Why a neighbourhood in Montreal is divided over plans for a new soccer field

The fate of a multipurpose green space in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood has a become a hot button issue for the borough council.

Plans to build a new synthetic turf soccer field have the community divided. A group of residents is leading the growing opposition towards the project, citing health and environmental concerns.

So far, the group has managed to gather more than 2,000 signatures against the transformation of Mackenzie-King Park.

“It’s a free space. People come here for free play. We think the borough’s top down approach is inappropriate,” resident Line Bonneau said.

The borough wants to convert 6,000 square metres of the park from natural grass to synthetic turf for soccer.

Bonneau claims the removal of the natural grass field will create a heat island in the area.

“Can you imagine the people living in these apartments having this increased heat? They actually come here for the freshness,” Bonneau said.

The group of residents claims the city is ignoring science. It points to polyfluoroalkyl chemicals of PFAS, which are harmful chemicals used in the making of synthetic fields.

PFAS — which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a group of more than 4,700 chemicals used in dozens of products, including lubricants, water and dirt repellents, textiles, foams and packaging.

The federal government recently conducted a risk assessment on PFAS chemicals. Last month, a draft report said there growing evidence that these chemicals carry significant health risks to humans. These include increased rates of cancers, such as kidney and testicular cancer, as well as thyroid problems, infertility and skin issues.

Environment Canada has previously designated specific subsets of PFAS chemicals as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, because of the risks they pose to humans or the environment.

In 2022, the city of Boston went so far as banning the use of artificial turf in part because of health concerns.

In response to citizens’ concerns, the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough says the artificial field is needed to fill the void in what it calls a lack of sport infrastructure.

“Our administration is concerned about the crying lack of quality sports infrastructure in Côte-des-Neiges. There’s a real disparity between the number of sports fields available in Côte-des-Neiges and the number of sports fields available in the surrounding neighborhoods, and an artificial turf would allow many more hours of play than a natural one,” Claire De Muns, a spokesperson from the borough, said in statement.

The borough argues the one field with synthetic grass at Martin Luther King Park isn’t enough for Côte-des-Neiges.

Laura Renteria-Diaz, who has two children enrolled in soccer, says there are 100,000 people in the neighbourhood. She claims the synthetic field is used by children from all over and is gaining popularity.

“As you can imagine that field gets very, very crowded. It’s used by kids of all ages and adults. Sometimes it is so crowded people can barely move,” Diaz said.

The natural field, she said, is in poor condition and is not well kept. She claims it is dangerous to play on.

Diaz said that while natural fields can be used for a maximum of 15 hours per week, synthetic turf can be used for more than 100 hours.

“On a synthetic field you can play pretty much 24 hours a day, every day. As soon as the snow melts you can go play on the field and that’s exactly what happened this year,” Diaz said.

After multiple consultations, the borough says it has heard the concerns residents have and it is working to address them.

“We’re looking at different options to preserve Mackenzie-King Park while ensuring that young people in Côte-des-Neiges have access to quality sports facilities. We’ll be making a decision in the coming weeks,” De Muns said.

A final decision on the future of the park will be voted upon by council at the next meeting schedule for July 4.

— with files from The Canadian Press