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Causing a racket

Nothing is more enjoyable than a tennis match on a beautiful, sunny day, assuming you can locate an available court without waiting for a significant amount of time. Residents of Clyde Hill and other communities are finding it more and more challenging to utilize the tennis courts, either because tennis professionals have been monopolizing the local courts for hours at a time or due to the lack of a system for keeping track of play times. 

Local tennis enthusiasts have a consistent issue: they believe that their town does not appear to prioritize the needs of its residents but rather visiting tennis pros and guests from other towns who have been using the courts more frequently. This issue has been particularly noticeable in Clyde Hill and Hunts Point. Medina has been considering establishing an online sign-up system but would also like input from residents. 


Although some towns have tried implementing rules to resolve these issues, it seems that time and time again, the loopholes are realized and exploited. Residents are still unable to enjoy the local tennis courts. 

Town courts like Hunts Point and Chinook Middle School now use key entry systems but have failed. Hunts Point requires players to call city hall to receive the key code entry combination, which they change consistently due to people passing it along. Chinook Middle School offers a seasonal key purchase program that gives you a key to the courts. However, reports indicate that people have been sharing keys, and no one monitors play times, making the courts constantly crowded with long wait times.

Our city will install new signage providing guidelines for using the tennis courts. The city hopes to educate the public regarding the rules of use to reduce conflict and help residents gain access to their courts. Critically, the new signs will allow people to use the courts for lessons of various kinds. Given the extent to which our courts are used for commercial lessons, leaving out this provision does not help solve the problem of prioritizing Clyde Hill residents.  

What ideas do you have to remedy this problem? Will the signs be enough, or do you want to prohibit using courts for commercial purposes and maybe add time limits or a reservation system? Email us at [email protected].

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