Recreational facilities include playgrounds, tennis
courts, basketball courts and just about any other surface intended primarily
for pedestrian use.
Figure 1: HMA Tennis Courts
Figure 2: HMA Basketball Court
Assumed Traffic
Pedestrians and an occasional maintenance light truck.
Design Considerations
Pedestrians tend to like an extremely smooth pavement. Maximum aggregate
sizes larger than about 0.5 inches are noticeably rough. Playgrounds and
athletic courts can be finished with a commercially manufactured
slurry seal to
provide a smooth playing surface.
Construction Considerations
Recreational facilities should be compacted to a minimum of 90 percent
TMD (Rice density).
Lower levels of compaction may result in driveways that will significantly
compact under the occasional vehicle load or scuff easily.
Because a smooth pavement is essential for user satisfaction and safety,
special care should be taken to ensure roots from nearby trees are not growing
directly below the intended path location. If left in place, these roots
may cause local pavement upheavals, which can be a safety hazard.
Proper drainage is critical - especially for athletic courts. Even
minor pooling of water can render a court unplayable. In order to drain
properly, they should have a minimum slope of about 0.5 percent (1 inch per 10
feet) on a true plane from side to side, end to end, or corner to corner.
Generally, there should not be a grade break in the middle of the court.
For courts and playgrounds an edging of brick, concrete, or treated lumber
should be installed around the entire perimeter. The edging's top
elevation should be 0.5 inches below the finished grade level, and the surface
should be
tapered from 6 inches from the edge to meet it.
Where there is the possibility of recurrent vegetation growth, a quality
commercial grade herbicide should be used.
Courts can be finished in color (see Figure 1). Before color
finishing it may be prudent to conduct a water check to determine if there are any depressions
where water could pool.
This is done by flooding the surface with water
and allowing it to drain. Depressions of sizable
dimensions (greater than about 0.125 inch) should be
patched and leveled with the material recommended by the color finish manufacturer
(APAI, no date given).
Recommended References
The Asphalt Institute. (no date given).
Asphalt Pavement for Athletics and Recreation, Information Series No. 147. The Asphalt
Institute. Lexington, KY.
(www.asphaltinstitute.org)
The United States Tennis Court and Track Builders Association. A
centralized source for information on tennis court and track guidelines for
builders, manufacturers, professionals and consumers. They have
extensive online guidelines for tennis court and track construction. (www.ustctba.com)
Recommended Minimum Pavement Thickness and Design
(inches)
