Doug Myers said he took up pickleball as one of his “retirement activities” after a 42-year career in banking, nearly 30 of which were in Chicago. The Lincoln Park resident said he saw people playing pickleball at nearby Bauler Park last summer and started reading about it before giving it a shot himself.

“I really got into it,” he said.

The sport that is taking the globe by storm — especially since it was a safer and more fun way to stay active during the COVID-19 pandemic — had found its way into Lincoln Park. In the last few years, the Chicago Park District lined three pickleball courts on a portion of concrete at Bauler Park that used to be a basketball court. The city gave players designated times and days to play, and all seemed well in the Lincoln Park pickleball world.

Until recently, that is, when the pickleball battle moved off the courts and into the neighborhood.

Disgruntled residents unhappy with the noise and the pickleball takeover of the “unique wide-open blacktop area” launched a petition to boot pickleball from the park and restore it to “a safe and open space for kids to play in Lincoln Park,” according to the petition which has garnered more than 780 signatures.

While organizers could not be reached for comment, a social media post from the Families For Bauler Instagram account said that the Chicago Park District and the Bauler Park advisory council “both failed to engage the community in the decision-making process to install the courts.”

“The confrontations, complaints and frustrations are a direct result of this dishonest and unethical action,” wrote Leslie Miller, who started the anti-pickleball petition, in a March 10 update on the online petition. “Moreover, this dispute has created an atmosphere of tension and unpredictability that feels unsafe for children.”

Pickleball players have countered with their own petition in support of the game, which has attracted nearly 700 signatures so far. Myers said issues with pickleball at the park seem to stem from wanting control, and he can understand some of the counter pickleball points, such as the noise complaints, but not necessarily agree with them.

“It’s a public park,” Myers said. “They have neighborhood events there, bands have played there. Parks can be noisy, so it’s not really a valid point.”

The latest development in the dispute happened Monday, when some players, including Myers, saw a new sign from the Chicago Park District posted up by the pickleball courts at Bauler Park that had new hours of play, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The change has yet to be reflected on Bauler Park’s website, however, which still shows the hours to be noon to 2 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Lisa Davis, a pickleball player at Bauler, started the petition to keep pickleball at the park. The Streeterville resident, who used to live in Lincoln Park, said pickleball at Bauler Park was a way of forming a “phenomenal community” and great for mental and physical health. She started playing at Bauler in August 2021, she said.

“Our group really solidified this past summer with really amazing friendships forming and they even did a pickleball memorial for my mom when she passed away suddenly in October, which was really touching,” Davis said. “It’s just a great group of people. The courts at Bauler really gave people an outlet to play pickleball, be social and improve their health. We’re not asking for much.”

Miller said the petitioners take “no issue with the sport of pickleball or the Park District’s efforts to build more courts throughout the city,” but the goal is to have all three pickleball courts removed from Bauler Park by springtime “so we can return the playground to the children of our neighborhood.”

“Ideally, it would be nice to find compromise, but the pickleball players have repeatedly demonstrated an unwillingness to abide by the posted times and rules, therefore pushing the kids out of the playground,” Miller wrote.

Davis and Myers both said they have only played pickleball at the park during the allotted times on the specified days.

“We want to coexist peacefully, be friendly with all the neighbors and all the kids,” Davis said.

Myers said he was “happy” with two hours in the day and two in the evening because it was a good compromise. He said “it’s confusing” because half of the park is still a dedicated children’s playground round-the-clock while the other half is only in use for pickleball for four hours a day, six days a week, and even when pickleball is being played, there are kids out playing.

“Now the Park District, as of yesterday, has even further restricted our playing without any consultation or communication to us,” he said. “We went from having five hours a day to having four, and now we have four, but all the people who play in the evenings and on Saturdays are left out. Hardworking people play in the evenings or on Saturdays because they can’t play during the day.”

In a statement Tuesday, the Park District said it “is committed to balancing the needs and interests of the community surrounding Bauler Park. The district recently implemented a plan to dedicate space for pickleball at Bauler Park, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. With the exception of these designated times, the space will remain open for other recreational activities during normal park hours. The Park District will continue to work with the community to identify additional locations to support the sport.”

The Park District announced last fall 50 new pickleball courts would be constructed in parks across Chicago by 2025, according to the statement, bringing the pickleball court count over 100 and “addressing the demand for the city’s and nation’s fast-growing sport.”

“It can be very physical,” Myers said. “It’s a great exercise and aerobic activity. And I have met more people through pickleball in the last year probably than I’ve ever met in Chicago. I mean, especially in the neighborhood, everybody works and it’s just hard to meet people. This pickleball group has been a great sense of community.”

Myers said the pickleball league he is a part of has around 600 names of people that have played at one time or another, but the group that plays more regularly at the park is about 20 people, including himself. He said he plays four times a week typically six to 10 games per session.

“It’s not just a children’s park,” Myers said. “It’s a neighborhood park, and we pay taxes just like everybody else. I think there’s room for everyone, to both enjoy a children’s park and play pickleball.”

sahmad@chicagotribune.com