City unveils natural Westmount Park playing fields plan

After considering feedback from the group, as well as opinions and comments received from hundreds of residents over the past nine months, council unveiled a diagram of the final plan during its monthly public meeting last Monday.

During a previous meeting on Nov. 26, city council had appointed the 12-member advisory panel, which was co-chaired by Councillor Nicole Forbes, who is Commissioner of Recreation and Community Events, and Councillor Cynthia Lulham, who represents District 7, which includes Westmount Park.

The City said it created the advisory group "as part of an ongoing effort to find a balanced solution that would reflect the views and needs of the entire Westmount community."

The playing fields issue generated controversy over the past year because of concern by some residents that Westmount would opt to use synthetic turf on some fields in Westmount Park. This week's announced plan calls for natural grass throughout.

According to City documents, the plan includes the following elements:

• In the lower field area, a full-sized soccer field will be established, enclosed by a fence hidden by a hedge on the east, south and west, and by landscaping to the north.

• The lower field area directly in front of Westmount Park School will be left open, but will be used for City programs as needed.

• The entire lower playing field area will be reconstructed and equipped with a new underground drainage system.

• The upper field along Melville Avenue will continue to be used for soccer during the spring season only. Temporary goal posts will be used and removed once City programming has ended.

• Mixed shrubbery will be installed along Melville Avenue between Melbourne Avenue and de Maisonneuve Boulevard to prevent errant soccer balls from rolling onto the street.

Plans will be finalized once the City administration has met with consultants to work out the details.

In a press release this week, the City says that in order to avoid undue inconvenience, work on the playing fields will take place in July and August of the coming year, once soccer programming is complete and students at Westmount Park School have concluded the year. The project will cost approximately $1 million and is included in Westmount's 2008-2009-2010 capital works program.

"After two years of being on council, I'm really happy to present this," Forbes said, after explaining the plan. "I think it's a nice compromise. We have open space. The school is very happy."

However, according to Forbes, not all aspects, such as parking on Melville, have been worked out. Lulham confirmed that diagonal parking at the top of Melville could end up for residents only. "Many of the people who come to use the field drive from outside the community," she said. "We feel that having resident-only parking there will help that."