At least one neighbor in the Green Acres Park area of western Salisbury Township is in a pickle over the pickleball courts there.

“The pickleball courts are right in front of my house,” the township resident said.

The resident, who says he lives across the street from Green Acres Park, wants the township to do something about the noise he says is associated with playing the popular game.

“The noise complaints are definitely impacting neighbors,” township Commissioner Alok Patnaik said at the Sept. 28 township meeting workshop when the topic “Discuss pickleball noise complaints at Green Acres Park” was raised.

“It’s the noise from the paddleboard hitting the balls,” Patnaik said, who represents Ward 5, which includes Green Acres.

“It’s both ... the noise and the yelling,” the resident said at the Sept. 28 workshop, requesting a reporter for The Press not include his name in an article.

Pickleball is played during park hours, roughly 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., on four courts in Green Acres and two courts in Lindberg Park. Pickleball courts use began in February in Green Acres.

“All my neighbors are saying the same thing: The noise is excessive,” the resident said.

“I hear it in my house. It starts at 7:30 in the morning,” the resident said.

“You have four courts. You have 16 people. It’s not just the noise of the pickleball courts,” continued the resident, adding, ”I counted as many as 28 cars parked right up to my driveway.”

The resident said he seeks pickleball sound mitigation.

“I contacted [state] Rep. [Peter] Schweyer [D-134th]. He was in support of reducing the sound,” the resident said.

“I moved here 17 years ago. It’s unsettling,” the resident said.

“This is a one-and-one-half acre park in a neighborhood. You put this right in front of my house,” the resident said.

“The noise ordinance wouldn’t be able to stop the batting. If it’s during that time frame, it can’t be enforced,” Attorney Jason A. Ulrich, partner, Gross McGinley LLP, Salisbury Township solicitor, said.

“We can have our township engineer look into it,” township Commissioner Alex Karol said.

“Let’s have our township engineer take a look at it,” Ulrich agreed.

Salisbury Township Consulting Engineer Stan Wojciechowski, Barry Isett & Associates, Inc., was not at the Sept. 28 township workshop.

“When we built two [pickleball courts] at Lindberg, we should have put in four [pickleball courts], Salisbury Township Director of Public Works James Levernier said.

“There are plans for pickleball courts in Laubach [Park],” Levernier said. “It’s very popular.

“In Lindberg, we’ve had no complaints,” Levernier said.

“I think we should have it [pickleball] in every [township] park,” Patnaik said.

“The call volume has declined,” Salisbury Township Chief of Police Donald Sabo said of Green Acres.

After the workshop, Patnaik said to a reporter for The Press concerning pickleball, “This is very age-appropriate for residents of our township.”

Noise complaints about the sound of pickleball games are not confined to Salisbury Township.

According to online reports, when the hard pickleball paddle strikes the hard ball, it produces a sharp popping sound.

The constant sound during play has generated conflict between pickleball court operators and nearby property owners.

The noise, combined with the rapid rise in pickleball’s popularity, has produced a backlash against the sport in communities across the United States, according to online reports.

In Portland, Ore., residents living near pickleball courts said they could not hold conversations inside their homes because of noise from the pickleball courts. Some described the noise as “trauma-inducing.”

Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two (singles) or four (doubles) players hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball with paddles over a 34-inch-high net.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game on Bainbridge Island, Wash. Between 1965 and 2020, pickleball became a popular sport in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, pickleball was named the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. It’s estimated to have more than 4.8 million players.

There are pickleball tournaments, including the U.S. National Championships and U.S. Open Tournament, and two professional tours and one professional league.

The October Salisbury Township municipal meeting schedule in the meeting room of the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave., includes: 7 p.m. Oct. 11, zoning hearing board; 7 p.m. Oct. 12, board of commissioners; 7 p.m. Oct. 18, environmental advisory council; 7 p.m. Oct. 25, planning commission and 7 p.m. Oct. 26, board of commissioners.