Pickleball Plans For Red Bank's East Side Park Topic of Meeting

RED BANK, NJ — Pickleball may soon have a regulation court in Red Bank.

The third phase of plans to upgrade East Side Park includes a court for the popular game. The plans can be reviewed by the public at an informational session on Monday.

This phase will include improvements to the tennis and basketball courts at the park and will outline plans for the first pickleball court in town, according to Recreation Director Oscar Salinas.

Salinas said some pickleball games use a tennis court there, but the net height isn't regulation.

The informational session will be Monday, Feb. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Borough Council chambers, according to the borough.

The public can review the plans and offer comments, or ask questions of the engineer on the project.

Salinas said pickleball is getting increasingly popular and there is a demand for facilities.

"But there are positives and negatives," he said in an interview Friday.

He noted that the game is played with wooden paddles and a plastic ball, so there is a distinctive noise when the ball is hit.

The park is bounded by residential streets, so the town wants to balance that with popular demand for the game.

"We just want to hear from the residents," Salinas said.

He said pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.

According to USA Pickleball, the "rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn, but can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players."

East Side Park is located between Harrison and Mechanic streets, close to Fair Haven, in a residential area, Salinas said.

Apart from the game facilities, the park has a playground and a soccer field too, he said.

Salinas said Phase One of the project built permanent restroom facilities. Phase Two improved fencing and the softball field. These projects were completed over about two years, he added.

Darren McConnell, interim borough administrator, said this phase is funded by a $100,000 Monmouth County Open Space grant. The borough will then match it with approximately $100,000 of its funds.

He said CME Associates, is the engineering company.

"We hope to go out to bid in the coming weeks so it can ultimately be awarded and construction can begin this spring," McConnell said.

Use of the facilities is all handled by reservation through the borough Recreation Department, Salinas said.

Learn more about what the department has to offer at its borough website.