I should have blogged this post weeks ago, after the November 16 PLAC meeting where we discussed the Cherry Beach soccer fields. I must say that this was not an easy issue for me to take a stand on.
It was first discussed at a PLAC meeting this summer, where the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation presented the plan, and it seemed, if not particularly inspiring, at least mostly harmless. We were told that this was an area of scrub with an open toxic ditch in dire need of remediation and capping. We were told it wasn’t being used at all. Making it into temporary astroturf soccer fields would be a small step to satisfying the demand for sports fields in the city, and could be rethought later into a broader park vision.
I went to the November 16 PLAC meeting and felt I had been lied to. Look at the Save Cherry Beach site to see a picture of the wasteland that was described. There are hundreds of trees on the site, some more than 40 feet tall. There is an open meadow that is currently enjoyed by butterfly enthusiasts. Worst of all, it is apparent that the remediation plan was developed after the site had been identified as a potential sports field. In other words, there was no concern about the toxicity until they thought about bulldozing it anyway. Seems awfully convenient then, to discover it is in need of capping. The truth is that by this reasoning the entire Portlands and much of Toronto might need to be covered over. Read more »