City of Ottawa lays out planned measures to mitigate noise from pickleball

People play picklenball at the Amberwood Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, On. May 26, 2020. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

The City of Ottawa has released its draft outdoor tennis and pickleball strategy, as the latter sport grows in popularity.

The document, available on Engage Ottawa, says the growth of pickleball in North America has created some challenges due to pickleball sharing court space with tennis. The city has 315 outdoor tennis courts and 172 outdoor pickleball courts, with shared courts counted as one tennis and one pickleball court each. Staff expect Ottawa will have 24 new outdoor tennis courts and 39 new outdoor pickleball courts by 2031.

The strategy looks at several aspects, including court standards, access, and infrastructure but also gives particular attention to noise mitigation from pickleball specifically. Residents who live near courts have complained about the sound from the paddles hitting the plastic balls. BAP Acoustics Ltd. were engaged as technical advisors to do research that would guide the City of Ottawa’s direction to manage noise from outdoor pickleball play.

The strategy lays out guidelines for reducing noise from pickleball, including minimum distances between court lines and residential property lines, and prioritizing new courts around areas with obstacles between the courts and homes, such as berms or foliage, to reduce noise. The maximum noise limit is set at 50 decibels.

Setback distances vary between 35 and 175 metres, depending on how many courts would be available and the hardness of the ground surrounding them, with greater setbacks required for hard ground such as pavement. Noise barriers are not part of the city’s base level of service provision, the report says but could be considered on a “site-by-site basis.” Signs will also be used to enforce playtime limits on existing outdoor pickleball courts.

The draft strategy says preference should be given to sites where there is acoustically soft ground (e.g. grass, foliage) between the pickleball courts and bordering residential property lines and wherever possible, pickleball courts should be sited to take advantage of naturally occurring terrain obstacles, such as behind a berm. Situations should also be avoided where residences or the upper-level dwellings of high-rise buildings will overlook the courts.

The remainder of the draft strategy looks at public use of courts, such as wait times, maximum play time, and lighting, nets, and court surfacing materials. Of note, the report says no new practice walls are planned to be installed, and existing walls will be repaired when possible.

Applications to add pickleball lines to existing tennis courts are reviewed twice annually, in March and September.

Residents are invited to share feedback regarding the Draft Outdoor Tennis and Pickleball Strategy by email to [e-mail] until Feb. 25.

The full strategy is expected to be completed by the summer.