No shortage of opinion on turf issue

“I love Westmount Park," said Pat McCormack. "I would love to see it remain in its natural state. I wonder if there isn’t some other resolution to the problem of soccer. I don’t know if it's because we have way too many teams or we’re taking in outside teams to play, but I would like to see it remain in its natural state and find a resolution.”

“I’m against it," stated Elizabeth Dupéré, who also made a presentation during the meeting. "The mayor does not see the consequences that people who live around the street from the park will face. What the City wants is revenue and they aren’t listening to us. We are not Kirkland; we are not the West Island. Westmount is a green city, and it sets itself apart by being this way. And being so close to downtown, we want to keep it a green city.”

“Frankly the Westmount facilities relative to other facilities are substandard," said Lori Baird, who has coached in the soccer programme. "The reality is that we live in a dense urban area and these fields are multi-use.”

Alanna Dow, chair of the Westmount Park School council, spoke on behalf of her colleagues. “The vast majority of the school staff are opposed to artificial turf," she said. "We’re concerned about the health and safety issues: are these materials toxic over time? The studies haven’t been done, so we have nothing to use as a base for accepting the proposal. We are also concerned about the heat levels of artificial turf, because it has been proven that it gets much hotter than grass. We really resent how this administration has been using us. They’re essentially saying to us: ‘Well, you better be happy with this, 'cause if you don’t put artificial turf, you aren’t getting any access to the field. It’s going to be for our soccer players.’ I find it deplorable that they would do that to inner-city kids who already have no access to natural services in their communities.”

“I am against (synthetic turf) because it’s a public park and it’s for public use," said René Le Clere. "Westmount Park is not a soccer terrain.”

“I’m for the artificial turf because I think the community has to have facilities for young children, and the more the merrier, because that’s the life of the community," said Henny Blom. "A lot of the issues here, such as contaminants, should not be taken into consideration because artificial turf exists all over the world—so why not Westmount?”

Dr. Edward Harvey, who gave a presentation in favour of the turf, said he had a very good reason for attending. “My daughter told me I had to come and talk because she had been injured herself on that field," he said. "So I had been obliged by her and by what I had seen on the Save the Park website to come here and give the other side of the story."

A regular user of the field pointed out that some action must be taken over the current condition. “The field right now is absolutely despicable and it’s a danger to our health—despite what those other speakers say," said 17-year-old Martha Chertkow. "I sprained my ankle from literally falling into a hole on the field and had four months of physical therapy. Later on, I suffered a concussion from falling on the ground because it was so hard. I think it’s ridiculous and something has to be done.”