Letters to the Editor: May 7 – 13, 2020
Restrictions on Tennis Courts Should Also be Lifted May 15
Editor,
Last Friday, when it was finally nice out after all the rain, I went to the Cherry Street tennis courts, as I’d been doing periodically during the shutdown to get exercise in a responsible, socially distanced manner, and found them chained. We were seven weeks into the shutdown and they had been open as of the previous weekend, so something strange was going on.
I emailed Mayor David Tarter, who answered an hour later — ain’t it grand living in a small, responsive town? It seems that tennis players weren’t a problem, but that some busybody had complained about a group of teenagers congregating on the courts (the horror!). Here I was thinking that my Little City was more enlightened and sensible than the authoritarians in Arlington and Alexandria, but no, city officials here were just late to act.
Especially as we head into gorgeous spring weather, it’s unreasonable not to open tennis courts (and golf courses, and parks), which allow for full enjoyment while social-distancing. Tennis isn’t a sport like basketball that requires physical contact. As for the teens, just shoo them away.
As Governor Northam calls for Virginia to begin reopening May 15, I call on the Recreation & Parks Department to take progressive anticipatory action by returning the Falls Church tennis courts to healthy open status. I promise I won’t approach the net at the same time as my opponent.
Ilya Shapiro
Falls Church
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