North Saanich council shot down a motion that would re-open the Wain Park pickleball courts this week.
The motion would have directed staff to look into sound baffling for the courts, after a study was done at Oak Bay’s Carnarvon Park into acoustic panels and their effectiveness.
The motion was defeated and council instead decided to explore Blue Heron Park as an alternative location.
"And people were ticked," says Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association President Brad Watson. "At the end of this vote people were yelling out 'shame on you.'"
Watson says the sound study suggested sound mitigation reduces the noise of the game so much as to be comparable to tennis.
He says that establishing new courts at Blue Heron Park is currently estimated to cost $500,000, much more than the sound baffling that could cost approximately $30,000.