The District of North Vancouver has a new proposal for two artificial turf fields in Inter River Park, which will require the removal of one third of the forested parkland: DNV.org/turf
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Please send us your thoughts to interriverca@gmail.com OR write to DNV Parks and Mayor and Council council@dnv.org OR fill out the survey at www.dnv.org/turf-fields.
Inter River Community Association 
Hi all, I am willing to accompany anyone who has information leaflets printed and wants to stand around at the opening of the path through the woods to the river walk to enlighten people about the intended forest removal and artificial turf. I have my sister visiting this week but she is sick in bed so I am freed up. The comments on the DNV website close on July 5 so we need to act now. I have no printer so I can’t provide anything to handout.
Brenda Nelson
ruby61@telus.net
As a resident of the area, the changes will mean increased traffic and noise. The plan to install artificial lighting that will enable the fields to operate until late in the evening means that residents will have to put up with the disruption both year-round and throughout the day and night.
The area around the field offers some of the most affordable housing in North Vancouver. In general, these pay-to-play/book-to-play fields will be primarily used by visitors, taking away a rich recreational resource for the many young families who live close by.
For those of us who walk our dogs in the area, the increased activity will inevitably lead to more restrictions on our canines’ freedom.
The ideal option (currently not being considered by the District) is to upgrade the existing field to support a range of recreational activities for the growing population of young families in the area.
I should also add, it is inexcusable to harm an ecosystem that is home to a variety of flora and fauna in order to benefit a few sports teams.
God forbid that the cultural activities of humans be encouraged.
You make it sound like they are clearcutting the north shore mountains (which, by the way was done last century, including the greenpatch ‘ecosystem’ you are in a tizzy about). In fact it’s only 300 x 400 ft worth of scrub bush, second growth at best and testament to the resilience of coniferous rainforest species.
It isn’t a sports field vs the final stand of the banana slug here.
The tree removal is only one of the harmful impacts of this proposal. Please see the follow up post https://interriver.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/we-speak-for-the-trees/. No one is opposed to improving the availability of sports fields, but this proposal is being done without consideration for the negative impact it will have on the neighbourhood.
This little forest is treasured and is already well used for human cultural activities by people who love and respect the natural aspect of it. Current users and plenty of people in the soccer community feel this is an inappropriate place to install an artificial turf field, There are other sites that are existing an would not require cutting trees and the complete disregard of the opposition of the local community.
Hi Brenda – I’m out of town right now – but will be back Thursday evening. I can help this coming weekend, Sunday, July 10.
You can read my letter to Mayor Richard Dalton on my FB page. Michelle
Hi Michelle, that is great, I would love to meet up. I am not a Facebooker but your letter in the NS News was awesome. Well done! Can you email be at ruby61@telus.net so we can organize a time? Thanks so much for responding.
A quick update – this morning (July 9) Brenda and I walked along the south end of the off leash area along Lynn Creek putting up info fliers and maps. We also provided people with take away info with several links including the online survey & how to stay connected through fb.
We talked to about 50 people and there were a range of responses. Several people were aware and had already filled out the survey. Some knew about it but weren’t up on the details – they left saying they would go online and complete the survey. There were also several dog walkers from east vancouver who come to the off leash area on a weekly basis who were surprised and dismayed by the proposal. There were others who live in North Vancouver for whom it was the first time they were hearing about the improvement plan. There were a handful who supported the proposal.
More than 80 % of the users we spoke to were not in favour of the proposed plan.
We encouraged everyone to go online complete the survey and share the information with their friends. Keep the conversation going.
Here’s what you can do to protect our forest and save the neighborhood from this disruptive proposal:
Write to the Mayor and Council: http://bit.ly/dnvcouncil
– Let them know what you think about the proposed fields
– Ask them to meet with the Inter-River Community Association
Join the Inter-River Community Association Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/interriverfb