Our school has a small grass area that is used for multiple purposes. It has more weeds and dirt/mud than grass and there has been many conversation about how to refurbish the area. There has been talk about using a synthetic grass surface because organic weed killer is all that can be used to control the weed problem and there isn't much time to let the grass set by using sod because of limited grass areas in the community.
Has anyone used this type of surface in an area that the public has complete access to and will be used for youth soccer and most importantly recess? Concerns are what type of synthetic grass to use won't cause injury and that isn't too cost prohibitive and will hold up under extreme use and weather conditions as we are located in Milwaukee, WI.
Pea gravel has been a good surface for us. It is costly upfront but does not need to be replaced often. Hope this helps!
Artificial Turf is expensive but you get what you pay for - that's durability and safety. Look at it this way: would you rather buy surfacing that you would have to replace every two years or invest in safety surfacing that is guaranteed to last 3 times longer?
Austin Stanfel
Creative Recreational Systems, Inc.
916-638-5375
http://www.creativesystems.com