Lemont Park District Seeks Residents' Input on Virginia Reed Park Renovations
A neighborhood meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, July 23, at Virgina Reed Park, 51 E. Eureka Drive.
The Lemont Park District is seeking resident input as it moves forward with renovations to Virginia Reed Park.
The park, located at 51 E. Eureka, is aging and in serious need of updates, according to Dawn Banks, maintenance administrator for the Lemont Park District. The current playground is trained-themed, and features slides, swings and a jungle gym.
"The equipment has some damage and is getting old at this point," Banks said. "We're in the early stages of planning a redesign of the park, and we'd like some input from residents about what they'd like to see."
A neighborhood meeting will be held at Virginia Reed on Monday, July 23, at 6 p.m. Park district officials will be on hand to facilitate a discussion on the park redesign, as well as some play piece options.
A landscape architect will also be available to answer questions and present examples of different playscapes, Banks said.
"We're really just looking to start the conversation, and it's important to involve the residents in that process," she said.
In response to concerns voiced by residents, the Lemont Park District Board of Commissioners implemented a new policy earlier this year that deals with public communication about park-related issues.
The policy was put into action as the park district moved forward with plans to update Jaycee Park, 1125 Glenys Drive, and Lions Park, 60 W. Roberta St. Park district officials worked hand-in-hand with residents on the projects, holding public meetings to solicit ideas and address concerns.
The newly-renovated Jaycee Park opened in May, while plans to update Lions Park are currently underway.
Those who are interested in attending the meeting at Virginia Reed are asked to RSVP to Dawn Banks at 630-257-6787, etc. 3024, or dawn-banks@lemontparkdistrict.org.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are plenty of ways to keep up on Lemont news:
In This article
-
Lemont Park District
16028 W 127th St, Lemont, IL -
Virginia Reed Park
51 E Eureka Dr, Lemont, IL -
Jaycee Park
1125 Glenys Dr, Lemont, IL -
Lions Park
60 W Roberta St, Lemont, IL -
-
Village of Lemont
418 Main St, Lemont, IL
Laura Pelen
10:15 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
It's lovingly known as the "choo-choo train park" by the little ones. Keep some aspect of a train with the new design. The kids live the zip line. Also, the area that goes under the bridge is a safety hazard. I have seen several kids, including my own, run full speed under that bridge only to get knocked hard in the head because they had grown too tall!
Marie Markowski
10:45 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
LOL, Laura, it's not only the little one that call it that! When giving directions to my house I'll ask if they know where Virgina Reed Park is. 9 x's out of 10 the answer is "no". If I say "Do you know where the Choo Choo Train Park is" 9 x's out of 10 it's a resounding "yes"! And that "zip line" is pretty darn loud at 3:00 a.m.! Not complaining, just saying (it's a good alarm that someone's in the park when they shouldn't be). I'm not a fan of that cubby under the bridge because it's too good of a hiding place for after-hours "partying". Little ones have come walking up with broken beer bottles in their hands, cigarette butts, etc. I'll definitely be at that meeting on Monday.
jill
11:14 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
If I could ask for anything....More shade over where the kids play! I'm not a fan of splinters, so get rid of all the wood! The equipment made out of mostly plastic is safer than the wood, and the slides that are the recycled plastic don't get as hot as the metal ones. We love the parks that have the solid "rubber" cushioned flooring instead of wood chips (at least for the little kid section). Oh, and figure out a way to keep the older/teen kids off the tops of all the equipment, smoking, swearing and drawing/writing obscenities :)
Michael Hunt
12:26 am on Friday, July 20, 2012
Are you kidding me?They know exactly what they are going to do with this park.It's all a put on.
Alex
12:42 am on Monday, July 23, 2012
Try not to ruin this park like you did to Jaycee park
Marie Markowski
8:57 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Mr. Hunt, unless you have insider information that the rest of of us don't, there are no plans drawn up yet. They were very open and honest about what needs to be done and how it's being funded. Dawn, Louisa (sp?), Dan and the gentleman from the firm they're using were very open to and considerate of what we had to say. We had a nice turn out, people were very outspoken (me included) and there were a lot of ideas and questions we put to them. The park needs some serious work done (re: drainage, safety issues, etc.) and it needs to be done ASAP. We're very lucky that they even held this meeting as there is nothing to stop them from coming in and just doing what they want/need to do without the communities input. I look forward to working with them in the next few months.