HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2015 BW1 GilbertCOUNCIL MEETING: [)
ITEM
Christian, Kevin
To: Mejia, Anthony
Subject: RE: Report to the SLO City Council
DEC 15 2014
From: Christopher Gilbert [cgilbert@cuesta.edu]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2014 9:57 AM
To: Marx, Jan; Rivoire, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Carpenter, Dan; Ashbaugh, John
Cc: Stanwyck, Shelly
Subject: Report to the SLO City Council
Greetings, City Council Members:
Attached please find a report that we have prepared for you on the need for lights at the Sinsheimer Park tennis courts.
Thank you, and happy holidays!
C. Gilbert
Dr. Christopher Gilbert
Social Sciences Division
Cuesta College
San Luis Obispo, CA 93403 -8106
805.546.3100 x2676
COUNCIL MEETING:_ _
ITEM NO.:
The Need for Lights at the
Sinsheimer Perk Tennis Courts
DEC 15 2014
An Independent Report to the
s■n Coro Obispo City +Coruna N D
Vicente del Rio
Scott Cleere
Christopher Gilbert
Eddie Rodriguez
December 10, 2014
Contents
Introduction : 2
1. The Importance of Tennis and Some Comparisons : 4
2. Reasons for Lights on the Sinsheimer Park Tennis Courts : 5
3. What the Community Wants - Survey Results : 7
Appendix: Examples of Modern Tennis Lights
Introduction
This report was authored by four members of the San Luis Obispo tennis community interested in helping to
make this town happier and healthier through the practice of tennis.
Our goal is to prove to the San Luis Obispo City Council that there is a pressing need to support the practice of
tennis in the public parks serving our community. We will show that, at the present time, the easiest, fastest,
most cost - effective, and most impactful means to this end is to install lights at the at the Sinsheimer Park tennis
courts complex. Lights would extend the courts' playability (evenings and winter), make them more accessible
outside normal working hours, and represent a much cheaper solution than building new courts.
The authors of this report understand that the City Council must make its decisions based on the wants and
needs of the citizens. For this reason, we have gathered data from the SLO tennis community by means of an
online opinion survey. The survey results are included in this report.
In Section 1 of this report, we discuss the importance of tennis and the United States Tennis Association
recommendations. We also present a table comparing the availability of tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
against some other cities in California.
Section 2 of the report lists the top reasons why lights should be installed in the Sinsheimer Park tennis courts.
It also compares the estimated costs of installing lights against those of building new courts.
Section 3 of the report presents the final results of an opinion survey conducted by the authors of this report.
For one month (10/27 to 11/27) an on -line survey was made available to the community. From a total of 137
respondents, the vast majority (129 or 96.99 %) supports lights at the Sinsheimer courts.
In the Appendix, we include a series of examples of modern tennis lights. In San Luis Obispo, most people
think of lights as those available at SLO High: old, inefficient, and aesthetically and environmental unfriendly.
But the truth is that modern lights stand much closer to the ground, are more efficient and less invasive, and are
very cost - effective.
We sincerely hope that with this report and particularly with the results of the opinion survey we have
conducted, the San Luis Obispo City Council will agree with us on the need to install lights in the Sinsheimer
courts, and consider it a priority within the 2015 -2017 goal setting.
2
1. The Importance of Tennis and Some Comparisons
It is never enough to stress why tennis is considered to be one of the most complete and ideal sports:
• It can be played by people of all ages;
• It relies mostly on the player as an individual;
• It builds character, self - determination, and will power;
• It depends on a unique combination of mental and physical skills;
• It requires good balance, agility, reflexes, coordination, and physical endurance;
• It is particularly great for young kids and teenagers because of all of the above!
Tennis is not an expensive sport. Numerous rackets are economically priced, a set of three balls costs less than
$3.00, the construction of a court does not take much space and its maintenance is significantly cheaper than
sports such as baseball, soccer, football, and certainly golf. Another important factor is that it only takes two
players for a game!
According to the United States Tennis Association recommendations, a city with a population the size of San
Luis Obispo should have close to 50 tennis courts (public and private) available (see Table 1).' The USTA also
recommends that tennis facilities should be planned considering the population (and therefore the potential
number of players) within a 6 -mile radius or a 15- to 20- minute driving time. Of course, these are ideal
numbers recommended by an association who is strongly committed to popularizing tennis and expanding its
practice among all demographics. However, they are important indicators to consider.
Table 1: USTA
Recommendations
Population
Total number of courts
15.000
20
25,000
30
50,000
50
100,000
80
250,000
130
500,000
210
750,000
270
1,000,000
320
1,250,000
360
1,500,000
400
More than 1,500,000
1 1 per 4000
1 In http: / /www.usta.com/ Facilities/ facil ites_frequently_asked_questions/
The City of San Luis Obispo has a verifiable total of 28 public and private tennis courts. Of note, three of these
(Laguna Middle School) are in such a bad shape that they need to be rebuilt. These courts are distributed as
follows (Table 2):
Table 2: Tennis courts (public and private) within the City of San Luis Obispo
In city parks
Sinsheimer
6
8
Isley
1
French
1
School District
SLO High
6
9 (of this total one has to
deduct the 3 courts in
Laguna Middle School which
are in terrible shape of
maintenance and are
unusable)
Laguna Middle
School
3
Cal Poly
Very limited use to the public
J 7
In private
property
Los Osos Park I & 2; Jewish Community
Center; private home in Foothill Ave.
4
Total
28 (of which 25 are playable)
The courts located in the Country Club, Avila Bay Resort and Spa Club, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Pismo, and
Grover Beach were not included in the count because: a) they are outside the City of San Luis Obispo; b) they
are located beyond a 6 -mile 15- minute radius from the center of San Luis Obispo and most of its population.
Next, Table 3 presents a sample of the total number of public tennis courts available in several cities in
California, with populations that are comparable to that of San Luis Obispo.
Table 3: Public
Tennis Courts in California Cities X San Luis Obispo
Population (2010)
Public
With Lights
Davis
65,589
19
10
Paso Robles
29,841
8
4
Grover Beach
13,432
5
5
Aliso Viejo
47,823
2
2
Brea
39,282
4
4
Cerritos
49,041
10
10
Lompoc
43,509
6
6
Newark
42,573
7
7
San Gabriel
39,718
2
2
San Luis Obispo
45,119
8
none
Therefore, from the discussion above, we may conclude that the City of San Luis Obispo needs more tennis
courts that are open to the public and, particularly, tennis courts with lights.
4
2. Reasons for Lights on the Sinsheimer Park Tennis Courts
The eleven major reasons for having lights installed at Sinsheimer can be summarized as follows:
1. The City only provides eight courts (six at Sinsheimer, one at Islay, one at French), and none of them
are lighted.
2. The only lighted courts in the city limits are at Cal Poly (which are intended for use by CP students)
and SLOHS (which were installed in 1984, and are very dated).
3. The City's parks provide lighted facilities for soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, roller hockey,
volleyball, and horseshoes, but not for tennis.
4. The peak times for tennis court usage are 8:00 a.m. to noon (for those who are free to play during the
day) and after 5:00 p.m. (for all the rest of us).
5. Lighting the existing SLO tennis courts (especially the multi -court facility at Sinsheimer Park) is the
most cost - effective way of increasing usable hours than would be the building of new, lighted tennis
courts.
6. Wealthy residents in the City can play on lighted courts at private clubs in SLO or Avila, but middle
class residents cannot afford private club membership, so the City needs to provide lights for them.
7. Modern tennis court lights are specifically designed to light only the courts, preventing light pollution
of the surrounding area (so the old concerns of Sinsheimer Park neighbors are no longer relevant). As
an example, consider the new lights at the Arroyo Grande High School courts (which anyone can turn
on for free with the push of a button).
8. To prevent excessive noise late into the night, the lights could be timed to shut off automatically at a
certain time (e.g., 9:00 p.m.).
9. Tennis players support a pay -as- you -play system for lights, if that proves necessary. (Note, however,
that we have found the coin -box system at SLOHS to be very unreliable; a key system would work
better. See the system for Soto Park lights used by the Five Cities Tennis Association.)
10. Installing lights in the courts will help increase safety for park users and the surrounding community.
11. Tennis is becoming an increasingly popular sport due to the growth of media coverage of international
events. Youngsters and teenagers of our community are excited and need to be encouraged to play after
school, and not discouraged from not finding available facilities.
5
The City Council should also consider the following important variables:
• The cost for lighting 6 tennis courts (Sinsheimer Park) is approximately $75,000.
• The cost for building a new court is approximately $75,000 to $100,000 per court. Evidently many
factors can add to this cost such as: grading, quality of materials, windscreens, etc.
A rough estimate of the impact of adding lights to the courts at Sinsheimer Park Seize is as follows:
• Play time after work/school: 5:00 to 9:OOPM
• Total days of the year when natural light does not permit play after 5:OOPM: 120 days
• Total number of added hours of play if courts are lit: 120 x 4 = 600 hours of play time
(or 150 x 4 = 750 hours of play time if one includes March).
Therefore, if the City Council considers the cost and impacts of installing lights at the Sinsheimer courts, the
benefits to the community are clear.
0
3. What the Community Wants
In order to understand how the SLO community stands in regard to the idea of having lights installed at the
Sinsheimer Park courts, we decided to conduct an internet -based opinion survey. We built a questionnaire,
tested it for reliability, and used SurveyMonkey.com as a resource. For the construction of the final survey, we
also received the opinion of Dr. Daniel Levi, Professor of Psychology at Cal Poly and an expert in such types of
investigation. The survey included a total of 10 questions: 9 closed and 1 open -ended answer. An extra optional
question asked for the participant's email for further contact.
An email with a call to participate and a link to the on -line survey was disseminated. The on -line survey was
made available on October 27 and it was closed on November 27, and there were a total of 137 respondents.
The major findings of the survey were:
• 94 (66.61 %) of respondents live in SLO, and 43 (31.39 %) do not;
• 134 (98.53°/x) of respondents play tennis, and 2 (1.47 %) do not;
• 71 (61.21 %) of respondents said that Sinsheimer Park is were they play most frequently;
• 90 (66.18 %) responded that they play more than 2 times a week;
• The majority of respondents (77 or 56.62 %) play in the late afternoons and early evenings;
• The majority of respondents (96 or 71.11 %) have more players in their household;
• The majority of respondents (129 or 96.11 %) want the Sinhseimer Park tennis courts to be lighted;
• The majority of respondents (128 or 95.52 %) approve of having the lights operated by a meter system;
• The majority of respondents (121 or 90.30 %) agree in having the lights automatically shut at a give
time at night.
A copy of the complete survey results follows, including all the answers to Question 10 which required a write-
in statement.
7
Yes
No
Answer Choices
Yes
No
Total
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q1 Do you live in San Luis Obispo City?
Answered: 137 Skipped:0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
1/11
Responses
68.61%
31.39%
94
43
137
Yes
No
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q2 Do you play tennis?
Answered: 136 Skipped:1
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices Responses
Yes 98.53%
No 1.47%
Total
2/11
134
2
136
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q3 Where do you play tennis most
frequently?
Answered: 116 Skipped: 21
Sinsheimer Park
SLO High School
French Park
Isley Park'
Cal Poly M
0% 10%
Answer Choices
Sinsheimer Park
SLO High School
French Park
Isley Park
Cal Poly
Total
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
3/11
Responses
61.21%
19.83%
3.45%
2.59%
12.93%
11
23
4
3
15
116
Once a week
Two or three
times a week
Four or more
times a week
Not very
frequently
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q4 How often do you play tennis?
Answered: 136 Skipped:I
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices Responses
Once a week 23.53%
Two or three times a week 48.53%
Four or more times a week 17.65%
Not very frequently 10.29%
Total
4/11
32
66
24
14
136
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q5 What time do you play most frequently?
Answered: 136 Skipped:I
Mornings
Afternoons
Late
afternoons /...
No preference
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices
Responses
Mornings
21.32%
Afternoons
11.03%
Late afternoons / early evenings
56.62%
No preference
11.03%
Total
5/11
29
15
77
15
136
None, just me
One
Two
Three
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q6 How many other members of your
household play tennis?
Answered: 135 Skipped:2
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices
Responses
None, just me
28.89%
One
27.41%
Two
24.44%
Three
19.26%
Total
6/11
39
37
33
26
135
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q7 Would you like to have lighted courts at
Sinsheimer Park?
Answered: 133 Skipped:4
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices Responses
Yes 96A9%
No 1011%
Total
7/11
129
4
133
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q8 Would you be OK with these lighted
courts being controlled by an operated
meter system?
Answered: 134 Skipped:3
Yes
No A,
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices Responses
Yes
95.52 %a
No 4.48%
Total
E .*IFM
128
6
134
Survey of lights for tennis courts in San Luis Obispo
Q9 Would you be OK in having the lights
automatically shut off at a set time in the
evening?
Answered: 134 Skipped:3
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Answer Choices Responses
Yes 90.30%
No 9.70%
Total
9/11
121
13
134
Question 10: Any comments or suggestions?
In this open -ended question respondents, 43 out of 137 (total) respondents wrote in their
answers. All comments and suggestions follow.
1. I played for the cal poly mustangs for 4 years and coached a year. We utilized sinsheimer courts at times
because our courts were being used for either cal poly classes or club tennis practices. Sinsheimer needs to
have lights to increase the amount of opportunities to practice for the SLO talent.
2. no
3. Additional tennis courts should be considered for the future Chevron Tank Farm project
4. It would be a great contribution to society if we had lights at the park!!!
5. Please make any new lights energy efficient and make sure the night lighting levels are uniform and cover
the entire court surface adequately.
6. Could we do what is done at Soto in A. G. ?? Have a type of tennis membership at a minimal
cost.... members would have a light card to insert and not have to worry about quarters that don't last
long .... anita smith
7. This will need an environmental impact study before approval to see the impact it will have on the
neighborhood.
8. Let there be Light!
9. It would be great if Sinsheimer had lights so that we have other locations to play aside from SLOHS.
10. We really need more places that have lights to play tennis in the evenings... This makes sense....
11. We have lights on two (of six) courts in Cambria. In the winter months they are used frequently and are
greatly appreciated by working folk (and others) who want to play during the week after work /school.
Great asset to the (tennis) community!
12. The courts are too close to the adjacent homes and it is in appropriate to light them. I think we should look
for other locations to build courts with lights in town or fix the high school courts.
13. We live directly behind the tennis courts so we are in the small number of households most affected by this
and we think the park would be safer and more fun with the lights. We would like them to them to go no
later than 9pm. Currently we watch skate boarders on the courts almost daily in the summertime and would
like to see this problem addressed as well.
14. Would love there to be lights there
15. I'm glad there is a group looking into lighting the courts.
16. Just 2 courts would probably be enough
17. Having lights would allow my family more time to play tennis together in the evenings
18. 1, and most of my tennis friends, support a coin/ card lighting system to help pay for their construction and
maintenance.
19. I think we are overdue for lighted tennis courts at Sinsheimer. The city does a great job maintaining the
courts. I think a "shut off time somewhere between 9pm and IOpm is reasonable.
20. Build more courts at city parks please, I frequently cannot find a court to play as they are all taken,
21. Can you please add lights for volleyball court in Islay park?
22. Great idea and increased safety
23. Please give some lights at Sinsheimer. Its a great park but without lights, so many tennis players are leaving
our community to 5 cities and north county to play.
24. Please get us lights!
25. This community deserves public courts with lights for night play!
26. Use LED lights. Install regular switches, not keyed switches. Set timer to shut off power late pm.
27. IMy tennis partner and I need a simple way to connect -up with other players at our level.
28. I think the lights at Sinsheimer should be cut off EITHER by lOpm or when the lights are shut off at
Damon Garcia Baseball field and SInsheimer Baseball Field
29. Lights at the Sinsheimer tennis courts are long overdue!
30. Lights at the Shinshiemer tennis courts would be heavily used and beneficial to the community and would
cause little disturbance to the neighborhood around them.
31. There are so few courts, and even fewer lighted courts, in San Luis Obispo. Having lights at the Sinsheimer
courts would be a fantastic improvement.
32. Yes, this should have been done years ago. How can there be community approval for huge baseball field
lights right next to the Sinsheimer courts yet the uproar from nearby residences about lights on the tennis
courts has defeated the idea each and every time.
33. Keep on with your fight for more investments on tennis in our city!
34. I live nearby and think it would be beneficial to people in the park in the evening with lighted courts to
discourage unwelcome activities.
35. I play mostly in Arroyo Grande but play at Sinsheimer too.I worked at Cal Poly until I retired & played
weekly after work.In winter onlyoption was SLOHS & it was hard to get a court.
36. I feel additional tennis courts would also be most welcomed.
37. Wishing you success in a very worthwhile endeavor.
38. The lights at SLO High are almost unusable for older people, 50 +, who have more trouble seeing in the
evening. For working people the evening is the only time to play during the week.
39. Create a system that tracks who is using the lights to manage excessive noise or trouble makers.
40. A metered, pay -as- you -play system would be fine, but I would recommend against coin boxes. The ones at
SLOHS are notoriously unreliable - -they get jammed, or they take coins but do not get the lights turned on.
Some sort of key or card key system would be better. (Five Cities Tennis Association has a key system it
uses for the Soto Park lights.)
41. It is a shame that a city the size of San Luis Obispo with such an active tennis community has so few public
courts and no lighted courts. Cal Poly is unavailable and the lights at the high school are frequently not
working and the courts have been locked in the past.
42. We need more courts, especially lighted courts. This is a big tennis town, and often in the afternoons, pros
reserve the courts to give lessons, and I have to wait until dark to play, so winter time hurts working adults
especially hard.
43. We charge $25 /yr for family to get key for lights, and it works and used.
Appendix: Examples of Modern Tennis Lights
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