Residents living in the Heritage Manor complex in the Oakridge neighborhood are fed up with noise the nearby pickleball court is creating. The complex is within a few dozen meters of the Oakridge Racquet Club courts. “All you hear is that pop, pop, pop all the time,” said Denis Hamel, whose balcony faces the courts. “You can’t sit on the deck here and talk.” Hemel and his wife moved in last year and noticed the noise immediately. “We basically just keep the doors closed because it’s too noisy.” Raymond Ehrhardt has lived in the building since 2013. “We don’t come out here on our balcony at all because you can’t hear (each other), we can hear it in the house, and it’s horrible,” said Ehrhardt. CTV News has reached out to the Oakridge Community Association for a comment but has not heard back. A staff member who helps oversea the Oakridge Community Centre and Oakridge Racquet Club told CTV the association has worked to help with the noise by putting up sound barriers on the court’s fence while instituting hours of play from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ‘Sufficient’ Kevin Erwin, plays on the courts several times a week and sympathizes with the homeowner and renters who have to deal with the noise but feels the measures the community association has taken are enough. “I think this is sufficient, 9 a.m., the noise itself — I understand first thing in the morning, but during the weekdays, most people are gone on the weekends,” he said. “It could be a little noisy,” he added. “I know from being outside the courts listening to it. If I’m walking up here later in the day, I can hear the noise — but I think 9 a.m. start is sufficient.” CTV News has reached out to the City of Calgary on the matter and is waiting for a response. In May of 2025 the city shut down a pickleball court in the southeast Calgary community of Walden after it was determined it was too close to other properties. A notice at the time said the court did not meet the required setback distance of 80 metres from the properties in a residential area. “In response to noise complaints and to align with the recommended setback standards, the court will be removed,” the notice said. Hamel has brought his complaints forward to the community association suggesting stronger noise barriers, softer paddles and a quiet ball but he did not hear back. He also reached to his ward’s councillor, Rob Ward, who told him he was looking into the situation with the Oakridge Community Association. He was also told the association is on break for the summer. “It’s going to be until next year until they do anything,” he said.
