Volunteers installing bricks along Naperville’s Riverwalk

Naperville loves its volunteers, especially when it comes to the Riverwalk.

At least 10 such folks took to the downtown path’s western edge Wednesday morning to help install its trademark wavy, red bricks to replace the asphalt walkway.

“We went to the community and invited them to help in a traditional Riverwalk manner and help lay bricks,” Riverwalk Administrator Jan Erickson said. “I think this is terrific. It extends the traditional Riverwalk look.”

Using bricks recycled from previous Riverwalk projects in various shades of red, volunteers are paving a section of the path starting west of the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion and heading toward the bridge over Jefferson Avenue.

They’ll work from 9 a.m. until noon each Wednesday morning in July, said Lynnette Hoole, volunteer coordinator for Naperville Park District.

The goal is to cover 175 feet of the 525-foot section still paved with asphalt, according to Chuck Papanos, north parks foreman for the park district.

Installing brick is meticulous work, even with the scalloped pavers Erickson said were chosen for their easily interlocking design back in 1981 when the Riverwalk was just getting started.

“You have to make sure the spacing is perfect because if you have a small gap now, it can become a huge problem later on,” said 19-year-old volunteer Justin Tan of Naperville as he placed rows of bricks side-by-side on the 7½-foot -wide path.

Park staff helped pound the bricks closer together over a flat base of sand.

Tan said he volunteered to find a productive use of his free time not taken up by a summer school class. He also enjoys Naperville’s outdoor assets and said he’s eagerly awaiting the opening of the Nike Sports Complex scheduled for July 16.

“Especially during the summer, my friends and I would come down here (to the Riverwalk) and take walks or bike around town,” Tan said.

The park district can accommodate about 30 volunteers each week. Anyone who wants to lend a hand and install a brick — or a few hundred — can contact Hoole at (630) 848-3606 or lhoole@napervilleparks.org.

If the volunteer effort grows, as Erickson said it often does in Naperville, the park district will allow crews to pave more than the goal of 175 feet this month, getting closer to the Riverwalk’s west gate at Jefferson Avenue.

“I love the tradition of having volunteers come back and lay bricks,” Erickson said. “It feels like Naperville.”