Petition the Egg Harbor Township Recreation Committee and Town Board to build more tennis courts in the township.

EHT has five times less courts than recommended by the US Tennis Association. According to recommendations by the USTA, for a community our size, we should have over 40 courts available to the public. When reporting how many courts are available in the township, the high school courts, the Fernwood courts, and the courts in Veteran's Park that were removed several years ago are included in the reported figures by EHT.

When the two courts were removed from Veteran's Park for additional parking space, the EHT recreation commission promised during a September 2009 meeting that they would be replaced. They have still not been replaced in 2015.

Wait times at courts during peak times (after school/work until dark) are often over an hour or two. Often times you don't get to play at all because it gets dark. There are also no lighted courts in the township, despite having lighted fields for baseball, football, lacrosse, etc.

I have personally witnessed private training and lessons occurring on public courts, further increasing the wait times. No mention of permits or approval of these lessons have been mentioned in the recreation committee meetings.

Proposed solutions include:

Make the high school and Fernwood elementary courts available to the public on weekends during the school year, and all summer long. (Absegami HS in Galloway and Oakrest HS in Mays Landing already does this)

Install courts in open areas at elementary schools, far from the building, and following the same schedule as the high school courts above. This will spread out the courts geographically throughout the township.

Utilize existing space at Bargaintown, Tony Canale, Childs-Kirk, Delilah Oaks, Shires, and Veteran's parks for more courts with minimal to no clearing of trees.

Build a whole new park, with the focus on tennis. Perhaps with lighting, indoor courts, etc. We have the room to do it.