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HomeMy WebLinkAbout062223 FW_ June 26th County Commissioners Meeting on Pickleball at Washington Street Courthouse Park ________________________________ From: Harriet Cannon Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2023 2:47:33 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Kate Dean; Greg Brotherton; Heidi Eisenhour Subject: June 26th County Commissioners Meeting on Pickleball at Washington Street Courthouse Park ________________________________ ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them. ________________________________ Dear Ms. Dean, Mr. Brotherton, and Ms. Eisenhour, Comments for the June 26th meeting regarding the pickle ball court at the Jefferson County Courthouse Park. Please note our complaints are not about the game. Our complaint is the unrelenting court noise and raucous behavior of some players in our residential neighborhood that is affecting our quality of life. The pickle ball courts are in pretty constant use beginning at 8:00 AM extending well after 7:00PM. Obviously, at this time of year we, like most humans in the Pacific Northwest, want doors and windows open to enjoy the fresh air. With pickleball, we can’t. In the year since the pickle ball courts were installed there are disturbing unintended consequences. Pickleball players sometimes park on Washington Street next to the courts. This is dangerous for people walking and biking on Washington, a street where large vehicles frequently exceed the speed limit. Pickle ball players bring their dogs to the park and tie them to the chain link fence. Some dogs are well behaved, others bark at those passing by, other dogs, and players on the courts. The thwack of the pickleball and the culture of whooping has chased people who have traditionally used the park away. People no longer hang out at the picnic tables. People no longer play with their dogs in the park. The fantasy game players no longer practice sword play games in the park. The chair exercise people no longer have classes in the park. Yoga groups no longer do yoga in the park. Community Groups no longer have picnics in the park. Our neighborhood has held annual picnics and disaster preparedness meetings in the park for years. Where will we meet now? Although we have advocated for effective sound reduction screens for the pickleball court in the past, it now appears that moving the courts elsewhere, out of residential neighborhoods, is the most respectful, fair use for the park neighborhood. If you search the web about pickleball noise, you will find national news articles on neighborhood complaints and lawsuits galore. Legal action is not a path we wish for. Port Townsend has a history of respecting the rights of all law-abiding individuals. It is a sad state of affairs when one large recreation group runs roughshod over the rights of households in small neighborhood. Below are some resources about the effect of constant noise on physical and mental health. There is also a most interesting study that found over 50% of pickleball players would not want a court in their neighborhood. https://endnoise.com/ <https://endnoise.com/> https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/09/health/noise-exposure-health-impacts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare <https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/09/health/noi se-exposure-health-impacts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare> https://acoustiblok.com/2013/04/08/pickleball-court-reduced-noise/ <https://acoustiblok.com/2013/04/08/pickleball-court-reduced-noise/> We look forward to speaking with you in real time, Harriet and Charles Cannon 234 Cass Street, Port Townsend, WW Harriet Cannon www.harrietcannon.com harriet@harrietcannon.com cjcannon@seanet.com