The Town of Newmarket will be adding pickleball courts to Environmental Park, as well as a basketball court after surveying the community.
The town plans to add a sports pad that will feature three regulation pickleball courts overlaid with a regulation basketball court, following resident feedback, with those two being the most popular responses in a survey with more than 500 responses.
Residents gathered for an online meeting on the matter held by the municipality Oct. 21. Capital works Danyal Sakrani said the ward area is lacking in sports pads and this project is a way to help ensure residents need not travel too far for activities.
“Compared to the other wards, there is a notable gap in the distribution of sports facilities here,” he said. “The goal of this project is to address that gap.”
The proposed sports pad will feature basketball nets, but pickleball players must bring their own nets.
About 29 per cent of respondents wanted pickleball courts, followed by basketball at about 26 per cent and tennis at about 24 per cent. Although the courts will focus on pickleball and basketball, Sakrani said the town anticipates it will see other general sports use, as well.
In general, 77 per cent of survey respondents were supportive of the sports court, he said. Pickleball received some particular excitement.
“Many residents were particularly enthusiastic about the addition of the pickleball court as it allowed their children to learn and enjoy the sport,” he said.
“Finally! My kid is always bugging me to take them to the nearest basketball court, this would be beneficial to the young kids in the community,” one survey respondent said.
Some concerns emerged regarding noise and parking. Sakrani said a parking lot expansion project is already under review, but they will monitor the impacts of the sports court in the park.
“Offer more parking! Nowhere to park at that location,” another survey respondent said.
Proctor Park is also getting a new sports pad, with area residents voting for pickleball as their sport of choice there, followed by tennis and then basketball in third place. The town opted not to go for a tennis court there due to the forthcoming indoor tennis facility being built at the south end of town.
As part of the Environment Park project, 13 trees will be moved and six new ones will be planted in the area. The courts will feature no lighting.
Usage of the courts will depend on weather and time of week, Skrani said, with the town not planning to run any programming there. But he added they expect there not to be significant conflict between users at the court, with it being a bring-your-own-net facility.
The town expects the sports pad to be complete and ready by the summer of 2025. You can find more information at heynewmarket.ca/sportcourts.
