This page shows news articles related to specific greenways and communities.
All News Clips
| Back to List | |
| Will riverwalk boost town's 'wow factor'? | |
| Sep 30, 2007 | |
| Justin Kmitch, staff reporter | |
| Daily Herald | |
| Pertains to Itasca Riverwalk, Itasca, Naperville, Winfield | |
| It's not exactly a river running through it, but Itasca officials are hoping adding a recreation path along Spring Creek will give the village's downtown a much-needed spark. For years, Itasca officials, led by Village President Gigi Gruber, have talked about their dream of making the town a "walkable village" with paths connecting the downtown to the rest of the community. "Every year, this village spends millions and millions of dollars on infrastructure to make sure everything behind the scenes runs to perfection," Village Manager Dave Williams said. "Unfortunately, those are things people don't always see. "So the trustees are pledging to spend some money on beautification," he said. "This is all part of that." The Itasca Riverwalk, as it's being called, is in the early planning stages. Its proposed route was unveiled during a recent walkthrough staged by village officials. The project doesn't have a budget or timetable, but a committee has been formed to advance the planning and it will be meeting through October to flesh out the idea. "We know this will take a lot of time and lot of money, so we need to be realistic and see where it goes," Gruber said. "We're lucky that we already have the water to work with." Downtown boost The idea of creating a riverwalk isn't new. Itasca simply is the latest DuPage County community to consider building one in the wake of the success of Naperville's vaunted Riverwalk. Unveiled in 1981 for Naperville's Sesquicentennial celebration, the winding path along the West Branch of the DuPage River has been a key element of downtown Naperville's success. Steve Albert, a member of Naperville's Riverwalk Commission, called the path the "single key element that defines Naperville." It "absolutely stuck out and made me move to Naperville," Albert said. "And it's not just me. The Riverwalk is also responsible for bringing people into the downtown and, over 25 years, revitalizing what has become our unbelievably healthy downtown district." Downtown revitalization also is one of the goals of Winfield leaders, who are using the Naperville and Batavia riverwalks as models for a proposed recreational path along a stretch of the DuPage River's West Branch. "We've got a tremendous resource in the West Branch right here in our backyard, but, in many ways, we've turned our backs on it," Winfield Village Manager Bill Barlow said. "We know there are ways for us to better utilize it as a community, so we're trying." Gruber said the goal of the Itasca Riverwalk would be to increase pedestrian traffic in the Walnut Avenue/Irving Park Road area, which has a bakery, some restaurants and other small shops. "Naperville's Riverwalk is amazing. There is local ownership and pride, community engagement, economic development, and a lot of heart," she said Friday. "Would Itasca like to be like that … without a doubt. We've got the heart and determination to make Itasca great … like Naperville, but on a smaller scale." From vision to plan The current concept for the Itasca Riverwalk calls for the recreation path to run primarily along the south side of Spring Creek -- linking the old village hall at the intersection of Walnut and Line streets to the Spring Brook Nature Center on Forest Avenue and the new municipal complex on Irving Park Road. "So it's a link from what would be the two far ends of our downtown," Community Development Director Nicole Aranas said. "But because we're dealing with a lot of flood plain and watershed areas, it would have to be recreational." Therefore, Aranas said, it wouldn't have concrete sidewalks and walls and ramps. Still, it would be designed to be wheelchair and stroller accessible. The southern extension of the path, leading to and around the nature center grounds, likely would have more interactive signage and path-side activities promoting and expanding the center's curriculum. "Hopefully, as this happens we will develop a master plan that will provide both a recreational outlet for our residents and enhance our downtown," Gruber said. "Our downtown is beautiful, but it could be spectacular. It could have the wow factor we're looking for." Itasca's Riverwalk, Parks and Landscape Design Committee is expected to meet every Monday through October and possibly into November to hash out the details. Meanwhile in Winfield, officials say a draft version of that village's riverwalk plan is expected to be completed in late October. However, that's as far as it will go until business partnerships can be formed to pay for any work. "We have no money, but we do have an interest in doing something to improve the utilization of our under-developed downtown area," Barlow said. "The belief is that a riverwalk would help that mission tremendously." |
»»»»»
Greenway Trails
» » »Existing
» » »Project
» » »Potential
Greenway Maps
» » »by Agency
» » »by Scope
Community Systems
» » »Active
» » »Typical
» » »Sedentary
» » »Dead-end
Grade Separations
» » »Existing
» » »Needed
Trail Development
» » »News
» » »Events
Greenway Advocacy Materials
Bicycle Underpass/Overpass Gallery
About Greenway Planning Database
About Steve Breese
PalatineRoad.com
Contact Steve Breese
Greenway Links
ArlingtonTrotters.com
Fast Track Racing Team
COGO
Technical Corner