A message from Parks & Recreation Director Jim Conroy, originally published by Tucson Local Media.
Marana Parks and Recreation Director Jim Conroy
During the COVID- 19 pandemic, the Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Department’s highest priority is to make sure that park visitors and program participants are safe while visiting facilities and participating in Town-sponsored recreation programs.
When visiting the Town of Marana pool, splash pads, or participating in any of our modified list of recreation programs, you will find that facilities now feature detailed signage communicating social distancing guidelines. We encourage participants to practice good social distancing and to not gather in groups that exceed 10 people. Our staff have also incorporated an aggressive, daily cleaning schedule to make sure that facilities are as clean as possible for our participants’ safety.
The Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Department is actively working on a 10-Year 2020-2030 Master Plan process. As part of the public engagement portion, thousands of Marana residents provided feedback on what they would like to see in their parks system within the next decade. We serve a very diverse population, and programs and facilities need to reflect our entire community. We are many things to many different people, and it is important to us that everyone is heard. From the seniors who attend daily programs at our Community Center, to the several hundred people per day who visit our various dog parks, to the thousands of youth who participate weekly in various youth sports programs, the list of citizens who use our facilities is extensive. That’s why it’s so important that this plan represents the diversity of people and interests in Marana. This Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be presented to the Town of Marana Mayor and Council during Fall 2020.
As we move forward into the late Summer and early Fall, we will continue to offer our residents the opportunity to enjoy Marana’s Public Pool in Ora Mae Harn District Park. Aquatics staff are offering a schedule of free open swim and lap swim through Labor Day weekend. We will also continue to operate our splash pads at both Crossroads at Silverbell District Park and Gladden Farms Community Park. Those splash pads are open daily from 8:00 am-7:00 pm until the middle of October. Before visiting these aquatic facilities, please review COVID-19 modifications for aquatic facilities at maranaAZ.gov/aquatics.
The new pickleball courts in Ora Mae Harn Park
The Parks and Recreation Department is very excited to announce that on Friday, July 10, the Parks & Recreation Department opened three new pickleball courts in Ora Mae Harn Park. Over the last few years, pickleball has become the fastest growing sport in America. In response to our residents’ requests for more opportunities to play pickleball, we converted one of the two tennis courts in Ora Mae Harn Park into three pickleball courts. This is a great upgrade for Ora Mae Harn District Park to better serve our residents.
For the bird watchers in our community, we are very excited to announce that we will be working on a capital improvement project this Fall at the El Rio Preserve, which will bring water into the El Rio Preserve year-round. We will be sending out email updates regarding the project as we move into the Fall season. To subscribe to these updates, visit maranaaz.gov/recreation.
The best way to stay up to date with Parks and Recreation is always by downloading our mobile app. There, you can review available programs and facilities, reserve amenities, and check maintenance and weather-related closures before planning your trip to one of our parks. Marana Parks & Recreation is proud to offer a safe place for families to enjoy the outdoors and get active. To do this, we rely on our community to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at our facilities. Please remember to stay home if you feel sick, and note that we highly encourages the use of face masks while enjoying Marana’s parks, paths and trails.
