The Toronto District School Board has brokered a deal with Razor Management to give the company control of Central Tech’s field for 20 years. In return Razor will lay down artificial turf with crumb rubber, and erect a huge dome over the field from October to April. Razor would allow students access to the field during school hours and would recoup its investment by renting out the field to sports organizations after school hours, over the summer and during school holidays. All of the revenue from this field would go exclusively to Razor Management.

The TDS Board is rushing into this large commercial development of public land without adequate public consultation, and without considering environmental and social issues that have been raised by City Planning and local residents.

Major concerns include:

 1.Health hazards to students related to artificial turf:inhalation of carcinogens and toxins (including lead, arsenic, black carbon) in the crumb rubber infill; increased risk of skin infection, of injury, and of heat exhaustion (artificial turf reaches extreme temperatures in the summer); Razor's rectangular design for the running track increases risk of knee injury [1] [2]

 2. Loss of public access to the only large green area in this neighbourhood, one that is well used by the community outside of school hours

 3. Significant disruption to the neighbourhood due to increased parking and traffic congestion, and obstruction of the neighbourhood's oldest heritage building, by the huge dome, five months a year

 4. Environmental harm due to artificial turf, including contamination of water, land, and air.[3]  

 The Central Tech field is certainly in need of attention; however the developer’s plan is not the only option! A report from the school board’s own consultant says that applying 6+ inches of topsoil and a layer of new sod would remedy the current contamination problems and make the field usable again. While a new type of dwarf hybrid grass, used in many high-use public sports fields around Toronto could create a natural field that is easy to care for, and provides a safe, resilient surface for players.

 Please say no to the privatization of the Central Technical School sports field and the installation of artificial turf and dome. For the health and welfare of students, the community, and the environment, any improvement of the field must include natural grass.

To learn more about this issue please visit us at facebook.com/savetheCTSfield

Questions or comments? Please write to: keepCTSfieldgreen@gmail.com

[1] www.SafeHealthyPlayingFields.org

[2] http://landscapemanagement.net/2011/02/02/nfl-players-say-grass-still-best/
  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/14/us-nfl-leg-injuries-idUSBRE88D1KT
  www.NFLPlayerAssociation.com

[3] “Natural Grass and Artificial Turf: Separating Myth and Fact"