'Shrill' noise from Chilliwack pickleball courts forces neighbour to leave city for the summer - Action News
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British Columbia

'Shrill' noise from Chilliwack pickleball courts forces neighbour to leave city for the summer

Residents in Chilliwack, B.C., say the noise from nearby pickleball courts is too much, and has even forced one man to leave the city for the summer for some peace and quiet.

Harpreet Dhawan said noise is 'breaking' her family

Two pairs of players play pickleball outdoors at a pickleball court.
Noise from a nearby pickleball court similar to the one pictured in this stock photo has become disruptive for some residents in Chilliwack, B.C. (bhpix/Shutterstock)

Harpreet Dhawan says the noise coming from a pickleball court just a few metres away from her Chilliwack, B.C., home is tearing her family apart.

Dhawan lives near Kinsmen Park, home to several pickleball courts.

She said the noise that comes from the sport is unbearable, and has forced her husband, who often works from home, to relocate to India for the summer to get away from it.

"They're just breaking my family."

The noise, she said, is "constant" and "shrill."

"I can't even sit in my house with a closed window. The whole summer when there was a heat wave going on, we had to sit inside with a closed window ... because of the pickleball court."

a pickleball court net and the sun shining through the trees
The city installed pickleball courts near the Dhawans' home in 2018, after they bought it, without consulting with residents of the neighbourhood. Now, the noise is causing problems for the family and other residents. (James Mulleder/CBC)

Her neighbour, Gurpreet Junja, agrees that the noiseis excessive.

"My house is a little bit back [from the courts], so I still hear the noise because my bedroom is here, my parents live with me and they still hear the noise of the ball and racket, tick tock, tick tock all the time," he said.

Solutions proposed

The Dhawans moved into their home in 2017. The courts were built in 2018, and their surfaces were upgraded in 2021.

The coupletried playing pickleballonce, but said the noise was too much.

Dhawan and her husband have brought their concerns to the local pickleball club and to the City of Chilliwack, but haven't been satisfied with solutions proposed.

Kirstin Stuart, a member of the Chilliwack Pickleball Club and who lives nearby, said she went to the Dhawan's home to offer suggestions on how pickleball could continue with minimal disruption, including offering to have Dhawan's husband's workspace soundproofed.

A woman stands on a deck above a pickleball court
Harpreet Dhawan stands on her deck, overlooking the pickleball courts which she says is causing her and her husband so much grief. (James Mulleder/CBC)

Dhawan said that would mean her husband would be a prisoner in one room of the house.

She added that another person suggested they sell their home and leave the area, and even offered to pay the realtor fees.

"How dare you? I love my house. Look at how beautiful it is. That's why I bought this house and I love it."

A woman stands on a pickleball court
Pickleball player Kirstin Stuart has visited the Dhawans to try to come up with a solution to their noise complaints. (James Mulleder/CBC)

The hours players can access the court have been limited to 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Recently, players were also notified that after 4 p.m., they had to use a foam ball.

But Stuart said there's no such thing.

"There isn't a foam ball that we use for pickleball," she said. "So we're just playing with our softest plastic."

In an email to CBC, Chilliwack Pickleball Club president Lyle Simpson said he has asked members to limit their use of those particular courts.

"However, I have no control over what the public or club members do when they are not at our club facility," he wrote.

Lack of consultation

Dhawan is concerned that the city never engaged with neighbours when it decided to install the courts a few years ago.

Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove confirmed there was no consultation, because that's not something the city typically does when it comes to parks.

However, he said a new facility for racket sports is in the works, one that is not in a residential area and that he expects to be complete next year.

A sign that reads hours of operation 9am to 8pm No excessive noise racket sports only courts available on a first come, first served basis share courts with others
A sign at the Kinsmen Park pickleball courts in Chilliwack, B.C., explains the rules for using the courts, which includes minimizing noise. (James Mulleder/CBC)

When it's done, the courts near Dhawan's home will be shut down.

"I apologize to the neighbourhood," he said.

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel. They will get their peace back."

With files from Sohrab Sandhu