The Denver suburb Centennial is about to declare an “emergency” over… pickleball…
(Pickleball Restrictions :46)
That’s a real city proposal, intended to fast-track new rules to keep pickleball courts away from homes. Centennial recently put a 6-month pause on any new courts, but that expires at the end of September. Tonight, city council could vote on “emergency” measures, banning new outdoor pickleball courts within a hundred feet of homes. They’d also require a sound study, for courts within 600 feet of houses. Courts inside that range would also have to have some mitigation measures to dampen the noise, along with an 8 pm curfew. Pickleball’s rackets and plastic ball have been designed to mimic the sounds of tennis, which is played on a bigger court, but have turned out in many places to be much louder. Centennial is citing new studies by audio engineers, who say the constant sound of pickleballs hitting paddles can cause hearing impairment, bad sleep, and long-term psychological effects.