Letters to the editor

Give us a choice!

To the editor

Week after week, I see people complaining about the plan to install

artificial turf in one section of Westmount Park, but I haven't yet seen a solution to the problem this measure is trying to solve.

The problem, which many have seemed to have forgotten, is that Westmount's facilities cannot handle the ever-increasing number of Westmount children who want to play soccer. I played soccer in Westmount for 10 years and have been reffing for five, and the fields have certainly gotten worse. Just a little bit of rain, and mud and pools of water cover the field. I haven't had to call a game due to field conditions, but I've certainly thought about it.

Clearly, we have a problem. So what are the solutions? One is to

install artificial turf so our kids can play soccer. Another is to keep the grass, which either leads to some children not being able to play and instead sitting at home Saturday mornings watching cartoons or

playing video games, or to us overusing the fields, leading to more mud, pools of water and dangerous conditions for the kids, and eventually the destruction of the grass some are trying to save. With obesity as it is, surely there's room for reasonable debate.

But that's what this project has lacked: debate. Instead, we've gotten

a one-sided letter-fest, in which people have criticized the proposal,

bringing up points from the serious to the outlandish, but after months

of discussions I have yet to see anyone propose an alternate solution.

My mind certainly isn't made up on this issue, but with no solution to

the overcrowding problem of our children's sports teams, I don't seem to have another choice.

So give me a choice. Propose a plan that lets kids play soccer and "saves the park" and I'll support it.

My park is waiting. I'm waiting.

Nicholas Smith

Burton Avenue

We were taken for granted

To the editor:

I know you're supposed to turn the other cheek, but this is surely supererogatory: Westmount voters massively re-elected an MNA who was, to put it mildly, discreetly invisible (and inaudible) while the

Agglom was being foisted on us. And, during the election campaign, all he could say about it was to recommend cooperation with the central city.

Once again we have proof that politicians respect only the voters they can't take for granted.

J. Turgeon

Mountt Stephen Avenue



Environmental checks

To the editor:

We have to do all we can to provide for healthy kids, so the decisions surrounding providing more soccer facilities are not easy. The many interests have to be balanced and this can be done only after we know all the facts.

That is why I support the fullest possible examination of the artificial turf proposal and welcome council’s delay while it seeks expert advice.

I unearthed a disturbing analysis undertaken in Rutgers University laboratories of the artificial surface used in a New York City park in response to a similar situation of over-demand for soccer pitches.

We are told that the composition used by the manufacturer is different. As far as I know, no new analysis has been done. It is essential that a similar evaluation be made. This should be by an independent authority and council should not be relying on the manufacturer.

Like many others, I am anxiously awaiting the report that council has commissioned on the environmental issues. These have to be balanced against the recreational demand.

Once all the possible facts are available to the public, I hope there will be a discussion balancing the conflicting factors including all the aesthetic and social implications.

There is merit in allowing a separation of the facts from the comments. I hope council will not rush the process. The artificial surface would not be for a single season, but would be there for a decade or more.

Let’s get it right — and safe!

Jennifer Patton

Holton Avenue