City planning for Lincoln Park at Argenziano school - to turf or not to turf?

[andy wolf]

For the past 2 years or more there has been an ongoing planning process about how to renovate Lincoln Park. This mixed-use area will have school playground space, green space, a softball field and an athletic field sized for U12 soccer. The controversy centers on the athletic field - turf or natural grass?

Recently the city announced that they would go with natural grass. This is a reversal of course for the city, and seems primarily based on neighborhood opposition to turf and desire for natural grass green space (the latest turf plan would be synthetic turf using organic in-fill, not the used tire turf that some folks have health concerns about).

My view is that the park has a lot of greenspace already, but Somerville lacks sufficient recreation space. This would be a lit field in a heavily populated area that could get tons of use and even provide some permitting income back to the city. Instead, only youth soccer will be allowed to use it, and then only sparingly, to protect the grass. Somerville does not have a good track record protecting natural grass fields (anyone check out Conway or even Hodgkins lately?), and I fear before long Lincoln park will be back to its current dustbowl status.

My kids will be too old to take advantage of the U12 fields either way, but I hate to see the city making this kind of mistake. Recreational space is at a premium and should be open to all in the city. If you agree, you can help by signing this online petition or reaching out to your alderman or the mayor's office. Thanks!

Comments

[jim hanley (from livejournal.com)]

If only it were as easy as purchasing the "right grass seed". City employees actually want to grow grass and know how to do their jobs. Of course grass can be grown on fields in areas that have more fields and fewer people. Like many challenges Somerville faces, it's linked to the incredible population density of our beloved city.

Everyone knowledgeable on the topic (Somerville has hired multiple consultants/experts who all agree) says that to maintain a grass field you need to LIMIT the play to 400-500 hours per year. We had over 1800 hours of play at Lincoln Park last year. That is what you get in an urban city full of healthy, active people. That is why ALL the grass fields in Somerville are dirt patches (except for Trum which is closed to most play). Our city currently "rations" recreation in a failed attempt to maintain grass. I think rationing is deplorable -- we should be enabling MORE healthy recreation for our citizens, not less. It's only getting worse as the city grows and skews to a younger demographic. Putting synthetic turf on less than 15% of Lincoln Field will ensure that the rest of the grass in the park thrives as well as help grass fields elsewhere in the city.