WALKER, Mich. — By now, you've probably heard about the pickleball craze.
It's a mix of badminton, ping-pong and tennis, and a lot of players say it's just easier on the knees compared to other sports.
The main difference between tennis and pickleball is the size of the court, the type of paddle and of course the ball itself.
It's the sound, though, that some people love and some neighborhoods adjacent to courts have learned to hate.
"The sound of pickleball, it's a distinct one. And the fact that you see the courts behind us there is a cement wall. So that noise actually ricochets off to the neighbors and just magnifies it a little bit more," City of Walker Communications Manager Nicole DiDonato said.
On Monday, the city closed the tennis courts at City Central Park until further notice.
During the pandemic, Walker was one of the few municipalities to keep parks open under the direction of the Kent County Health Department, DiDonato said.
That lead the city to convert one of the tennis courts at City Central Park into a pickleball court.
"Unfortunately, the location of it...we didn't realize at the time, caused a little bit of a disturbance with the noise for some of our surrounding neighbors. In fact, we were actually violating our own noise ordinance with pickleball here, and also negatively affecting the quality of life of the neighbors," she said.
Responses from community members have been mixed. Neighbors who spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE said that noise was a strong concern during the pandemic, saying matches would last from morning to nightfall. They also said that the issue has largely subsided for them. and were disappointed that the courts had to be closed.
Residents online were largely against the decision.
"If you live next to a community park, shouldn’t you expect to hear noise from that park? What a waste of taxpayer dollars those unused courts are," said a comment on the City of Walker Facebook page.
Other comments echoed the sentiment that those living near a park should expect noises when park grounds are being used.
"It’s the fastest growing sport out there, and people of all ages are playing pickle ball. It is a seasonal sport and those that live next to a park should expect it. Are they upset with the parents cheering for their kids on Saturday morning during soccer season. This 'ban' is absolutely ridiculous."
Walker is currently updating its parks' master plan, and while pickleball isn't priority number one, DiDonato said the intention is to create six new courts in the future. The location of these new courts has not yet been determined.
The City of Walker encouraged pickleball players and tennis players to instead check out Walker Community Park at 700 Cummings Ave. NW for established courts in the meantime.
The greater-Grand Rapids area has seen an explosion of pickleballers.
This July, the Beer City Open in Grand Rapids brought in competitors from across the state and beyond to play the game at Belknap Park.
Belknap Park is a hotbed of pickleballing, with 16 dedicated courts. MVP Crahen has 13 and MSA Woodland has 12 courts, too.
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