Synthetic turf opponents present 1,000-strong petition to council

Councillor Cynthia Lulham, who was chairing the meeting during Mayor Karin Marks's absence, said council had not as yet had a chance to meet and discuss the turf issue.

"We will not be making a decision before our next council meeting," said Lulham. "No decision has been made and no discussions have been had." At the same meeting, a petition with nearly 60 signatures of parents and staff at the CPE Narnia daycare centre was also presented.

A document, addressed to Mayor Karin Marks and signed by Patrick Barnard of Save the Park, Alanna Dow, president of the Westmount Park School Council, and Caroline Kemp, president of CPE Narnia's board, listed seven reasons for rejecting synthetic turf.

Among them were the public response expressed at the May 16 consultation meeting, evidence of the turf's toxicity, its heat effect and odour, the importance of preserving Westmount's distinct character and the financial implications.

"We will energetically support the City in finding a viable comprehensive solution for the lower playing fields based on natural turf," said a statement attached as a preamble to the document. "We strongly reject any solution that involves placing synthetic turf in Westmount Park."

In their reasons for rejecting synthetic turf, the coalition said, "We do not distinguish between the hybrid or full synthetic options as they both contain significant volumes of synthetic turf." They also claim that at an October 2006 information session, "rejection of synthetic turf was nearly unanimous (one exception)."

Regarding toxicity, they said, "there is incontrovertible evidence that the rubber in these fields contain toxins and probable carcinogens." Synthetic turf's well-known heat effect "constitutes a significant health risk, especially for our youngest players," they added.

"… It will create a strong, negative microclimate in the area that will re-create in Westmount what has been reported in other urban areas i.e. a disproportionate concentration of urban heat stress on the most economically disadvantaged citizens, in this case the children of Westmount Park School." The coalition's members believe that the impact of synthetic turf's odour "has been grossly understated especially close to so many private dwellings."

They say that in Jeanne Mance Park, where artificial turf has been installed, "a rubber odour emanates from the surface and travels a considerable distance from the park. The odour will intensify in the summer months due to heat. This odour will have a noxious effect on the adjacent upper part of our park, current used for picnics, music and theatre in the park."

They maintain that synthetic turf would not be in line with the tradition of preserving Westmount's distinct character. "Westmount prides itself on its greenspaces and has provided leadership in environmentally responsible, forward-looking stewardship of public greenspace … The killing of all that is natural in this area to lay down a plastic and rubber imitation flies in the face of the priority Westmount has always given to preservation."

The coalition also points out the stress that will be placed on Westmount Park and the immediate neighbourhood by concentrating sports activities on synthetic turf and that the cost appears to have been understated.

"It is likely that over the 20-year span, it will be necessary to buy, finance and dispose of two fields, raising the projected cost of artificial turf to $4.9 million over 20 years. This makes the cost of artificial turf essentially double that of new natural turf fields that are resodded every year."