As I’m sure you are aware, Pickleball is growing in popularity. To meet this demand the tennis and basketball courts at the Walter Reed Community Center have become a major site for constant pickleball. Neighbors in close proximity to the park have raised a number of issues that need to be addressed:

• Noise from pickleball has become a major issue, particularly as players begin their games very early in the morning (before 6 a.m.) and continue well past the 10 p.m. limit, seven days a week.
• When the community center is closed, neighbors believe that pickleball players are urinating behind the center, behind trees, and near children’s playground areas.
• Residents are now discouraged from playing basketball or tennis, now that their areas are being monopolized by pickleball.
• The street surrounding the Walter Reed facility has never had a lot of parking. This activity also has impacted the neighborhood with increased demand to use the courts since most of the players are not using public transportation

 It appears there was no or little outreach to the community. With our increased population growth, the issue of noise will become a major concern to our neighborhoods.

Recommendation

Columbia Heights Civic Association recommends that the courts are closed at the same time as the facilities managing the courts. This will ensure County staff will be there during playtime to minimize any conflict.

We recommend the same hours as the Basketball Hours.
From the County’s website.
Outdoor Basketball Hours
Sun., Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat. 2 p.m. – sunset.
Tues. & Thurs. 2-5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to sunset.

– Planning for the up Coming Annual Meeting, plus outreach