Vancouver Park Board - Planning

Synthetic Turf Playfield Strategy

The first synthetic turf playfield in Vancouver was built at Eric Hamber Secondary School (Oak Street, south of 33rd Avenue) in 1986. Two synthetic turf playfields were built at Andy Livingstone Park (Expo Boulevard and Quebec Street) in 1995.

In 2002, the Park Board approved the Playing Field Renewal Plan, which included the following recommendation to increase playing field capacity between 2002 and 2011: "that an additional six artificial turf fields be constructed to meet the increasing demand for outdoor field sports".

Site	Location	Approval	Completion
Kerrisdale Park-Point Grey Secondary School	East Boulevard, north of 41st Avenue	2004	2006
Vancouver Technical School	Slocan Street, south of Broadway	2006	2008
Trillium park site (2 playfields)	National Avenue and Thornton Street	2006	2011
Jericho Park (West Field)	Discovery Street, north of NW Marine Drive	2010	2011
Memorial South Park (Southwest Field)	Prince-Albert Street, south of 43rd Avenue	2010	2011

On February 8, 2010, the Board approved: "THAT the Board direct staff to update and revise the 2002 Playing Field Renewal Plan to guide playfield capital investments, playfield maintenance programs and playfield allocations to user groups for the next ten years."

Reports:

1. Playing Field Renewal Plan (2002)
          - staff report
          - appendix (part 1) & appendix (part 2)
          - minutes of meeting

2. Process for Selecting Sites (2003)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

3. Shortlist of Candidate Sites (2004)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

4. Selection of Kerrisdale Park-Pt. Grey Secondary School (2004)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

5. Selection of Vancouver Technical Secondary School (2006)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

6. Selection of 'Trillium' Park Site (2006)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

7. Updated Shortlist of Candidate Sites (2009)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

7. Selection of Jericho and Memorial South Parks (2010)
- staff report
- minutes of meeting

Contact:

Michel Desrochers, Planner, 604-257-8529
pbcomment@vancouver.ca

Frequently Asked Questions
Why is demand for field sports increasing? Vancouver's population continues to grow More girls and women are playing field sports People are continuing to play field sports later in life Outreach programs are encouraging children and youth to be more active New field sports (e.g. ultimate) have gained popularity.

Why synthetic turf? Why not grass? Synthetic turf playfields can accommodate 2,000+ hours of play per year, whereas grass playfields can accommodate no more than 600-800 hours of play per year Synthetic turf playfields are playable during the rainy season, whereas a substantial number of grass playfields are not playable during the rainy season.