(KRON) — People breaking into pickleball courts at a park in Martinez to play during closed hours could cause the courts to close amid complaints from residents that had already prompted the city to reduce the hours and days that people could play there.
The Martinez City Council passed a resolution last week to change the hours for the pickleball courts at the Hidden Valley Sport Courts, located in a residential area across Center Avenue from the larger Hidden Valley Park, after receiving complaints from neighbors, mostly about noise and parking.
The city tried out new hours and rules for the courts over the spring and summer before settling on the times approved last week by the City Council of 4-8 p.m. Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, with the courts closed for all other days and times.
The changes went into effect Wednesday, but the city said in a post on social media over the weekend that “in less than 24 hours of the new hours in place, we already had incidents of site damage, including unlocked and dismantled gates, and pickleball play during closed hours.”
The city warned, “These incidents not only compromise the safety of the area, they will impact the city’s ability to keep the courts open if they continue.”
Two tennis courts were refurbished in a project funded by federal grant dollars to become eight new pickleball courts that reopened in February and quickly grew popular, but may have been too popular for their own good since the noisier pickleball games and extra visitors to the courts brought complaints from people living nearby.
City officials said they “have been working closely with both players and neighbors to find a solution that respects everyone’s experience.”
Comments on the city’s post to Facebook on Saturday about the recent break-ins questioned the limited hours on only three days of the week for the courts and whether there was enough outreach to neighbors before approving the project.
“These hours are absolutely ridiculous,” one person wrote. “You built something for the community to use and now you aren’t allowing them to use it? How does that make any sense?” The city said a survey will be sent out soon to people with homes near the park for more feedback and to determine whether further changes are needed, and asked anyone with comments to contact recreation@cityofmartinez.org.
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