Naperville's Central Park must wait

Proposed improvements to Central Park in downtown Naperville stalled Thursday night as park commissioners asked for more time to study the recommendations.

However, many of the proposed enhancements aren't likely to come to fruition in the near future anyway, due to the need for more funding.

The 3.8-acre site along Benton Avenue is the home of the Naperville Municipal Band and has already undergone several improvements in recent years including walkways with better handicapped accessibility, new playground equipment and landscaping. The land is owned by the city but maintained by the park district.

With the help of Hitchcock Design Group, the two have been working on creating a master plan for the park.

The plan calls for curbed terraces for the seating area as well as room for movable seats providing a flexible setup that could accommodate 300 to 600 people and would be handicapped accessible. The plan would increase open space in the park by 14 percent. It includes 90 parking spaces, down from 104. On Court Place, parking would be angled and one-way heading north.

Resident Don Wehrli has long been a proponent of further reducing the number of parking spaces in the park in order to add more green space and urged the park district to have its planners go back to the drawing board.

"We feel a larger greener Central Park will enhance our downtown and bring beauty and comfort into the lives of all of our people," he said.

Commissioner Ron Ory agreed. "We should not be providing parking for downtown merchants," he said. "They are already paying substantial amounts for parking decks and other parking facilities. Nor should we be providing parking for the YMCA."

Total costs for the proposed projects is just under $4 million. The park project has received $499,999 in grants from the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity and Naperville's Special Events and Cultural Amenities funds that will go toward seating and monument restoration in the park within the next five years.

The rest of the improvements will have to wait until more funding can be secured. Permanent restrooms, for example, are listed as a long-term improvement that could be 10 years or more down the road.

Both the city and park district eventually will vote on the plan. Park commissioners decided Thursday to schedule a workshop to discuss the proposal further before sending it back to city council.