Kayaker envisions state's first whitewater park - on the Fox River

At first, even Charlie Zine didn't take his idea to build a whitewater park on the Fox River too seriously.

The venue, he thought a year ago, could draw thousands to downtown Aurora and, in the process, make the river safer for everyone.

Still, it seemed to be a pipe dream, even to him.

"When I started, I thought the plan had no chance," said Zine, an Aurora kayaker. "But it was a noble effort and a battle that needed to be fought."

So he shared the idea with others. He enlisted the help of Olympic kayaker Scott Shipley, who lives in Colorado and designs whitewater parks.

Shipley helped draft a concept plan, which includes renovating a canoe chute in Aurora and improving dams in Aurora and Montgomery.

Now, to even his surprise, Zine's proposed multimillion-dollar urban kayak park -- which would be the state's first -- is edging closer to reality.

The city is considering including it as part of its creation of River's Edge Park. State leaders have seen the conceptual plans. And several groups and governmental agencies are backing the idea.

"There's been so much support, we actually believe it will happen," said Zine, who founded the Pigeon Hill Paddlers and heads a citizens group dedicated to preserving the river.

Organizers still face multiple challenges, mostly financial, but Zine says he's amazed at the progress of his grassroots campaign to make Aurora the "next great adventure town."

"We can do this project," Shipley said. "It's very real. It's not a pipe dream."

The vision

Zine first was lured to the idea of river excitement after reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" as a kid.

He and friends built a raft and floated along the Fox from Carpentersville to Dundee. Now he spends as much time as possible on the river - up to four days a week.

Though the Fox River is Aurora's biggest strength, he says, the city has never taken full advantage of it.

Building a whitewater park for kayakers, tubers, canoeists and rafters of all ages and skill levels could help do that, he said.

The park could bring in thousands of visitors and help spur downtown revitalization by attracting hotels, eateries and sporting stores, supporters say.

It could hold Olympic-qualifying events and bring visibility to a sport that's moving from remote mountain streams and rivers into the heart of bustling downtowns, they say.

Today, there are more than 40 whitewater parks nationwide, in places such as South Bend, Ind., and Wausau, Wis.

Many cities, in fact, are recognizing them as a key to economic booms in their downtowns. And as they continue to move into the mainstream, they're attracting thousands of new fans who wouldn't otherwise be exposed to the sports.

Take, for example, Reno, Nev., a gambling center of about 250,000.

Reno's downtown came alive when the $1.5 million Truckee River Whitewater Park opened in 2004, leaders say.

The half-mile venue became a "tremendous" catalyst for redevelopment, said Mary Paoli, spokesman for the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.

The park hosts the annual Reno River Festival, featuring one of the world's top kayaking events and attracting more than 32,000 visitors in a single weekend.

Reno leaders estimate that festival alone pumps about $4 million a year into the economy.

"The park has become the heart of our downtown," a community leader told "Paddlesports Business" this summer. "Reno used to be this dusty old gaming town; now it's America's adventure town."

The timing is right for Aurora to follow that lead, supporters say.

Aldermen recently approved a master plan for River's Edge Park and the Riverwalk. The 30-acre site is intended to be a smaller version of Chicago's Millennium Park, with a music venue, botanical garden and nature center.

"It fits so well with what Aurora is already trying to do," Shipley said.

Making it safer

The project wouldn't be that difficult to implement, leaders say, and could be done at a reasonable cost.

First, Zine proposes completely renovating the existing canoe chute in downtown Aurora, which may be structurally unsafe.

The bypass channel, at the northwest bank of the river adjacent to Stolp Island, would be widened and deepened, and a big entry pool would be created.

A spectator viewing area would be built. The concrete gates would be removed, allowing paddlers to travel both upstream and downstream. In short, it would "quit looking like a glorified sewer and more like a natural-looking water stream," Zine said.

Workers also would eliminate the dangerous undercurrents in the nearby east and west channel dams, making them safer.

A "killer hydraulic" at the base of the west channel dam already has contributed to several deaths. The undercurrent is so strong that it can suck boaters in and make escape virtually impossible.

Zine proposes creating a series of drop structures, each between one and three feet deep, that help break up the energy. It also will improve water quality and fish habitats, he said.

A dam in Montgomery also would be renovated. Workers there would create a bypass channel and remove the earthen dam. The concrete dam would be left as is.

Those changes would allow paddlers to travel from Aurora to Yorkville and be part of a larger regional waterway. They also allow a 40-mile water trail from around North Aurora southwest to the Dayton dam in Dayton Township, to become more feasible.

's an Illinois town? It must be. Can we help explain where it is, even by saying a 40-mile water trail from around North Aurora southwest/east/whatever to the small town of Dayton. nho>An early cost estimate for the two bypass channels and dam renovations is around $5.5 million, Zine said. Ideally, the park could open by 2010. Challenges aheadFunding, predictably, may be the biggest obstacle. The park ultimately would be state-run and -operated, Zine said. But multiple agencies would need to cooperate in the building of it.Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said he's excited about the idea, calling it a "creative way" to remove a dangerous dam.The city hasn't yet officially approved the concept. Leaders say they would look for both private and public partners to move the idea ahead.Zine has met with the director and engineers from the Office of Water Resources, part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, about the concept, and they were "open-minded." He plans to ask the city of Aurora to pay for early engineering work, which could cost around $150,000, and provide more detailed and realistic cost estimates for the state. Supporters also are waiting on state leaders to pass a bill that includes funding for dam safety. Then they hope to ensure Aurora receives some of the money."We have already put millions into the river, and now we're looking to the state to reciprocate," Zine said. Several groups, including business leaders and environmentalists, already support the idea. And about 70 kayakers from around the state visited Aurora a few weeks ago for an end-of-the-season run to back the plan."The thought of a whitewater park in downtown Aurora of any kind is a wonderful and grand idea," said Erik Sprenne, of the Chicago Whitewater Association.It also would offer school, church and Scouting groups numerous recreational opportunities, said Sigrid Pilgrim, director of the Illinois Paddling Council.But others have concerns.Chuck Roberts, president of Friends of the Fox River, said he would prefer if possible to remove the dangerous dams altogether."Dams create a breeding ground for algae, and the byproduct of that growth is that the water has huge swings in oxygen content," he said. "It gets to the point where fish life doesn't want to live in it."He said his group is "not actively opposing (the plan), which is as much support as we can give."Removal's not an option for all dams. Hollywood Casino Aurora is supported by the pond created by the west and east channel dams. Zine knows his work is far from finished. But it has come a long way in a year, he said, and that's encouraging. "It's just been amazing how complex the process is," he says. 512340Former Olympic kayaker Scott Shipley of Colorado, and Jim Tibensky, of Wayne, kayak on the Fox River in Aurora. Both support the idea of building a whitewater park along the river, which would be the state's first such urban park.Marcelle Bright | Staff Photographer