CBH-12 Correspondence – Vivian Linderman
From: Vivian Linderman <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 8:56 AM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Budget Oversight Committee Meeting - comments
-EXTERNAL-
Good morning,
Please include this email and the attachments for the 8/22/23 Budget Oversight Committee Meeting.
The Elevate 28 plan is quite impressive and meets many community and park needs.
One need missing from the plan is improvements to and expansion of pickleball courts. Current courts are already overwhelmed and the stress to parks and neighborhoods will only increase if nothing is done over the next five years to meet the growing demand. LBUSD recently approved pickleball in its physical education curriculum for all middle and high schools. Local groups that host drop-in play total more than 1,000 followers on social media and have hundreds on their contact lists.
LB has only one permanent court available to the community; and, even that court has dual usage as a paddle tennis court. Today players in LB must either bring their own nets and equipment or must pay-to-play, during limited hours, at the fee based BJK and El Dorado Tennis Centers. This makes the game inaccessible to many and makes it a sport for those with means. On behalf of the local pickleball community, I have attached player comments in support of more courts, the status of local courts, and how to meet the increasing need for permanent, lighted courts.
Thank you for your consideration.
Vivian Linderman
Resident of District 5
Just IMAGINE.
EXPANDPICKLEBALL&CREATEDEDICATED, LIGHTEDCOURTS
● LongBeachneedsmoreplacestoplaypickleball; current locationsareoverwhelmedduringweekenddrop-inplayandonsomeweekdays ● LBneedsfreelyaccessiblededicated, permanent pickleball courts:○ Current court locationscompetewitheither tennisor basketball (Bayshore,MarinaVista, Somerset)○ Other locationsarepay-to-playandhavelimitedpickleball hours(BillieJeanKing, El DoradoPark)○ Othersrelyonplayerstoeither chalkor tapeincourts(Stearns, Wardlow, otherlocations) ● Somerset istheonlylocationofferingnight playthroughout theweek○ Morelightedcourtsareneeded ● Neededcourt improvementsinclude:○ Shadestructuresfor thosewaitingtoplay○ Equipment storage: containersaregreat for nets, first aid, etc. but theinstallationof storageshedsallowspacetokeepEZ-uptypeshadestructuresandmore.○ Paddleracks○ Individual court boundaryfencingkeepsballsfromrollingontoother courts ● Someexcellent parksfor pickleball include:○ HoughtonPark- rarelyusedtenniscourts; largeenoughtobuildout new,dedicatedpickleball courts; adjacent toJordanHighSchool wherepickleball isnowpart of thecurriculum; ateencenter andsenior center host activitiesatHoughton; parkingavailable; distancefromneighbors○ WhaleyPark- rarelyusedtenniscourts; distancefromneighbors; parkingavailable; communitycenter withprogrammingandavailablestaff○ WardlowPark- largeenoughtobuildout newpickleball courts; distancefromneighbors; parkingavailable; communitycenter withprogramming; currentpickleball groupsplayingonbasketball andvolleyball areas○ Scherer Park- rarelyusedtenniscourts; distancefromneighbors; parkingavailable; roomfor new, dedicatedcourts○ PanAm, Silverado, McBride, andtheLBSenior Center all haveindoorgymnasiumsperfect toaddindoor pickleball lines○ Other parkstoconsider: LosCerritosPark, Admiral KiddPark, BixbyPark,RecreationPark, El DoradoPark, ? ● InLBpickleball playisanequityissue. Thosewantingtoplayno-cost pickleball mustbringtheir ownequipment (balls, paddles, andnets) or relyonother playerstoset upandshareequipment. Dedicatedcourtsallowall residentsaccesstoplayregardlessoftheir abilitytopurchaseequipment or travel toparkswhereequipment isshared.
LB PICKLEBALL COURT STATUS WARRANTS INVESTMENT IN
MORE COURTS
• Ideally, every council district, if not neighborhood area, should have pickleball courts available to its residents; yet, the majority of city-striped courts are on the east side.
• In a May 2023 Trust for Public Land report on pickleball o LB ranks #55 out of 100 (.4 courts per 10,000 residents) o Virginia Beach, almost equal in population to LB boasts 57 courts or 1.7 per 10,000 residents
o Raleigh NC, with a similar population to LB, has 38 courts (.8 courts per 10,000 people)
o Locally, both Riverside and Anaheim outrank LB for the number of courts per capita (Riverside ranks 29; Anaheim ranks 31 with (.7 courts per 10,000))
• 458,000 estimated residents (CA Dept of Finance, 2023) o Long Beach boasts 166 parks
o Long Beach covers 50 square miles
o There is only ONE dedicated pickleball court (Bayshore Playground; but, it’s really not dedicated - it’s also striped for paddle tennis). All others in the city compete with tennis or basketball.
• Dual usage courts, striped over basketball or tennis, causes frustrations on both sides and unnecessary conflict.
• The numbers speak for themselves - 2 to 4 players on a tennis court vs. 16 players on a court.
o Locally, pickleball social media accounts have over 1,000 followers o There are approximately 300 players on LB Pickleball WhatsApp groups o One LB Pickleball Facebook account had 400+ visitors during one recent week
o Locals are interested in pickleball!
• Marina Vista courts are known to have over 60 players on weekend mornings.
• Somerset Park can often have over 40 players and is the only free accessible court in all of Long Beach that is lighted and available throughout the week.
• Do these numbers not warrant dedicated, lighted, permanent courts or such improvements to current courts?
LONG BEACH PICKLEBALL PLAYER SURVEY
COMMENTS - AUGUST 2023
Please, add any comments you might have in regards to pickleball in LB We need more access to Free pickleball in Long Beach
Long Beach needs courts that are open in the weekday evenings. Pickleball is not just for the retired folks.
Long Beach is way behind other city's near-by.
Need more lined/dedicated free public pickleball courts in Long Beach. Some courts in Long Beach need new lights. Would like to see paddle rack system built into the pickleball court.
Long Beach is a big City ! We need more options of pb play in our city . Please !! Long Beach needs more courts and better facilities.. ie Bayshore net is a dilapidated net that held Together by twist ties .
We need people to show up on the 8/22 city council meeting with signs.
More night play is needed for those who work, consider adding sound proofing barriers in areas with close proximity to residential areas, consider reopening Stevely Park, add permanent nets at Bay Shore. Instead of charging per court at El Dorado and BJK- maybe do a flat fee for the year. This is done in Tustin. Price IS a concern for most as many play 5-7 days a week.
Having more courts in the area would be great.
Cerritos just opened 10 new dedicated pickleball courts but charge $10 a day or $60 per month. LB needs free pickleball with dedicated courts! I don’t want to pay at El Dorado or BJK. Free pickleball is the best kind of pickleball. Also, don’t build one or two courts a park. It’s a waste of resources. Build 4-8 or more courts at a park.
Pickleball builds positive communities. Finally, build it where people want to play and make sure the places can support parking and away from neighbors. Heart well park is a good central location in Long Beach.
There needs to be more pickleball courts in Long Beach
There is a shortage of courts in Long Beach with 40 to 50 players gathering on weekend to share playing time on the courts. The city of Cerritos just opened a 10 court pickleball facility this week. Why can’t Longbeach do something similar? I working Long Beach so that is where I play PB.
It has been one of the highlights of moving to the area and getting to know the community.
I have played pickleball all over the country in smaller and larger cities where they have installed Dedicated Pickleball courts and have been very disappointed in the lack of support for pickleball in Long Beach Long Beach needs to have more dedicated pickleball courts that are open play in all areas of the city. Have recreation classes like tennis and volleyball.
We need permanent courts
More access to pickleball courts at an affordable fees or preferably free.
LONG BEACH PICKLEBALL PLAYER SURVEY
COMMENTS - AUGUST 2023
Would LOVE to see pickleball courts at Los Cerritos park. - at the very least they need to be restriped as a multi sport court
Pickle ball is a great recreational activity with a big social component which helps foster strong communities and new friendships. The City needs to invest more of its budget into making Long Beach a premier pickle ball destination.
We need more dedicated courts to pickleball.
I have played about a year, throughout Long Beach and Lakewood. A lovely group of mature adults enjoying the facilities provided by our world famous parks and recreation department. Thank you for supporting your community, our health, and our happiness.
Current court situation and parks and Rec offerings are irresponsible for a city of this size. There are no lessons or leagues, and few places to play resulting in overcrowding on courts and negative impacts on neighborhoods.
Pickleball is here to stay and will continue to grow in LB as students learn the game in school. LB must do better to meet the need.
Every neighborhood needs a pickleball court. #pickleballforall.
Currently in LBC, there is 67 permanent/dedicated tennis courts in our parks and rec centers.
There is only ONE permanent PickleBall court in LBC, at Bayshore Aquatic Park.
We deserve to have many, many permanent and dedicated PickleBall courts in our city of 400K residents! Pickleball courts should be expanded in this city to keep up with the growth of Pickleball itself. It adds visitors to the park and keeps people out of trouble.
Keeps seniors healthy and socialized
We should be allowed to play pickleball at the public parks the same as any other sport. And we should not have to fight for that right.
Please continue to turn any of the unused tennis courts into pickle ball courts or add the lines and markings. Thank you
We definitely need more dedicated courts in Long Beach open all hours. Younger people are starting to play, including middle school and high school age. They cannot play in AM and need longer open hours. Also, cost is important. Do they charge to play basketball, disc golf, etc? Pickleball should be the same, free in our public parks until we get dedicated courts. Please consider all the residents who want to enjoy this sport LB needs more dedicated free courts to bring the community together and grow the sport.
It would be great if the City of Long Beach would provide dedicated pickleball courts and not charge to use courts.
Free play (high taxes cover), open play, permanent, well maintained and safe courts needed.
Prefer to play in a group rather than open play
Support permanent courts asap
LONG BEACH PICKLEBALL PLAYER SURVEY
COMMENTS - AUGUST 2023
Keep PB free. Add more courts in the city. Re open College Park East (Stevely) add court lines to Los Cerritos park
I’ve never played but want to begin
Will only play on permanent nets and dedicated pickleball courts. Currently a member at Los Cab Sports Center located in Fountain Valley. They have 39 permanent courts. Marina Vista park is a perfect park for pickleball.
Plenty of parking with public bathrooms. Also far enough away from housing that would not be bothered with the ball/paddle noise. This park could easily accomodate 12 to 16 permanent courts. The tennis court is not use that often and Long Beach has nearby tennis courts for people to play.
I just want to see more permanent courts
Long Beach is not a pickleball friendly community!
Just got into pickleball
I love it!
Make it a priority to provide options and solutions with offerings in our community Good social sports
For the aged,, pickleball is the antidote to loneliness. It builds friendships and community spirit in a manner that no other recreational activity does. It’s accessible to players of all ages and genders and provides an active healthy lifestyle. As the most rapidly expanding sport in the US, it is necessary that dedicated courts be established to meet growing demand. The sport is here to stay and cities and authorities need to be proactive in ensuring that facilities are available to meet demand.
We really need dedicated Pickleball facilities in LB.
Currently, PRM has 67 permanent tennis courts in LBC. Only 1 dedicated/permanent PickleBall court (Bayshore Park). LBC has almost 1/2 a million residents within our city limits. Time for our ELECTED officials and PRM Director to take LBC’s PickleBall potential to the next level.
WWW.CHANGE.ORG/LBPICKLEBALL PETITION COMMENTS
AUGUST 2023
Comment
"I love playing pickle ball in lb" Emily Satterthwaite "We need access to pickleball courts" Joe Schrider
"We need more courts for the community" Gary Ballard
"We need more courts for our community!" Nancy Noble
"LB does not have enough dedicated courts to serve its communities. Often LB locals will travel to other municipalities to enjoy this sport" Nathan Stotts
"Although the City of Long Beach is the 2nd largest city in Los Angeles County and the 7th largest city in all of California, it currently has only one dedicated pickleball court in the entire city. On April 5th, 2022, 70 pickleball players attended a City Council meeting to support an agenda item to direct the City Recreation, Parks & Marine department to work with the Pickleball Advisory Committee to develop a Pickleball Master Plan for the City. The Council unanimously supported this item with a 9-0 vote. A link to the original Long Beach Pickleball Master Plan update provided by the Director on August 12, 2022, is located at:https://www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/city-manager/media-library/documents/memos- to-the-mayor-tabbed-file-list-folders/2022/august-12--2022---update-on-the-pickleball-master-planThe City’s Pickleball Master Plan is updated regularly based upon new information and opportunities. In the first year since the City Council provided direction to the Parks Director to develop the master plan, the city has added 22 dual-striped pickleball courts at various locations throughout the city. This is a great accomplishment but still does not meet the current needs of a city of over 450,000 residents with hundreds wishing to play pickleball every single day! The current Long Beach Pickleball Master Plan shows an additional 12 dual-striped pickleball courts that are still planned but not yet funded or completed and 40 dedicated pickleball courts of which only 20 have been funded but construction has yet to begin. This petition is a request to the Mayor, Vice-Mayor and the City Council to finally budget sufficient funds to meet the current needs for dedicated pickleball courts so that city residents do not have to travel outside of the City of Long Beach to neighboring cities to play on dedicated pickleball courts. This petition is also a request for the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, City Council and staff to prioritize the implementation of these projects to get them designed and constructed expeditiously without unnecessary delays." Lee Swain
"We need more pickleball courts so that everyone who wants to play can play and so that other court sports aren’t disrupted." Emily Bell
"I literally live one block from Somerset Park. It’s so crowded. When I first started playing there, people were so inviting and nice. Now, they are territorial and unwelcoming. If I want to play, I drive up to Manhattan Beach. We really do need more courts in Long Beach. Pickleball is really fun if you can get on a court." Kelly Navarro "Pickleball is a healthy activity for all ages and all family members! Long Beach City should support these efforts.
Thanks" Chris Marshall
WWW.CHANGE.ORG/LBPICKLEBALL PETITION COMMENTS
AUGUST 2023
"Pickleball Popularity StatisticsHere are some of the statistics which show pickleball’s ever-rising popularity.Pickleball has 8.9 million players in the United States of America as of early 2023.The number of pickleball players increased by
85.7% in 2022.The growth rate of the number of pickleball players for the three-year period is 158.6% (2020-22).The number of players playing pickleball has nearly doubled in the seven years from 2014 to 21.Every two out of three players are core players, which means that they play pickleball more than eight times a year. This shows how addictive pickleball is!" Debbie Martel
"Pickleball is a hugely growing sport and Long Beach is already far behind the curve. We need many more courts to satisfy the demand of local residents so they don't have to go to other cities to play. As for the neighbor complaints: you bought house next to a park. Now park things are happening. You can't expect a park to just sit there so you can look at the green grass." Michael Wooten
"We need more courts in our parks." Lori Preuss
"Heather asked me to and it’s true, LBC is way behind developing its city with more public pickle ball courts. I mean what are you waiting for? It’s only the worlds fastest growing sport for all ages. Let’s go!" Robert Anderson "PickleBall is the fastest growing sport in America these past few years. Hands down. Especially in our wonderful city of 450K residents. Currently there is only one permanent PickleBall court in LBC. Compared to the 67 permanent tennis courts in our parks and rec centers. Please make arrangements in the coming city budget to add at least 30+ permanent and dedicated PickleBall courts!Thank you. R Saner and R Amante of Belmont Heights." Bob Saner