DeKalb County

DeKalb Co. city trying new solutions for noise caused by pickleball games

AVONDALE ESTATES, Ga. — New regulations were approved in Avondale Estates as they attempt to cut the noise and the complaints that are caused around pickleball courts off Dartmouth Avenue.

But the community is split on whether or not the new rules will actually work.

From inside City Hall to the Pickleball courts off Dartmouth Avenue in Avondale Estates, there is hope that new regulations approved Wednesday evening will at least reduce the noise that some neighbors who live nearby aren’t thrilled with.

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The new rules include using only softer balls designed to reduce noise, a recommendation to use noise-reducing paddles, requiring reservations, and charging non-residents $5 for usage.

“I’m not fully aligned with it but I think it is what it is. It’s the best that we are going to be able to do,” Commissioner Lionel Laratte told Channel 2′s Candace McCowan.

However, there has been a mixed reaction to the new regulations.

Some say the softer balls won’t play the same.

Others say the softer balls will solve the issue.

And those who live closest to the courts, aren’t sure it will make a difference at all.

They wanted more done to reduce the hours, especially in the warmer months with long days.

It’s not just the noise from the actual balls but the crowds the increasingly popular pickleball brings with it.

But for now, everyone will wait and see if the new regulations solve the noise pickle the courts have caused.

“We got neighbors that are majorly impacted so a bit of a compromise,” Mayor Jonathan Elmore said.

The City of Avondale Estates will spend money to buy plenty of the softer balls.

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