NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - The volleying over pickleball continues in North Salem.
Last year, after folks who lived near Joe Bohrdrum Park, where the popular paddle sport is played on the tennis courts, sought relief from the noise, the town started to weigh a solution that would be fair to both players and neighbors.
It looked at re-locating pickleball to other town property , such as Volunteers Park on June Road, but couldn’t pin down a workable spot. Moving the courts to another area of Joe Bohrdrum Park wasn’t going to do it either, because that would have meant they would still be within hearing distance of other residences.
Pickleball is noisy due to the combination of a hard plastic ball and composite paddles, which creates a high-pitched "pop" at a frequency that is easily perceived by the human ear.
The noise level can sometimes reach 110 decibels, which is comparable to extremely loud machinery, industrial environments, or high-volume entertainment. It not only causes discomfort but can damage human hearing.
Experts contend that outdoor pickleball courts should not be located within 500 feet of someone’s home. The Sunset Drive neighbors who were most impacted lived about 187 feet away.
Also discussed was a sound barrier that would at least cut down on the decibel levels.
The town’s Recreation Committee stepped up to recommend that playing hours be limited to the hours of 9 a.m. to noon, Mondays through Saturdays.
That didn’t go over at all well with some pickleball fans who prefer to play much earlier – or later - in the summer due to the heat.
And they were not shy about making their feelings known to the Town Board.
The back and forth was, Supervisor Warren Lucas admitted, “pretty lively.”
In the end, the board voted to allow play from 9 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Signs were scheduled to be erected by the Highway Department, which is in charge of the maintenance of town parks.
The decision was made, Councilman Martin Aronchick explained at the Town Board’s June 23 meeting, with the idea that it was not “cast in stone” and that adjustments could always be made if needed.
Other neighbors spoke up in favor of pickleball, but, it was pointed out, they lived at least 600 feet away.
First, the new rules need to be enforced, the fed-up neighbors insist.
Tom and Cheryl Walsh, making their first public appearance on the matter, told the board that people are ignoring the signs and sometimes playing until 9 p.m.
“It’s really a nuisance,” said Tom Walsh, adding that the noise is affecting their quality of life by keeping them from enjoying a quiet cup of coffee in the mornings outdoors, even on Sundays, or having friends and family over for special occasions such as Father’s Day.
Even when they’re inside, the "piercing" sound resonates. “It’s so disruptive,” Cheryl Walsh said.
The Walshes said they knew they were moving next to a park and its tennis courts when they bought their house. What they didn’t know was that the courts would later be converted for pickleball use.
Not wanting to be forced into the position of having to call the police on, or tussling with, their neighbors – a “lose-lose situation” -- the couple is turning to the town for help and guidance, Tom Walsh said.
Lucas welcomed the new input but allowed that he would have loved it if the Walshes had spoken up during the public discussions that preceded the vote.
Councilman Martin Aronchick, who had leaned toward the Recreation Committee’s suggested tighter hours, appeared to agree.
“That’s a little frustrating to hear,” he said of the Walshes’ situation. “When the people (pickleball proponents) were here, we spent a lot of time coming up with a compromise.”
“The initial proposal that we got from the recreation committee was more limited than what we actually passed. I kind of felt like we should have followed their advice. But we agreed on -- after discussing it -- on something a little bit more expansive on the condition that it wasn’t written in stone.”
“We all resolved that we need to see how this is working out” before any adjustments were made, Aronchick added.
Lucas suggested that the town could have police cruise on by after the posted playing hours to see if there were any outliers were lingering on the pickleball court.
“That’s not too hard to do,” he said.
Tom Walsh explained that they weren’t aware that pickleball was on the first agenda. By the time the matter got to the meeting at which the vote was taken, they were actively avoiding speaking up in public, he said.
“I didn’t want to get into an adversarial position, then it’s just tit for tat,” he explained, pointing out that the couple felt their agenda was with the town, and not with their neighbors or pickleball aficionados in general.
“They have every right to play pickleball. The question is, how do we find them a place to do it?” Tom Walsh asked.
Councilwoman Katherine Daniels reminded folks that the Recreation Committee is in the midst of crafting an update to a townwide recreation plan.
Perhaps, mitigation efforts such as a sound barrier –or even finding another location for the pickleball court -- could be part of that, she suggested.
Tom Walsh, who is in the construction trade, offered to put his two cents in on the pickleball conundrum if the committee and town are open to it.
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