Bayfront Park doesn't need more pickleball courts

Like clockwork we can expect to read whiny editorial letters regarding the injustice of pickleball/tennis inequity on Longboat Key. 

The latest from a vocal pickleball voice is an encouragement for the authorities to use $100,000 from the St. Regis settlement to construct additional pickleball courts at Bayfront Park.

Many outspoken squeaky wheels keep finding more wheels needing attention. It’s too bad they can’t be happy with what the town has already provided, including a substantial amount of new parking due to pickleball pressures. It’s wonderful there is this new growing activity; however there is no reason for pickleball to dominate our charming park.

This sport is not completely non-invasive and without controversy. Those of us who live nearby expecting to watch morning wildlife or view a peaceful, beautiful sunrise must often tolerate the 7 a.m. pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pounding disruptions. It’s amazing how the sound travels.

According to a recent article, the most grating sound in the entire athletic ecosystem may be the staccato pop, pop, pop, emanating from pickleball courts.

Pickleball players get to go home to their peace and quiet. We neighbors get to listen to this repetition all day. Perhaps, if they want to be good neighbors, they will consider the required use of green-zone-approved quiet paddles only.

Please say no to more pickleball courts at Bayfront Park! I’d hate to see a future pickleball enthusiast drooling to suggest a renaming of the park to Bayfront Pickleball and Other Stuff Park.

— Ann Breslin, Longboat Key