At the Staunton City Council meeting on July 24, the boys’ tennis coach at Staunton High School and a parent raised concerns about court access, parking congestion and accessibility at Montgomery Hall Park and urged the council to consider restoring courts at the high school.

Coach Bill Mead said Montgomery Hall’s three courts are an improvement over past conditions but remain constrained when the courts are used for both tennis and growing public pickleball play. Mead said shared use has created parking and space conflicts during matches and practices. He said the high school previously had six courts on campus but no longer does, leaving Staunton the only local high school without on-campus match courts.

Parent and PTSA president Ashley Kane described practical accessibility issues for spectators, citing uneven walkways and limited parking that made it unsafe for older relatives and people with mobility limitations to attend matches. Kane said she met with school administrators and the superintendent’s office and that a plan to use Mary Baldwin College courts as a backup for matches is progressing, but it would not solve practice-time congestion at Montgomery Hall.

Both speakers urged the council to consider options such as reconfiguring space at the high school (possible sites mentioned included the bus loop and an area below the track), continuing negotiations with Mary Baldwin for match use, and addressing walkways and parking at Montgomery Hall Park. Parks and Recreation and school officials were identified as partners for any improvements; no funding request from council was made during public comment, and councilors acknowledged the concerns and said the issues would be considered when school or parks departments bring formal requests.

Discussion versus decision: the public comments were requests for attention and future action; there was no formal council motion or vote on funding or a capital project at this meeting.