If you’re involved with Seattle Public Schools in any capacity, it feels nearly impossible to think about anything other than the looming list of elementary school closures. Here in Wallingford, parents (myself included) are buzzing with questions about the fate of Dual Language Immersion programs at John Stanford International School (JSIS) and McDonald Elementary.
But another topic is stirring up a lot of opinions: the proposal to install synthetic turf at Wallingford Playfield.
If you’ve spent any time in neighborhood Facebook groups lately, you’ve probably seen the debate. On one side, parents are excited about the idea of turf, thrilled at the possibility of having a quality field nearby instead of driving miles for their kids’ practices and games. On the other side, you’ve got the folks who love Wallingford Playfield’s green grass — a soft space for their dogs to run and garner angry eye rolls and keyboard critiques from a potion of our neighbors.
My personal and highly uneducated opinion: turf all you want as long as you leave the playground and wading pool for our younger kiddos!
Seattle Public Schools is considering Wallingford Playfield as a potential location for a new synthetic turf field for Lincoln High School and Hamilton International Middle School. The field would also serve local youth sports clubs and community events.
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Why Lincoln High School students need a field
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What options are being considered for field location
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What changes are proposed for Lower Woodland #7 track
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Questions and comments from those in attendance
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I just watched an amazing video "Need to grow" which educated me on the critiical importance to feed the soil or soil regenerative. It would be a great science project for part of the playfield. We all hope that the playfield will be around for years and this could sustain the grass indefinitely.
Even if one ignores the long history of keeping Wallingford Playfield available for all to use (not just students of SPS), understand that artificial fields are typically fenced off to prevent migration of the rubber pellets that serve as the base into runoff and the surrounding environment. Such fields do not “transpire” like natural turf and can be exceedingly hot.
When Lincoln was remodeled, communities pressed SPS to reinstall the athletic field at the north parking lot, where it once existed prior to Lincoln closing around 1980. Suggestions were also made to build a similar field on the lid of a parking area on the north lot, if parking was deemed necessary.
Back when the homes were condemned to make room for the playfield on the west end of the park, those displaced were reportedly assured that the new playfield would provide space for neighborhood kids to play after school and that their sacrifice would not simply be assimilated by Hamilton (at the time, Lincoln had a track and field where the north parking lot now sits),
Food for thought. Better alternatives likely exist than losing access to our grassy, flexible use open space.
For those who oppose this proposal, there is a petition circulating to express our objections: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-wallingford-playfield-no-turf
I listened in remotely to the meeting tonight; audio was pretty bad and it was frustrating to hear everything clearly. There's a significant amount of community objections being voiced. The field layout shown looks likely to eliminate most current uses of this park. There will be another public meeting in October. I captured the chat transcript from Teams to share.
The project organizers insisted this proposal is NOT a done-deal and that they will be responsive to community input.
Turfing this park and handing it over to the schools is a terrible idea, both environmentally and socially.