Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 15, 2022 – Pickleball is a Fast-Growing Sport; What Facilities are Available at the City?

Welcome to the Mayor’s Monday Mailbag, an initiative Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Mayor’s Office launched to share weekly answers to questions from the public we’ve received through our main email inbox at mayor@burlington.ca or the Mayor’s social media platforms.At the end of the month, we publish a roundup of those most pressing questions we’ve received in the weeks prior.Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 15, 2022QUESTION:“Pickleball is a fast-growing sport -- what facilities are available at the City of Burlington?”ANSWER:From July 9-Aug. 28, the City has made available two courts for free use by the community at the Burlington Seniors’ Centre Community (Rooms 1 and 2 - formerly the Auditorium room) for pickleball.

• Every Saturday, from 2-9 p.m.
• Every Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Maximum players allowed in space are 20 per hour, and players will be required to sign-in on the charts that will be provided on the Community room door prior to entry.
• Please refer to the Voluntary Acceptance Risk Statement for terms of use.

In addition, you can also reserve an indoor pickleball court (for a fee) at Central Arena (519 Drury Lane) or Mainway Arena (4015 Mainway) online with the City's Book-a-Court. The system is reserved for non-commercial activities. Nets are provided, but users will need to bring their own equipment. For more details on booking and the facilities, please visit burlington.ca/pickleballThe Mayor’s Office has been receiving feedback from the community, including a number from Burlington Pickleball Association (BPA) members, asking the City to create more – or larger – spaces (both indoor and outdoor) that are exclusive for pickleball use.The City of Burlington has limited open spaces in our parks system and a lot of competing priorities for different recreational facilities. The City also takes into consideration how near these spaces would be to existing housing and neighbourhoods, due to the amount of noise the sport can create when individuals are playing.That said, the City will be adding additional outdoor pickleball lines to two courts in Ireland Park (2315 Headon Forest Dr.) tennis facility, resulting in four pickleball courts available for play at Ireland Park. The City will also be removing the pickleball lines at Brant Hills due to their close location to neighbouring homes to address on-going noise concerns. The courts at Brant Hills will be converted back to tennis-only.To make these changes, courts at Ireland and Brant Hills Parks will be closed for use from Aug. 29 until Sept. 2, weather permitting. Signs will be posted and gates will be locked until the paint has dried enough for use. If there is a change in the schedule, updates will be posted online and through social media.Residents wanting to play can still use other outdoor courts, indoor courts, and our book-a-court, as usual. Outdoor courts include:

• Bolus Garden Parkette: two lined courts within the ball hockey area that are open from spring to fall. You must bring your own pickleball nets.
• Ireland Park: four lined courts within tennis courts available from spring to fall (closed Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 for repainting).
• Optimist Park: two lined courts within tennis courts available from spring to fall. Players can bring their own nets during the winter.
• Sycamore Park: two lined courts within tennis courts available from spring to fall.
• Tansley Woods Park: three dedicated courts with fixed official height pickleball nets available from spring to fall.

It will take time and planning to implement extra facilities and, unfortunately, the resources at this time at the City cannot allow any immediate solutions. However, Council and staff are exploring this matter more in 2023. Council and staff are also looking at examples the BPA has offered of how other municipalities have added extra pickleball courts and are internally discussing these as potential options. While the City looks at different options, we encourage the community to take advantage of the free weekend pickleball court time at the Burlington Seniors’ Centre.

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RELATED LINKS:

• Outdoor Pickleball Court Changes at Burlington's Brant Hills and Ireland Parks
• Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – Aug. 8, 2022 – Any Updates on the Building Registration for Tobyn Park Condo?
• Mayor’s Mailbag – July 2022 Roundup – Millcroft OLT Appeal, Public EV Charging Stations, & Burlington Canal Piers
• Mayor’s Mailbag – June 2022 Roundup – Central High School Site; 535-551 Brant St. Development; & Mountainside Pool Reopening
• Mayor’s Mailbag – May 2022 Roundup – Twin City Agreements; LaSalle Park Community Marina; & Hydro Companies Removing Vegetation
• Mayor’s Mailbag – April 2022 Roundup – Support for Ukrainian Refugees; Burlington Taking on Climate Change
• Mayor’s Mailbag – March 2022 Roundup – Private Tree Bylaw, Masks, & Accessible Parking in Older Buildings
• Mayor’s Mailbag – February 2022 Roundup – Virtual Meeting Participation, Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund, & Accommodating Growth in Halton
• Mayor’s Mailbag – January 2022 Roundup – Parks’ Upgrades, Windrows When Snow Clearing