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Oriental’s Pickleball league is proposing an expansion to the tennis / pickleball court in Lupton Park; to hold more players and to fit tournaments. Some have concerns about the expansion. Park neighbor Eileen Daniel writes in:

We bought our home at 414 High Street, across the street from the Lupton Mini-park in June 2022, after falling instantly for the location where we can look out our front window, past the Crape Myrtles and through the large shade trees that flank the court.

One of the many special aspects of this village is its strong sense of community, a feeling we treasure. In the area where High Street and Third Avenue and Mildred wrap around the park, there is little to obstruct the sight lines to the nearest neighbors we first met, now friends – Laurie and George, Mark and Reneé, Mark D … Laurie W and Britni who have since moved away. Everyone looks out for one another and we can, literally, see one another’s homes through the lovely landscape.

Our corner is, for the most part, a restful place to spend time. Since we finished the gut and renovation work on our home in 2023, we added a large screen porch — a lovely peaceful spot to spend a morning or afternoon when the weather is nice, reading, listening to birds, even working (remotely, as Jim still does) … until the cars start lining up, one set of tires on the pavement, the other in the ditch. Folding chairs come out, a blower fires up to clear the court, voices carry, laughter resounds, there are shouts of instruction and encouragement and occasionally colorful language is directed toward someone who should have made a better play.

That’s all just fine by us.

We have come to appreciate and enjoy the “racket” and always look forward to the time when the weather cooperates and everyone shows up. It’s part of the village vibe we love. Plus, Ellen becomes morose when too many days go by with no action on the court. Squirrels are fun to watch but a dog needs variety.

Consider us supporters of the current tennis and pickleball play opportunity the mini-park offers and supporters of the good work done by the members of the Parks and Rec committee who keep it in beautiful shape for people to simply show up and enjoy. We spend half of our time in Oriental, and when we are here, we rarely leave the property save for walks about town. Children and adults, young and old can be seen in all areas of the park, nearly every day.

The rumor we heard and dismissed months ago, of a plan to remove trees, expand the court, build new walls and hold multiple tournaments 100 feet from our front door, is of great concern. Doubling capacity to hold more simultaneous tournaments is a far cry from the lower key, casual matches befitting a village park the size of Lupton.

Our personal objections aside, how do we, the greater community of the village of Oriental benefit from a pickleball expansion that will bring bigger crowds, more cars and a less welcoming environment for drive-by visitors?

We cannot envision an upside for anyone but those who play in tournaments and even some of those regulars have trouble lending support for such big changes to the beloved mini-park.

Sincerely,
James (Jim) Denmark & Eileen Daniel-Denmark
Oriental, NC

Laurie Sampson writes in:

At 8:45 am on Friday, March 27, our commissioners will hear a presentation from Pamlico Pickleball proposing expansion of the tennis/pickleball court in Ed Lupton Park.  I encourage residents who use the park to contact the commissioners and voice your opinion about this proposal. I personally am opposed to this expansion.

My husband, George Bailey, and I live at 803 Third Avenue, directly across from the tennis/pickleball court in the Edward Lupton minipark. We love seeing people of all ages enjoying the courts and the park itself. When our family visits, access to the park is one of their favorite aspects of every visit.

I am aware that there is an effort underway to expand the current tennis/pickleball court to accommodate two additional pickleball courts, allowing the local pickleball organization to host tournaments, something they cannot do with only two courts. As I understand the revised project at this point in time, the current court would be widened, adding five feet to each, thus eliminating their original proposal’s need to cut down some of the trees surrounding the court. 

Bob Miller, Tree Board Emeritis, recently pointed out that the trees surrounding the court would be impacted by the expansion. To protect the existing trees close to the court, Bob suggested hiring a root pruning outfit to prune all the trees as well as possibly installing an underground root prevention wall to contain future root growth, an expense not included in any proposal I have seen.  According to Bob, the trees would then have a better chance of long-term survival.  Those trees presently shade the existing court and make playing on it more pleasant in the heat of our hot spring/summer/fall days. I worry about jeopardizing the trees longevity by expanding the courts and pruning their roots.

Living across from the park, I have also observed the parking situation when just two pickleball courts are in use.  There have been many occasions when I had to perform a five-point turn, in reverse, to exit my own driveway due to cars parked half on and half off the road directly opposite my drive. My neighbors on both Mildred and High Street have shared the same complaint. With that in mind, if two more courts are added, parking for the additional players is another concern.

In December I attended the Town Hall meeting when the new commissioners were sworn in. At the end of that meeting, I was surprised to hear a presentation from the local pickleball organization about expanding the present courts so that tournaments could be held. Pat Allen mentioned he had heard about possible pavement repair planned in the spring for streets in town and suggested using the services of the paving company to expand the current tennis/pickleball court while they were in the area. I mentioned this to my husband, an avid tennis player since he was a child and a former high school tennis coach with nineteen years experience who also served on the New York State Boys Tennis Committee for ten years.  George noted that tennis court construction is a very specialized endeavor that should only be accomplished by a tennis-court contractor. The process is considerably more involved than standard paving. Hiring a local road repair crew to add onto the existing court doesn’t seem logical to me.

As a taxpayer, I commend the town for creating and maintaining such a beautiful park where I daily enjoy watching young mothers with their children, family gatherings, and regular gatherings of tennis and pickleball players who enjoy the shade of the big trees that very few courts can offer. To change its character radically by expanding the present court and encouraging court use by large groups of pickleball players even on an occasional basis would be a travesty and not in character to what I feel is the charm of Oriental.

I have recently heard that courts at Camp Seagull and Seafarer may be available for larger group use. I hope Pamlico Pickleball will investigate that option further and withdraw their current proposal.

In my opinion, the Edward Lupton minipark is not the place for two more pickleball courts. I encourage our commissioners to veto Pamlico Pickle’s proposal and leave Edward Lupton Park as the quiet, shady, beautiful park that it is now.

Laurie Sampson
Oriental, NC