Cambridge Council Freezes Ahern Field Turf Project, Orders Transparency Report

CAMBRIDGE — April 13, 2026 — Cambridge City Council unanimously pauses Ahern Field turf project, defers Garden Street vote. The council voted 9 to 0 Monday to halt construction at Ahern Field in East Cambridge and order City Manager Ian Wong to report on how the decision to install artificial turf was made, what alternatives were considered, and what public health risks were assessed before work may resume. Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, and Councillor McGovern co-sponsored the order; Councillors Zondervan, Flaherty, Azeem, and Al-Zubi were added before passage. Councillor Zondervan cited replacement costs of $1 million to $1.5 million per decade and turf surface temperatures that can reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and proposed redirecting the investment to Donnelly Field instead. The assistant city manager acknowledged that the turf decision had been embedded in the prior year's budget and that natural grass cannot match the roughly 2,800 playable hours turf provides annually. On Garden Street, Councillor Flaherty exercised his charter right on a competing order to halt the previously voted $250,000 two-way restoration, pushing that vote to April 27.