleball courts into a too-small footprint. The fence is too close to the baseline, creating unsafe playing conditions, and the plan does not allow for traffic flow of players rotating on and off the courts. 
• We support tennis – in fact many of us are current or former tennis players. However, Jefferson Field's one tennis courtis underutilized, including during designated tennis hours. This was true even before pickleball was allowed on the shared use courts, and is not unusual for locations with only one tennis court.
• Three tennis courts are available at Randall Park, less than 1 mile away, with 2 additional tennis courts available at Garfield Park, 1 ½ miles away.
• A 2023 United States Tennis Association court study,conducted in collaboration with DPR, recommended that racquet sport resources be directed to creating hubs, where multiple courts create a community of players, and where events such as tournaments can be held. This should be supplemented with locations with smaller numbers of courts. USTA did not favor single courts for tennis. 
 

We call for an updated renovation plan that includes:

1. Conversion of the existing hard surface to six dedicated pickleball courts. 
2. Spacing around and between the courts that meets USA Pickleball guidelines, which call for a minimum of 8 feet behind the baseline (10 feet recommended) and a minimum of 5 feet between courts (7 feet recommended). 
3. Installation of lights to allow for play after work hours. 
4. A layout with two rows of 3 courts in a north-south orientation, with a low fence separating the two rows of courts, to minimize balls rolling between courts.
5. Walkways and entry to the courts designed to facilitate traffic flow on and off the courts and minimize disruption of play.
6. Shaded benches installed for players waiting to rotate into games. 
 

We ask the Department of Parks and Recreation to take the urgent need for pickleball courts seriously. DPR should prioritize community health, engagement, and satisfaction by rethinking the current court renovation plan, and approving theconversion of the space to pickleball. Parks are for the people—all the people—and this change will better serve our community's demonstrated needs.