Westmount Park turf report expected next month

For months, Save the Park!, a coalition made up largely of residents living on streets in the Westmount Park vicinity, have been urging the City to make public the report commissioned by the City of Westmount.

They have also been asking that a date be set for a public consultation meeting on the proposed installation of synthetic turf on the playing fields of the City's largest park.

The report was commissioned after concerns were expressed by some residents about a wide-ranging environmental impact they maintain the turf could have.

Some of those concerns appeared in an article published in the March/April issue of Canadian Geographic. It draws attention to what the magazine calls a 'Turf War,' involving an aspect of the redesign of Westmount Park.

"Save the Park! Believes artificial turf poses health risks to the residents, sports teams and students at nearby Westmount Park School who use the park year-round," writes Joanna Fultz, the article's author.

In the piece, health researcher Mavis Young of Melville Avenue says artificial turf is made of recycled rubber pellets, which contain heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

"Over time, PAHs can leach out into freshwater environments," she says. "Since much of Westmount Park is over an old river, this is a big concern."

Marks said the City is examining the background research prior to tabling the finalized version of the report next month. "We have continued to look at the issue of the artificial grass," she told residents and council members last week.

While acknowledging that City officials had not yet finished looking at all aspects of the report, she said they would by next month, when preparations for a public consultation process will also be made.

During question period, Marks was asked by Graham Donnelly of Melville Avenue whether residents will have any say in determining the consultation meeting's format. "They will have input into the meeting," she said. "The process will be determined. We will let people know what the process is and they will have an opportunity to participate."

Marilyn Gillies, also of Melville Avenue, said she and other residents were given the impression they would have more input than that in the process. "We would like it to be an evening where we are able to give our views on things," she said.

Gillies asked Marks why it has taken so long to make public the report, noting that it was initially received by Westmount in January. Marks said a lack of available information on certain issues caused the City to send the researchers back to find out more. "Where there were things that we felt were not complete, we asked them to do more," she said.

Answering a question from Patrick Barnard of Melville Avenue on how the City plans to proceed once it has made public the report, Marks replied, "When we get the final report we will look at a process, we will develop the process, and we will see how that information will be incorporated. It's not to hide the information. It's to see how it can best be used."