There are plenty of hot-button issues these days, and this one ranks low on the vitriol meter. Still, mention “pickleball” in Morristown and you are sure to stir passionate responses, pro and con. On Tuesday, the town council heard from both camps, at a meeting where complaints about the annual Verizon 5K race also were aired. Residents living near Lidgerwood Park thanked the administration for announcing this month that it intends to relocate three noisy pickleball courts.
“Most of last year I couldn’t really spend much time outside because there was so much frequent play and the noise is just grating on the nerves,” said Keith Survell, whose Erskine Drive property is within feet of the courts.
Ardent pickleballers from other parts of town lobbied to keep the courts right where they are. Contending the courts are not very busy, they touted the popular sport’s health and social benefits and downplayed its constant thwacking.
“Noise is just a sound that someone finds offensive. I don’t find the pickleball sound offensive,” said Ed Peters, who resides out of earshot on Washington Street. He said the game hooked him in 2022, at beginners’ lessons the town hosted on Lidgerwood tennis courts.
Peters said the town is flushing tax dollars–more than $132,000 to convert a tennis court and add sound-dampening fences last year –down the toilet, only to spend more later to replace the courts.
“Noise is in the ears of the beholder, and when you live near a park, you gotta expect that,” he insisted.
Amanda Goodwin politely differed. For 13 years, she and her husband, Keith Survell, have not minded the sounds of tennis or baseball or town movie nights or town Easter Egg hunts (next one: April 12) next door at Lidgerwood. But since pickleball arrived, she said, the couple has had to call town officials to lock the courts because of games and loud music at 6:30 am. On summer evenings, pickleball continues until the sky is pitch black, she added.
Source: https://morristowngreen.com/2025/03/26/pickleball-anyone-the-question-enlivens-morristown-council-meeting/