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As the ground breaking of the San Ramon City Hall building draws near, relocation of the basketball courts that currently occupy the construction area was discussed at the San Ramon Parks and Community Services Commission meeting Wednesday.
“We recognize the importance of the basketball courts to the community,” said Commissioner Will Doerlich. “It’s really a great meeting place and it brings people from San Ramon and surrounding areas together.”
Earlier this summer, city staff evaluated possible locations to move the two full-sized courts.
Staff presented four areas within Central Park where the courts could be placed.
Three of the proposed areas were deemed too close to Iron Horse Middle School, which uses portions of the park and its fields during the school day.
The fourth location is an area behind the fire station and north of the tennis courts. This space could be a viable option to place the courts, but city staff plans to continue scouting additional locations for review, according to Doerlich.
The commission wants to maintain accessibility and 24-hour lighting at the courts. The all-day lighting is what makes the Central Park courts unique in comparison to San Ramon’s other lit fields and courts which all terminate lighting at 10 p.m.
Other amenities such as parking and restroom accessibility are also being reviewed as factors in finding a new suitable location.
According to Doerlich, a long-time user of the Central Park courts spoke during public comment and expressed why, in his opinion, the courts are important and valuable to the community.
The commission plans to hold future public meetings for more community input and suggestions.
No decision was made on Wednesday on the new location for the courts. However, Doerlich said commission hopes to bring a recommendation to city council by the end of this year.
“We are taking this under serious consideration and doing what we can to make the move a smooth transition,” Doerlich said.
My sons and their friends have used the basketball courts numerous times and when I read the city was going to move them to accommodate a new city center I couldn’t believe it, especially when there is all that land on the corner of Camino Ramon (and do we really need a city center for the council members?). Kids need a place to go with their friends that is fun and doesn’t cost money. I hope the city finds a new location that is just as good, if not better, than the existing courts.
Oh, great. Now take space that is needed and should be used for MORE TENNIS COURTS and use it for basketball courts.
I suggest to build more tennis courts first………to supply unmet past needs and new needs from added population.
San Ramon isn’t really meeting its citizen’s recreation needs and desires!
San Ramon’s tennis players are having to travel elsewhere for more courts and more tennis……and just don’t have time or inclination to be “squeaky wheel” types.
More PARKING is needed in the area as well. (Ever tried to attend the Summer Concerts or Fairs.)
Plan and build the parking FIRST!
LAST PRIORITY should be another City Hall for the politicians and LT city employees (including Planners)! (But that won’t be the way it will be.)
Pretty small portion of the population plays tennis — or basketball. When do the rest of us get some services from our Town?
We live in the neighborhood directly across from the proposed new location of the 24/7 lighted basketball courts. Living across from Central Park has its perks and annoyances. One of the disadvantages is that it can be very noisy during the evening hours. Baseball, soccer, concerts, many of which go well into the evening, with huge field lights that shine down onto our neighborhood. Now the City is wants to place these courts less that 100 yards away from our homes. Having basketball games going on throughout the evening and early morning hours will have an enormous negative impact for our residents and potentially our property values. Additionally, this will be adjacent from the family area where small children play on swings and slides. Why would you mix these two different demographics together? Why is the City of San Ramon willing to pay for relocating these courts for a group of 50 – 75 people, of which many don’t even live in San Ramon, at the expense of this neighborhood, where residents live and pay property taxes. Who is looking out for us??? They need to find another place to put these courts…away from a neighborhood where people like calm and quiet after 10 pm at night
Why yes Rena, I believe they could put it somewhere else – like on top of City Hall building. Preferably with limited insulation in the ceiling, so the SR city politicians can hear the pitter patter of Nike-clad feet all day and all night.
Imagine the congestion on the already-slow moving Bollinger once this project gets in full swing.
Of course, up here in Danvile (spelling intentional), we have our own smaller scale debacle metastasizing downtown as we speak, on the formerly scenic corner of Hartz & Prospect. A structure so hideously out of place that words fail me. And when the upstairs tenants start moving in to Palace Boondoggle, I wonder how long it will be before they begin demanding silence and a 7:00pm curfew. Hopefully they will enjoy the drunks spilling out of Meenar’s and Elliot’s at 2:00am.
“Hey baby, don’t close the curtains! Invite me up for a beer!”