Speaker 5, a parks staff presenter, told the Corte Madera Parks & Recreation Commission on Nov. 20 that the town’s March 2025 switch from a key-based court-access system to a QR-enabled online reservation system has already produced thousands of reservations and given staff better usage data.

“Quickly people adopting a little verification. 3,300 accounts made, 3,000 total reservations, and a steady rise,” Speaker 5 said, summarizing early activity. Staff described operational rules that limit residents to two reservations per week, allow one-week-ahead booking, and designate an open-play period daily between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The presentation covered how the system works at Granada Park and Town Park, where some tennis courts are shared with pickleball. Speaker 5 said the vendor’s QR-code check lets on-site users confirm whether a court is reserved and that no-shows become first-come, first-served after a brief grace period.

Commissioners asked practical questions about confirmations and user experience. Speaker 1 said reservation confirmation emails do not clearly show which court was booked and asked staff to follow up; Speaker 5 invited a screenshot and said the vendor can address the display in quarterly updates.

The staff presentation emphasized that the new system provides data the town lacked under the old key program. “Before this, we didn't know — we only knew the number of keys we sold. We never knew how many people actually were using them,” Speaker 5 said. That data will factor into asset-planning and any future changes to court allocation or fees.

No formal action was taken on the item. Staff said they will continue vendor coordination and bring follow-ups on any recommended interface changes or fee proposals to the commission.

Votes at a glance:
• Approval of Oct. 27 minutes (consent calendar): motion passed by roll call (Commissioners Hoskins, Rose, Zmack, Hansen and Chair Miles recorded yes; Commissioners Stoller and Condrey absent).