Aloha State News

Accommodating the ever-increasing number of pickleball players around O‘ahu, while improving management of outdoor courts; these are the goals of two simultaneous efforts from the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). 

Announced earlier today, DPR plans to increase their inventory of dedicated pickleball courts by converting underutilized courts, followed by revised rules governing all City park outdoor courts.

Adding More Pickleball Courts

Widely regarded as the fastest growing sport in the nation, pickleball’s popularity in the islands is apparent through the increasing number of players using public courts around O‘ahu.

Recognizing this, DPR began installing outdoor pickelball court lines on existing tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts as part of the Kākou for Parks Program in 2016. While this gave pickleball players a foundation for their sport, it also required players to bring their own nets and coordinate with the other court players to share these multi-use courts.

Now, DPR intends to give pickleball players more courts of their own by converting underutilized facilities with dedicated lines and nets solely for pickleball use.  

Currently, DPR maintains 173 pickleball courts at 90 park locations. Of these courts, only 17 are solely designated for pickleball, of which 10 have permanent nets. Based on current planning, DPR

is converting 20 existing courts (and adding courts/amenities) at 17 parks to make approximately 67 new dedicated pickleball courts complete with lines and nets. Including:

Park	Reconfigured Courts (#)	Estimated # of Pickleball Courts
‘Ewa Mahiko District	Tennis (2)	6
Haha‘ione Valley Neighborhood	Volleyball (1)	2
Ka‘ala Neighborhood	Tennis (1)	3
Kailua District	Biddy Basketball (1)	2
Kamāmalu Neighborhood	New	8
Ke‘ehi Lagoon	Tennis (4) / New	12
Kīlauea District	Tennis (1)	3
Makakilo Neighborhood	Tennis (2)	6
Mānoa Valley District	Tennis (1)	3
Maunawili Valley Neighborhood	Basketball (1)	3
Nu‘uanu Community	Volleyball (2)	3
Pacific Palisades Community	Tennis (1)	3
Pālolo Valley District	Tennis (1)	3
Smith-Beretania	New	2
Sunset Community	Basketball (1)	3
Waimānalo District	Practice Tennis (1)	1
Waipi‘o Neighborhood	Existing, install nets	4

“We are very excited to bring these new, dedicated facilities to this active group of ever-increasing pickleball players!” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We envision these initial court conversions at Ke‘ehi Lagoon to turn the area into our very first pickleball complex, where tournaments and competitions can be held similar to tennis events at the Jarand M.Y. Iwase Tennis Complex in Central O‘ahu. This method of converting existing facilities will result in courts being publicly available much sooner versus building completely new courts from scratch.”

The Ke‘ehi courts are scheduled to begin their conversion within the coming months, and be available for public use this summer.

The exact amount of pickleball courts being added and park sites is subject to change based on court configuration and construction requirements. The timing of these conversions will be determined based on the initial Ke‘ehi court conversion.

Complementing this effort to increase our inventory of outdoor pickleball courts, DPR staff are also working to offer additional pickleball classes and free play opportunities within our 25 gymnasiums.

Revised Court Rules

Following community outreach to gauge public sentiment regarding existing conditions at all outdoor courts, DPR is progressing in the efforts to revise the rules governing their usage.

The proposed rules aim to balance casual recreation use of the courts with permitted lessons. The hope is to have consistent, fair regulations on agreeable terms for all court users to encourage compliance and reduce the need for enforcement. Some of the topics addressed in these proposed rules include:

• Specific times, dates for commercial instruction (i.e. tennis lessons or pickleball classes)
• Allowing permitted classes at parks with a minimum amount of courts
• Establishing maximum amount of courts which can be reserved for competition
• Further implementing recreational court-use time limits for tennis, pickleball courts

“Based on the public outreach regarding outdoor courts, O‘ahu residents showed a priority to maintain recreational use of these courts while giving the opportunity for commercial lessons to be conducted in a managed fashion,” said DPR Director Laura H. Thielen. “We look forward to further public comment on the proposed rules, finalizing them through our rule-making process, and implementing equitable regulations and improved management for these important community facilities.”

DPR will convene with the State Small Business Review Board before beginning the final stage of approval through the DPR rule promulgation process. This includes posting the proposed rules publicly for review before a public hearing expected in fall 2023.

We appreciate the patience and understanding of the various park user groups while we work to make these rule and facility modifications an enjoyable part of your City park experience.

If you need an auxiliary aid/service, other accommodations due to a disability, or an interpreter for a language other than English in reference to this announcement, please contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation at (808) 768-3003 on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or email parks@honolulu.gov

Original source can be found here.