Arn Cenedella

San Carlos proposal to “turf” Highlands Park is back on the table

This issue was discussed several years ago with quite a lot of public input.

Folks on both sides of the issue felt very strongly.

Some San Carlos residents like real grass and the “park” like feel to Highlands Parks at present.

Generally and I stress generally, most “baseball” folks want to maintain the real grass while many “soccer” folks want to go to Astroturf since Astroturf holds up better during the fall and winter seasons than does real turf.

During many 12 years involvement in San Carlos youth sports, my boys played both sports and I coached both sports so I do not know if I was a “baseball” guy or a “soccer” guy, I just enjoyed being with my boys and with other San Carlos families – parents and kids alike.

Some City officials want turf because it will be lower cost to maintain.

 What do you think??? – the official comment period starts on Monday.

See official city announcement here.

Make your voice heard!

Honestly, I like the grass but I understand the City is under financial pressure – so I am torn – I do not have all the answers.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Recreation, San Carlos issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Chuck Gillooley said at February 9th, 2009 at 9:07 am

   Arn,

   Good post, and you’re absolutely correct — this has been, and will continue to be a very contentious issue with San Carlos residents.

   One point I wanted to clarify, though — you use the term “Astroturf” to describe the all-weather turf that is being proposed for Highlands.

   Astroturf was a product that was used back in the 1970’s — it was basically a thin layer of carpet over a cement slab. It was stitched together with huge seams that sometimes were the source of some gruesome injuries. For many legitimate reasons, “Astroturf” has a bad reputation.

   The material that cities use today for “all weather turf,” and the way they prepare the field for this surface, is completely different than Astroturf. So you really can’t use the terms interchangeably — to use a real estate analogy, it would be like saying marble tile is the same as linoleum.

   I know it sounds like a minor deal, but most of the residents who will be waging the battle on this issue are from the “Astroturf generation.” It’s important to understand the significant distinctions between the two products, because it’s this kind of misunderstanding that has derailed much of the discussion to date.

   Thanks,

   Chuck

2. Arn Cenedella said at February 9th, 2009 at 6:30 pm

   Hi Chuck
   thanks for the comment and clarification.
   and Yes I am part of the astroturf generation.
   i choose the word “astroturf” because of it wide brand name recognition. i imagine what is being proposed is similar to what currently exists at Carlmont High. the “all-weather” turf is excellent and it is soft and comfortable.
   as to how big the difference is between “astroturf” and “all weather turf” and grass, i will let the reader decide – one is alive and other two are manufactured – both marble and linoleum are manufactured.
   i provided a link to the city proposal so interested parties could obtain further info if they wish to get involved. the purchase of the post was to alert san carlos residents as to the issue coming before city council again not to give a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of either decision.

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