Potential Synthetic Turf at Deerpath Community Park
January 18, 2022
There recently has been a ton of buzz around Lake Forest and Lake Bluff regarding the possibility of new synthetic turf fields being built under the lights behind Deer Path Middle School.
“Deerpath Community Park,” as this patch of land is officially known, is approximately 10 acres and is thought to be a potential location to expand outdoor amenities within the city of Lake Forest. This is being widely debated throughout the community, with many people supportive of this idea, while others are opposed.
The idea originated in the Lake Forest City Council’s 2019 Master Plan as a way to improve the athletic fields in the community.
The Council discovered that artificial turf fields offer superior drainage, particularly when multiple Lake Forest playing fields have had a history of poor drainage that has made the fields unusable.
In 2020, the city, along with “The Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation,” conducted an athletic field assessment to evaluate all the city-owned athletic fields, and to recommend improvements.
This study produced a general consensus that the city’s athletic fields need to be improved, and the idea of synthetic turf at Deer Path was born. Other locations were considered, as well, such as Townline and Northcroft Park, but because of its size, central and accessible location, and existing sports lights, Deerpath was perceived as the best option.
Many residents, parents, and young athletes are supportive of the possibility of synthetic turf, because they believe it will make the fields playable during all weather conditions. It also presents the possibility to extend playing seasons, develop better athletes, and make our local teams and sports clubs healthier and more competitive.
Residents also believe it’s well past time to have quality turf fields in Lake Forest, as a number of neighboring communities have had such fields for years.
Our town, they argue, is at a strong disadvantage compared to others, and installing new turf fields will add another incentive to choose Lake Forest when families are considering where to live in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
The petition for turf at Deerpath received support from 884 people.
The city is currently investigating other alternatives as well because there are those in our community who are concerned that synthetic turf fields may not be the healthiest option for athletes or the environment.
Go Real Go Grass is a local group of athletes, parents, and residents of Lake Forest who support natural grass fields at Deerpath Community Park.
This group’s focus is to preserve the natural environment and beauty of Lake Forest by maintaining natural grass fields for the community to enjoy. Additionally, they argue artificial turf may lead to more injuries and, due to some potentially hazardous materials in artificial turf, may even pose long-term health risks, including an increased risk of cancer.
There are some local athletes who believe the turf development idea should be discontinued.
The city is using its “Master Plan” and Athletic Field Assessment to solicit feedback from community members.
Additionally, the city is hosting community workshops to give residents the opportunity to share input and opinions. The next workshop is scheduled for Jan. 19, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Deer Path Middle School. Registration is required to attend the workshop in person, and face coverings are required.
Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. Whether you’re in favor of synthetic turf or a fan of keeping natural grass, here’s your chance to make your thoughts known. The City will decide on the final design option this March.
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C F • Jan 31, 2022 at 3:35 pm
C’mon guys. If the field isn’t draining properly, let’s fix the drainage. This is not rocket science, it’s grass.
Let’s not throw in the towel and succumb to the insidious marketing of the plastics, chemical, and artificial turf industries.
You know once we pull the trigger, there’s essentially no going back. We’ll be locked into absurdly-costly plastic carpet and infill replacements every 8-10 years. Who’s going to be asked to pay for that? Us taxpayers, that’s who.
Manage a natural grass field properly and there are no limits to its lifespan.
Conventional sports turf management practices are outdated. Consult with an expert in regenerative land management and soil biology to train our groundskeeping staff. It’s much cheaper and more ecologically sound to address drainage issues with proper field construction and with cultural practices like aerating the fields and feeding the soil microbes so that they naturally aerate the soil so that the earth can handle the water. For an example of managing soil biology on a public budget such that natural grass fields are playable 7 days a week, see here… https://youtu.be/oJZgy8MOMYU
For the sake of all that will suffer the physical and social impacts of climate change, we’ve got to insist our public land owners role model stewardship that supports keeping our planet habitable for as long as possible. Plastic grass, when its full lifecycle is considered, trades one totally solvable land stewardship challenge, how to maintain a well-drained playable grass field, for a slew of *irreversible* negative environmental consequences…
Plastic comes from fossil fuels. And it’s laced with unregulated chemicals that will circulate at increasingly toxic concentrations in global water forever. PFAS is one of the most-alarming examples and is described as “one of the biggest environmental contamination stories in history”. PFAS contamination is breaking news from the canaries in the coalmines, i.e. already poisoned communities. Most consumers still don’t know about it. Google PFAS. We can’t escape it. Remember the water cycle? Their water will be our water someday. Let’s not make things worse in the name of something we can very reasonably make do without.
And have you seen the VOLUME of pollution artificial fields generate!? Each field requires 40,000 pounds of virgin plastic every 8-10 years! And there is NO facility in the U.S. that recycles it! These plastics carpets are clogging up landfills, being incinerated, or illegally dumped. And depending on where the whole PFAS analyses fall, this stuff may soon need to be officially classified as *hazardous* waste.
By the way, ever seen a 10-year old artificial turf carpet? It’s bald. Much of the infill is missing. Where will all those fake grass blades and infill (tire crumb if we choose it) go? Into Lake Michigan, leaching chemicals into what will eventually be our drinking water! The federal government’s legal limits are not health-protective. The EPA has not set a new tap water standard in almost 20 years, and some standards are more than 40 years old. https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/
We can totally meet our community’s needs without plastic grass.
Pamela Bond • Jan 31, 2022 at 12:29 pm
What is the solution in the winter when artificial turf hardens from freezing temps? Where professional grass field experts consulted? Turf Grass Advisory Group, Sports Field Managers Association and others would have solutions to any perceived grass issues. Poor drainage is a scapegoat. I hope this is being fully researched.
We all have a duty to do better and think critically before laying 2+ acres of plastic carpet on a rich landscape that is a carbon sink and oxygen producer.
D Woelke MSN • Jan 30, 2022 at 8:38 pm
Agree that the science should be looked at. Peer reviewed science, not special interest science! And certainly not the greenwashing peddled by hired white coats. One of them is out of a job with the EPA for making claims about the safety of PFAS.
These fields readily reach 180F- a first degree burn occurs at 118°F in 15 minutes and becomes a third degree (full thickness) burn in 20 minutes. At least 11 student athletes died from heat stroke on these petrochemical plastic grass fields in a short time period despite early am and later pm scheduling.
The industry admits they are not recyclable. These fields will be increasing coming under regulation – as is already beginning to happen in various states. The massive plastic grass fields last from a few years to approximately 12 years. They take hundreds of years to decompose. Hazardous waste is crazy expensive to landfill. How does this fit into your Zero Waste Plan?
These massive plastic carpets off gas methane and ethylene…how does that fit into your Climate Action Plan? They are massive heat islands, far larger than the dimensions of the plastic carpet itself. They require a huge volume of water to cool them to a playable temperature.
Drainage? You mean like the PFAS and other chemicals and toxins that leachate into water tables, water ways, drinking water and the near by Great Lake? 100% of plastic fields tested by a variety of manufacturers has test positive for fluorine, an indicator of PFAS. Shaw Industries and FieldTurf have come clean and admitted to it’s use in manufacturing. The plastic yarns require it for extrusion through machinery.
Beyond the toxins and carcinogens in used tire crumb (also used in children’s playground surfaces), plant based infills are largely sourced from countries with even more abysmal pesticide regulation that in the US. They have not been tested for safety. One popular infill promoted by FieldTurf has tested positive for PFAS. Others have tested positive for high levels of heavy metals and other chemicals no one should ever play on.
Microplastic pollution is massive from these plastic carpets- air, soil, water. In the US, we consume an average of a credit cards worth of microplastics each week. Children share a higher burn for all of these: heat, toxins, carcinogens (read the patents!!), microplastics.
Do not ever forget…PFAS are forever your…they bioaccumulate and last forever. If you place these plastic carpets…you will NEVER retrieve the PFAS that leachates.
You can build and maintain 3 state of the art natural grass fields that drain properly and can even be maintained organically. Quit listening to the greenwashing sales people with a vested interest in lightening the city coffers!!
Peter • Jan 20, 2022 at 7:42 am
You need to really look at the science. There is nothing unhealthy about artificial turf. http://www.safefieldsalliance.com
Mary • Jan 30, 2022 at 3:34 pm
science? That website is owned by a bunch of synthetic turf manufacturers that has under oath admitted they lied about recyclability. that has sold fields that they knew were dangerous (https://www.montanasports.com/category/high-school/football/mtn-investigates-lawsuits-spark-concern-about-fieldturf-surfaces). 19 of the last 2o peer reviewed studies confirm that synthetic turf is causing injuries, harming our waterways and wildlife and contain harmful chemicals such as PFAS, PAHs, BPA, lead, mercury and many more.
http://synturf.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=mel-tIUQImY&feature=youtu.be