FIELD OF SCREAMS
Upper Beach residents call for earlier curfew on loud, bright soccer field,
Locals in a residential area in the Upper Beaches are going head-to-head with the Toronto Catholic District School Board over the curfew for a local soccer field.
St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School recently installed a new-and-improved turf soccer field, and, while it’s been good for the players using it, several residents on the neighbouring street, Torbrick Rd., have found the improvements to be disruptive to their daily lives.
The residents are asking that the curfew of 11 p.m. be pushed back to 9 p.m. to accommodate those living in the area better.
“The players aren’t considerate,” said Martha Lunderville, a resident of Torbrick Rd.
Lunderville said the main issues for residents are the noise and lights.
“It really affects newborns and small children, because the whistles wake them up.”
Christian Nègre has lived on Torbrick Rd. for 19 years, and he said he feels that the TCDSB hasn’t been helpful in listening to their complaints.
“They misled the community in what was involved in the field,” Nègre said. “Nobody in the school board is listening to us.”
Nègre said that three times in the past few months, he’s had balls fly onto his back deck and people walking into his yard without asking if they can retrieve them. He also said that the lights from the field shine through into his thirdfloor bedroom at night when he’s trying to sleep.
The field officially came into use November 2017, after the project first had an end put to it by residents back in the summer of 2016, due to similar complaints.
John Yan, TCSDB, said he feels they have been accommodating with the residents and listened to their complaints.
“We’ve banned players from sitting near the fence on the residents’ side of the field. We’ve placed a directive of no excessive cheering or clapping, and we’ve mandated use of electronic whistles, putting them on the lowest setting and covering the soundpiece with duct tape.”
Yan said that so far, no noise or light bylaws have been broken.
He said if they change the weekday curfew to 9 p.m., it will take away half the prime soccer time for children and adults.
And, with the announcement of North America hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026, he said the desire to play soccer is only going to increase, and Toronto needs to be prepared for that.
“To meet the current demand, we’ll need 45 fields built in the next 20 years,” Yan said.
Councillor Paula Fletcher has been working with the residents on the issue. She said that one of their main concerns, along with the noise and the lights, is the excessive swearing.
“There’s more f-bombs than balls being kicked around,” Fletcher joked.
Fletcher said the community wants the field, but they simply want it closed earlier.