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The borough mayor acknowledged the issue has been controversial, but said trees will be planted to provide shade and reduce temperatures in the park.
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Despite opposition from some residents, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is moving ahead with plans to replace a natural grass soccer field with synthetic turf in Côte-des-Neiges.
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The move to install the new field in Mackenzie-King Park was approved by the borough at a public meeting Tuesday.
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Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa acknowledged the issue has been controversial.
“It wasn’t an easy choice,” she told the meeting.
But she added that the borough is taking steps to minimize the impact of the synthetic field, including planting trees around its perimeter to provide shade to park users and reduce temperatures.
“What was missing in this park and in the Snowdon district, and in Côte-des-Neiges in general is quality, outdoor sports infrastructure,” Kasoki Katahwa said.
A synthetic field was the best choice to respond to the dearth of such infrastructure, she added.
Proponents of a synthetic field say it will allow many more hours of play per week than natural grass surfaces, will be easier to maintain and will not flood.
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Opponents are concerned about the loss of natural green space, the heat island that would be created by synthetic turf and dangers to the environment and to people’s health created by “forever chemicals” used in its production.
Kasoki Katahwa is with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s Projet Montréal, which has a majority on the borough council.
Stéphanie Valenzuela, city councillor for the Darlington district and a member of the opposition party, Ensemble Montréal, opposed the decision.
She said the new field will exacerbate the heat island effect in the neighbourhood, raising temperatures in and around the park during the summer.
Projet Montréal is spending millions to create new natural spaces around the city, “yet when we have a natural space, we’re spending millions to turn it into plastic,” Valenzuela said.
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Line Bonneau, a resident opposed to the project, said she was saddened by the decision.
The borough is forsaking “the health of children, the health of residents and the health of the environment,” said Bonneau, a member of a citizen group calling itself Mackenzie-King Park: natural green.
The borough has said a grant of $4 million from the city of Montreal’s Programme des installations sportives extérieures approved in 2021 for the synthetic field must be spent by the end of 2024. There would be another $2 million for renovations to the chalet and additional funding for planting trees and other mitigation measures.
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