The Lake Bluff Park District is examining whether to change the available hours for pickleball play in 2024, but differences remain with the village regarding court usage at two parks.
At a Feb. 26th Park Board meeting, the Park District staff discussed with commissioners expanding hours of pickleball at both Blair and Artesian parks based on community input results from a recently issued survey that generated almost 400 responses.
The staff proposed open play hours at Blair Park this year from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Open play would not occur on the other two days, but the courts could be used for lessons or private events on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Mondays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Last year, Blair Park was open from Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for open play, and the other programming was on the other days.
The possible hour changes come as the Park District seeks to generate additional money from pickleball play at Blair Park. In the last two years the Park District had approximately $20,000 in revenues. Currently, the Park District is budgeting for $23,250 in revenue for 2024, but the staff forecasts an additional $12,850 of new gross revenue if days and hours at Blair Park are expanded.
The staff also suggested a plan for play use of the four Artesian Park courts from Mondays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Park District still faces unresolved issues with the village on the use of the courts.
In July, following a noise complaint from neighbors, the village formally contacted the Park District about whether village approval was needed for a previous conversion of Blair Park courts from tennis to pickleball.
Play was temporarily suspended, but quickly resumed after the Park District curtailed hours of operation, reduced the number of courts at Blair Park, and opened play at Artesian Park.
However, the village and the Park District have yet to come to terms on an agreement for continued usage of Blair Park, where pickleball has been played since 2015.
The Park Board wants to get an agreement into place before changing the 2024 hours, according to its board president Jennifer Beeler.
“Nobody wants to live in a state of limbo,” she said. “We want to work with the village and the community to resolve this as soon as possible.”
Village Administrator Drew Irvin wrote in an e-mail the two sides are trying to work out an agreement.
As for the noise complaints associated with pickleball, Beeler noted the Park District is considering additional mitigation efforts.
“We want to do this to make sure the noise is not at an intrusive level,” she said.
Other survey results indicated Fridays through Sundays were the days people most preferred playing pickleball. Evenings slightly ranked ahead of mornings as the best time for play, with over 56% of respondents saying they played one to two hours a week.
Blair Park was the top preference to play, garnering 62% of the vote. Artesian Park, on the first block of Sheridan Place, was favored by just over a quarter of respondents, with other locations taking up the rest.
The survey was developed with the Lake Forest Park and Recreation Department as a joint project to gauge interest and needs in the community.
There are eight new pickleball courts at the newly renovated Deerpath Community Park in Lake Forest.