Work is underway to resurface Lincoln Park’s Playing Field #1. The synthetic turf at the heavily-used sports field had reached the end of its life and will be replaced with new synthetic turf. The $3.4 million project, which also includes installing athletic lights at fields #1 and #3, was approved by Town Meeting in 2023.
“Everything is on schedule, there have been no surprises,” says Christian Boutwell, Vice Chair of the Recreation Committee. The project is expected to be completed by the end of August, in time for local sports teams to begin their fall seasons in September. The playground, walking trails, fitness stations, and other fields are all currently open for use.
Photos by Vikram Anantha
Synthetic turf is known to contain toxic chemicals including PFAS and lead, and is notoriously hard to dispose of when it wears out, usually after about 10 years. A working group, including members of the Recreation Committee, Sustainable Lexington, the Board of Health and others, came up with a plan to address these issues in a way that would “meet needs of both athletes and health and sustainability concerns,” said Melissa Battite, the Director of Recreation.
The base for the new field will be made of an organic product called Brockfill, made from wood particles, instead of the standard crumb rubber base, usually made from old tires that can contain lead and other heavy metals.
The new turf will undergo more rigorous testing for PFAS than required in Massachusetts, though the plan does not specify limits on PFAS chemicals beyond the state requirements. “At this point we are basically testing for knowledge,” Boutwell says. The test results are not yet available but will be provided before installation.
As for the old turf, per the requirements of the procurement process, it cannot be incinerated, and the vendor must document what happens to it. That documentation has not yet been provided.
Lincoln Field #2 is slated for renovations next year. Boutwell says that the working group will be re-activated and will debrief on this process, so the results of the PFAS testing and documentation of what happens to the old turf can help inform the decision about how to resurface the next field.
“I’m hopefully we’ll be able to more or less replicate this,” Boutwell says.
“This has been a nice community project. We’re excited to get it open.”
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