Pending townwide study, keep Rideout courts
Major changes to a long-established neighborhood park like Rideout should follow careful planning and broad community input.
As 30-year abutters of Rideout Park, we deeply appreciate the Recreation Commission’s efforts to maintain and improve this cherished West Acton resource.
We recently learned that the planned resurfacing of the tennis and basketball courts at Emerson and Rideout Parks now includes a proposal to convert Rideout’s tennis courts into dedicated pickleball courts.
Options include (1) keeping the courts as is, (2) creating eight dedicated pickleball courts, or (3) six pickleball courts and one tennis court. While resurfacing is welcome, the process and potential impact of eliminating any of the current multi-use courts — which now accommodate both tennis and pickleball — raise serious concerns.
- Lack of comprehensive planning: Acton does need more pickleball courts, but no townwide analysis or public process has been conducted to determine the best locations. Major changes to a long-established neighborhood park like Rideout should follow careful planning and broad community input.
- Noise impacts: Studies show multiple pickleball courts can exceed 70 decibels within 100 feet — well above residential limits. Other towns, including Hingham and Wellesley, require 400- to 800-foot setbacks or sound barriers. Rideout’s courts are only 40-60 feet from homes, and current plans include no sound mitigation.
- Equity and accessibility: Rideout’s mixed-use courts serve both tennis and pickleball players, many of whom walk from nearby neighborhoods. Converting them exclusively to pickleball would remove that balance and eliminate convenient, walkable access to tennis for West Acton residents.
- Parking and lighting: Rideout already faces parking shortages during athletic events. An eight-court pickleball complex could more than double player volume, worsening congestion. Proposed lighting conduits could further extend play and noise into late evenings.
We join 40-plus abutting Rideout neighbors in urging the Recreation Commission to proceed with option 1 — repaving and keeping the courts as is — until a Acton-wide needs and impact study is completed.
Jean and Alexander Easterday
Maple Street
