The City of Kirkland is considering synthetic turf infields,
and they’re asking for feedback from the people who know these fields best: players, coaches, parents, and fans like YOU.
Take the quick survey and help shape the future of our baseball and softball spaces:
Survey closes Wednesday, September 10 at 11:59pm
Share this with your teams, families, and fellow field lovers—we want every voice heard!
FAQs:
Q: Is this survey part of KALL’s turf infields initiative or is this effort being separately driven by the city?
A: Yes! The city’s turf study is a direct result of all of the vocal advocacy being done by the KALL board and many parents. In addition to KALL’s Taylor Field initiative at Houghton with King County, getting the city to focus on turf infields has also been a major priority.
Q: Why isn’t a softball field being considered?
A: City leaders appear to be aligned with KALL in pursuing completed infields for both softball and baseball. However, a pilot project is the first step. The city believes that a pilot project at Everest might take additional time to complete due to the need to balance so many stakeholder needs. KALL ultimately agreed with the city to start the pilot project at Crestwoods.
Q: Should we offer comments when completing the survey?
A: Yes! The comments are especially important, as it’s critical to let the city know how disruptive schedule disruptions have been on families. It’s also important to highlight that other nearby cities have already been responsive to those concerns by developing turf infields for several years. It’s important that your voice is heard so the city has more perspective than the limited questions presented in the survey.
Q: Are there health concerns associated with turf surfaces?
A: This has been studied for many years, and turf infields is already the preferred solution in places like the City of Seattle, where the parks department similarly reviewed and considered health concerns many years earlier. Additionally, the preferred solution will likely include an organic (cork) finishing application in lieu of the rubber particle application that used to be the norm for earlier turf projects.
Q: Why aren’t multipurpose fields being considered? Shouldn’t we be focused on field solutions that benefit multiple sports?
A: The city has already made one major investment in a multipurpose field at 132nd Square Park. The cost of that project is roughly 50 times the cost of a simple infield overlay project. KALL is advocating for turf infields because they can have far more impact with far less money, and because softball and baseball are sports that are disproportionately impacted during a light rain or on sunny days that follow rainy days.
Q: Why is a field at 132nd Square Park being considered when 132nd Square park already has turf?
A: Although KNLL has not been directly advocating the city for turf to the same extent KALL has, they share similar problems with rainouts. The city wants to be equitable in funding exclusive softball/baseball fields in both the north and the south and KALL is supportive of this too.