Pickleball is one of the fasting-growing sports in the country, and courts at Green Hollow Park in Patton Township get plenty of use. However, all the pickleball play is causing issues in the neighborhood surrounding the park and township officials are hearing about it from residents
Park Forest resident Stephen Garcia was one of the initial residents who brought the issue to township officials a year ago. His house is located less than 150 feet from the park and he said he can hear people playing on the four pickleball courts from inside his house.
“For all of you that don’t know, the sound of pickleball is kind of like listening to ping-pong going on in the room next door to you. We hear that with our windows and doors closed 10 to 12 hours a day, depending on the weather,” Garcia said.
Other residents in the neighborhood have expressed similar concerns about the noise, he said.
“It has just become a drain on all of us,” he said.
Garcia added that the parking situation is also causing safety concerns on Park Forest Avenue, because the small nearby park does not have a parking lot.
“We have cars that line the streets. … Sometimes there are cars that are parked in the opposite direction. Sometimes, cars are parked three, three-and-a-half feet away from the curb. It is dangerous. It is an evident hazard that is about to happen,” Garcia said.
Local pickleball enthusiast Drew Von Tish said the sport continues to grow in the community and provides benefit to players of all ages. While modified tennis courts can be used to play pickleball, the four courts at Green Hollow Park are the only official pickleball-only courts in the region.
“There are a number of big distinctions between a tennis court modified for pickleball and a pickleball court,” Von Tish said.
Five new courts are under construction at the State College YMCA and are to open this summer, which should help improve the situation at Green Hollow Park.
The courts at the park have seen increased usage during the pandemic, with people looking to stay active and remain outside. Steve Wistar started a daily afternoon session at the park when playing on the indoor courts was not an option because of COVID restrictions.
“We have been through this pandemic and it has been truly remarkable how much it has meant to me to have a place to play real pickleball and advance my skills with other people who care about that as well, and what it has done for me mentally, physically and spiritually to make a bunch of new friends and play this wonderful game,” Wistar said.
The township has been aware of the issue for more than a year, and the parks committee reviewed complaints and looked at different options, including restricting hours, sound mitigation and parking solutions.
The Board of Supervisors set up a committee of community members, pickleball players and representatives of Centre Region Parks and Rec to discuss possible solutions that will be presented to the board at the next meeting.
In the meantime, the board agreed to limit play on the court to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. There are no time restrictions on weekdays. The pickleball community also will be suggesting that players park at the other entrance to the park in order to relieve congestion on Park Forest Avenue.
This story appears in the May 20-26 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
