Des Plaines parks reopening renovated West Park
It's been a long time coming, so the Des Plaines Park District staff and Board of Commissioners plans to celebrate the grand reopening of West Park, 651 S. Wolf Road at Greenview Avenue, in style. The community is invited to see for themselves all of the improvements to the outdoor facilities from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2. The unveiling of the new park sign and the ribbon cutting will take place at 11:15 a.m.
Residents will get the chance to try out the new tennis courts, basketball courts and bocce ball courts during the planned sports activities, as well as enjoy refreshments provided by the park district.
West Park is one of the Des Plaines Park District's premier outdoor facilities. Renovations included many new conveniences and improvements, including the large, innovative, handicapped accessible playground, with ramps and shade canopies. This "boundary free" playground design is the first of its kind across the 59 parks and facilities owned or maintained by the Des Plaines Park District.
Many of the new amenities are in response to a community forum meeting held last year. One improvement is the new 8-foot-wide asphalt walking/biking path around the park that measures .44 miles long (just less than a half mile.) Three new covered shelters have been added, including one near the new playground with built-in tables and seating, a picnic shelter by the baseball diamonds, and a picnic shelter near the Wolf Road parking lot. The picnic shelters will be available for rental for family gatherings and parties, as is the one at Lake Park, which was donated by the Optimist Club.
Two new parking lots were also installed, with a total of 112 spaces. This adds 18 new spaces and four handicapped accessible spaces near the field house.
For sports enthusiasts, West Park now has a new lighted hard-surface tennis court, new lighted basketball courts one full court and one half court, a bocce ball court, and a new illuminated area designated for ice skating. Two new baseball fields, one with 80-foot base paths and one with 70-foot base paths, were added. And the park still has plenty of open play area, as well.
An important, though not visible feature, is the installation of new sewers, including two stormwater detention areas, which will improve drainage in the park.
The park was originally built in 1958, and this 2009-2010 renovation is the largest in-house project the Parks Department has undertaken. The Park District was able to maintain the integrity of the original design proposal by Brusseau Design Group and stay within budget by having the Parks Department assume a large portion of the renovating. They installed the new playground drainage, playground equipment, the safety surfacing of all the site amenities and drinking fountains, the dugout surfacing, and the outfield warning tracks on both baseball fields. The Parks Department also planted 97 native trees, performed the final grading of the entire park, prepared the soil for seeding and planted 10 acres of turf.
"Bringing the park to opening day on schedule was especially tough due to the unusually hot, dry weather we experienced this summer," said Paul Cathey, Superintendent of Parks. "The Parks staff had to work extra hard to get the grass to germinate and grow, and to keep the new trees from dying.
"West Park has always been a favorite in the community and will now become a destination for families."
For details, call (847) 391-5700 or visit DPParks.org.
If you goWhat: Grand reopening of West ParkWhen: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2Where: West Park, 651 S. Wolf Road at Greenview Avenue, Des PlainesCost: FreeDetails: (847) 391-5700 or DPParks.orgFalse12892000Kids will delight in climbing on all the new equipment at the renovated West Park playground area.Courtesy of Lisa HaringFalse