Braintree, Massachusetts to spend nearly $19,000 to make pickleball courts quieter
BRAINTREE - It is the calm before the storm in Braintree. Because when winter weather fades away, peace and quiet on Wynot Road goes with it.
Pickleball has exploded in Braintree, from just 12 players a decade ago to nearly 600 last season. The city's eight courts next to Hollis Field can accommodate 32 players at once, with many more waiting their turn.
"I don't like being the neighborhood Karen but it's just too much. I can't enjoy my house. I have to wear earplugs, headpieces - Just to relax," said neighbor Mike Megley, who's lived in his dead end home for 60 years.
The founding members understand the craze since COVID: easy, inexpensive exercise outside.
"Getting together, making new friends, and getting the exercise we all need especially as we get older," said player Jan Barris.
But they do want to make their fun less of a nightmare for neighbors.
"They are acoustic panels. You hang them on the fence. It's two layers. One is like a hard plastic, and it stops the sound," explained player Janice Walsh. "Then there's like a quilted plastic, it's softer and that actually absorbs the sound."
Sound which, according to the neighbors' study, measured up to 80 decibels - similar to truck traffic, an alarm clock, or garbage disposal.
"Just hoping we can come to a reasonable solution. We don't expect it to ever be quiet here, but we don't expect 13 hours a day seven days a week. The only break you get is rain," Megley said.
Pickleball season begins April 1. The paneling, which the city approved for just less than $19,000, will hopefully be installed by mid-May.