North Saanich mayor Peter Jones says the permanent closure of pickleball courts at Wain Park was justified because nearby residents have been subjected to "harassment and bullying" by some of the pickleball court users.
Jones joined C-FAX 1070's Al Ferraby for an interview on Thursday to explain why the district went ahead with this controversial move.
He says that the two main reasons for closing the courts were the noise caused by playing pickleball and the harassing behaviour of "a small number pickleball players".
Council moved to close the courts within a week of council voting 5-1 in favour of closing them. The mayor says that they moved the closure date up from te originally proposed date in September because leaving them open for the summer would have "ramped up the pressure and harassment of residents".
Listen to mayor Peter Jones' full interview here:
A petition against the closure of the pickleball courts has over 1,600 signatures as of Thursday morning.
The Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association are speaking out against the district, saying that they didn't rushed the decision and didn't receive enogh public input.
Association president Brad Watson told C-FAX on Tuesday that mayor Jones has had a private agenda to close the pickleball venue for some time.
Listen to full conversation between Watson and C-FAX's Al Ferraby here: