While pickleball proponents tout how easy the game is to pick up, figuring out the best solution for allowing outdoor play in Wellesley has been anything but easy.
The Recreation Commission and Department, School Committee, Natural Resources Commission, Town Meeting, outside consultants, and others in town have all been wrangling over how to balance the appetite to play pickleball outdoors vs. the concerns of neighbors and other residents sensitive to the game’s sound. The Rec Department maintains an online schedule of court availability, but as schedules have been changing, the site may or may not be up to date based on the latest town committee decisions.
The School Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 7, opened with a parade of residents speaking in favor of keeping the Sprague courts open for as much pickleball as possible, with speakers appealing to the School Committee’s sensibilities by emphasizing the enjoyment that young people increasingly get from the sport.
After more than 45 minutes of discussion, the School Committee voted 4-1 to reduce the number of days that pickleball can be played on the Sprague courts from four to two once courts at the Hunnewell complex on Washington Street open up after the high school tennis season ends in late June. School Committee members floated various possibilities, with Chair Craig Mack asking about whether there might be a way to restrict play to those who don’t whack the ball as hard (and noisily) at Sprague or perhaps reducing the hours of court availability on the days play is allowed.
Under the School Committee’s decision, Sprague courts would be open for pickleball on Saturdays and a weekday to be determined by Rec; it remains to be seen what would be allowed at the Sprague courts once the high school tennis season starts up again next year (School Committee discussion begins at 1-hour, 38-minute mark of its May 7 meeting, recorded by Wellesley Media.)
One court (nearest Whole Foods) at Hunnewell was being used before the spring high school tennis season started, but the tape used to mark the pickleball courts proved to be a sticky problem that resulted in the court needing to be resurfaced, and not to the satisfaction of the varsity teams. This time around, it’s hoped that the NRC might allow play at two courts there, but instead using either chalk (yeah, rain could be an issue…) or plastic lines that can be placed down and removed. Rec Commission and Rec Department reps said they were not aware of any noise complaints about pickleball by Hunnewell court neighbors.
The School Committee in making its call reflected on a recent 3-2 NRC decision (see Wellesley Media recording of April 25 meeting) that allows pickleball on the Perrin Park court one day a week from 9am-7pm (it had been allowed four days a week), and that one day was later determined by the Rec Commission to be Sunday. The court at Perrin abuts residents’ yards.
While these immediate decisions on pickleball court availability have been made heading into summer, the town continues to explore longer-term solutions, keeping in mind factors such as spreading courts around town to allow for equitable access and lessen the burden on neighbors in any one area. The Rec Department recorded some 2,000 hours of reserved pickleball play last year.
Town Meeting in the fall approved $70K for a study to identify possible alternative pickleball court sites, most of which (behind Town Hall, at the Recycling & Disposal Facility, etc.) turned out really not to be feasible even before a feasibility study is conducted. The Morses Pond parking area is still considered one possibility, and the idea of an enclosed facility, more like a hangar than a building, might be an option that would satisfy players as well as those with environmental concerns. Look for more discussion on this topic at the May 13 Board of Public Works meeting.
Recreation Commission Chair Paul Cramer also urged the School Committee near the end of its May 7 meeting to work with Recreation Director Matt Chin to find some internal space that could be used to accommodate pickleball (the Middle School and Upham have been cited as possibilities).
There’s scuttlebutt that the Longfellow Tennis Club or another entity might have interest in converting the shuttered Boston Sports Club facility next to the Babson skating rink into a tennis and pickleball venue.
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