The North Elba Park District has been working to get the public tennis courts, which are located above the intersection of Parkside and Mirror Lake drives, ready for play this season. Between the Lake Placid boys and girls varsity tennis teams and members of the public, the courts tend to see their fair share of action during the warmer months.

These upgrades include new nets and center straps for the five courts, according to Park District Manager Jeremy Freeman. As of Monday, April 7, he said one net had been installed, and the others would be coming soon.

Freeman explained that the old nets had broken down and were in need of replacement.

“They take a beating in the sun and obviously ball strikes at the net line can break down that vinyl material there, so those have kind of cracked and split over time,” he said.

A rules sign is seen at the entrance to the Lake Placid public tennis courts on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Freeman added that the Park District’s efforts at the tennis courts covered more than installing the new nets and straps.

“We’ve been doing quite a bit of work out there the past couple days,” he said. “We have edged and cleared all of the fence lines all the way around the courts and removed all of the debris on the interior and exterior of that (which) should help to keep the courts clear and clean.”

The sand and dirt buildup over the winter resulted in a potentially hazardous situation for play, which can demand quick bursts of movement and sudden changes in direction to chase down balls in rallies.

“It was getting slippery at the baseline area down to the fence line, so we’ve been working on clearing all the rest of that material out of there,” he said. “It’s going to look a lot better.”

The courts are open to the public from 7 a.m. until dusk, with the exception of high school match times and practice sessions during the spring season. The courts are free to use. People are requested to limit their playing time to an hour during busy times when all of the courts are occupied and others may be waiting to use them.