Carol Stream park projects move forward

Roughly half the $37 million Carol Stream Park District received from a successful referendum push will be spent on a proposed 88,000-square-foot recreation center, but officials also are hard at work on several smaller projects.

The park district will accept a bid next month for a highly anticipated dog park. New trees are being planted in several parks and several playgrounds have been renovated.

Finally, officials continue to work with DuPage County toward an eventual water reservoir and pumping station at Armstrong Park. They hope the work will help alleviate flooding in the area.

A rundown of where the projects stand:

Dog park

A dog park that received plenty of support in pre-referendum surveys has reached the pre-final concept drawing stage. The 20-acre site will be at the northwest corner of North Avenue and Kuhn Road.

The park is expected to be ready by fall 2011.

The plan is to accept bids next month and begin construction in the spring. The park will have areas for both large and small dogs, a covered seating area and water fountains for both people and canines.

Parks and trails

Minor paving work has been done on trails throughout the district and trees that have been lost to construction or disease have been replaced.

Director of Marketing Services Julie Vogl said each tree lost will be replaced by two new ones.

In all, 62 trees will be planted in 11 parks, including 15 in Slepicka Park and 10 each in Pleasant Hill and Walters parks.

Playgrounds

Before the end of the year, three playgrounds will receive upgrades and replacement equipment as part of the referendum project.

The new playground at Sundance Park, at the corner of Kuhn Road and Yardley Drive, will sit just east of its previous location and be partially surrounded by trees.

At Stonebridge Park, north of Birchbark Trail and west of Morton Road, two playsites will be combined into one. Those two projects are about 95 percent complete.

Meanwhile, crews recently poured concrete on a project in Jirsa Park along Rose Avenue to replace all the playground equipment.

Executive Director Arnie Biondo said the playgrounds get replaced every 15 to 18 years to keep up with safety standards. The three combined projects will cost about $348,000.

Armstrong Park

Park officials continue to seek details of a county plan to use Armstrong Park, 391 Illini Drive, as a flood-mitigation area. The county previously said it would like to install a water reservoir and pumping station at the park.

Vogl said the plan will raze the Aldrin Community Center and raise the baseball and softball fields to help handle flooding issues.