BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - Pickleball is booming in popularity and more courts are popping up in cities and towns across Massachusetts. Some homeowners say they’re frustrated with the noise, and want something done.
Pop, pop, pop… That noise echoes through this Braintree neighborhood every day.
“It’s just nonstop,” said Mike Megley. “It’s like having a noisy neighbor that has a party every day, seven days a week, 13 hours a day.”
Megley’s house is only 70 feet from pickleball courts that were recently renovated by the city. It is estimated he hears a ball hit someone’s racket 80,000 times a day.
“I can’t enjoy sitting in my own home, even with the TV on loud, with the radio on my front porch loud, just to block out the noise,” Megley said.
People living across the street from Foss Park in Melrose can’t escape the noise either.
“You can’t open windows. We wear noise-canceling headphones. It’s traumatizing,” said Dianne Randell.
7 Investigates has learned that at least 26 communities across the state are dealing with the incessant racket.
Rob Mastroianni tracks every complaint through his Facebook group, “Pickleball Noise Relief.”
“What we find is that their stories are very much the same and it’s always a wide swath of people,” Mastroianni said.
What makes the noise so maddening?
“This is gunshots’ little brother. Pickleball, it’s impulsive noise,” Mastroianni said.
Impulsive noise is described as a sudden, intense burst of sound similar to gunshots and fireworks. This type of noise is hard to ignore.
“These folks are not too sensitive. They’re responding to what’s going on on here,” Mastroianni said.
Earlier this year, Braintree spent $22,000 to install noise-reducing panels at this pickleball court to muffle the sound.
“It’s doing a little bit of something, but it’s absolutely nowhere near where it needs to go,” Mastroianni said.
Mastroianni’s tests show the fence only took the peak noise down from 90 decibels to 80. City code requires noise to be under 60 decibels in neighborhoods.
“If you want to put in a sound fence and you want to make a real difference, it’s got to be 30 feet high,” he said.
One of the ways that U.S. Pickleball is trying to reduce some of the noise is by introducing new, quieter paddles. The players say they notice a pretty big difference.
Braintree Mayor Erin Joyce said she is looking for ways to keep the noise down so the courts can stay open.
“Our goal is to keep the park open, and as we look at some other communities that are dealing with similar challenges and what they’ve seen happen when you don’t address the issue head-on and really try to come to a workable solution,” she said.
Those living with the noise suggest limiting the hours of pickleball or moving the courts away from homes.
“We’re not anti-pickleball. We just want to have a level of respect for us and for our homes,” said Melrose resident Kerri DeWolf.
Some residents in Braintree and Melrose say they’ve considered moving to escape all the noise. They’re also considering suing, which would take matters from the pickleball court to the civil court.
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