Upgraded tennis courts will be coming to Pebble Hill Park, but you can forget about pickleball.
Delta council recently endorsed a staff recommendation to enter into a cost-sharing agreement with the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) to replace the existing tennis courts at the park.
The project is part of the city’s overall multi-year Sport Court Improvement Program, which identified an opportunity to create nine dedicated pickleball courts and four dedicated tennis courts on top of Pebble Hill Reservoir Units 1 and 2.
It was envisioned the project would be done in cooperation with the GVWD, which was planning upgrades to the reservoir units.
Following public consultation earlier this year, recommendations were approved to develop an agreement with the GVWD for the replacement of the existing tennis courts, but to not proceed with the proposed pickleball courts.
During council’s discussion at their April 25 meeting, Mayor George Harvie said the decision was made following consultation with area residents and concerns raised about the noise from pickleball play.
Harvie in February sent letters to Pickleball Canada and Pickleball BC, expressing support for the continued growth of the sport, but also encouraged the organizations to pursue equipment updates and other best practices to mitigate the growing noise concerns associated with pickleball.
A Delta staff report at the time noted the sounds associated with the sport of pickleball tend to be much different from tennis.
The four tennis courts at Pebble Hill Reservoir are scheduled to be completed in 2023.
The city's available budget for the project is set at $50,000.
The city is also looking into establishing an off-leash dog area at Pebble Hill Park.
Harvie and city manager Sean McGill, during council’s discussion, both said a number of other concerns about the site were identified by area residents, including drainage and parking.
While there is no overall Pebble Hill Park master plan, they said all the concerns will be addressed in an upcoming report to council.
