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Residents urge Lisle trustees to act on pickleball noise at Abbey Wood Park; request quiet balls and sound study
Summary
Residents of Abbey Wood and nearby neighborhoods told trustees their lives have been disrupted by pickleball noise and asked the board to require quieter balls, restart a village-approved noise study and press the Park District to act. Trustees agreed to discuss the study with the village manager.
Several residents told the Village of Lisle Committee of the Whole that persistent pickleball noise from Abbey Wood Park has disrupted sleep and health, and asked trustees to press the Lisle Park District for mitigation including quieter balls and a formal noise study.
"Pickleball noise might seem innocent at the first glance... The sharp, ultra short impulsive pops of each hit can reach 120 decibel quartzite, and it's right outside our home," said Vitus Matalowska, a resident of 6282 Timberview Drive. He said he is a heart patient and described health impacts and stress from chronic noise exposure, and said the Park District has been unresponsive to residents' proposals such as quieter balls.
Matalowska said he has already paid for a private noise study and that it recommended court relocation; he told trustees the village-approved noise study has been delayed despite quotes being obtained. "Why the noise study that the village itself approved is being delayed even though quotes were obtained?" he asked.
Margarita Matalowskis, who said she lives in Abbey Wood Park, voiced similar concerns and urged the board to act: "We are not asking to shut down pickleball. We are asking to make it safe and fair for everyone... We want more pickleball, not less, but not at the cost of residents' health and peace." She and others referenced quiet-ball technology used in other cities.
Trustee Seidlak (as recorded in the meeting transcript) said she would raise the question of rescheduling a noise study with staff. "Let me bring it back and talk to the village manager about it," she said, noting she had discussed homeowners' privately funded study and that quotes for the village study existed.
Director Garvey of the Park District was mentioned by speakers as having dismissed quiet-ball effectiveness in an email to residents; neither the Park District nor Director Garvey made a presentation at the meeting. Village Manager Cook was named as someone trustees planned to consult about whether a village-funded study would be timely and appropriate.
Ending: Trustee Seidlak said she would consult with Village Manager Cook and return to the board on whether to place a village-sponsored noise study back on an agenda. No formal motion or vote occurred at the meeting.
