Kayakers paddling for an Aurora park

This group paddle will have a purpose.

At least 100 paddlers from around the area are expected to meet in Aurora and Batavia today for an end-of-the-season run.

But their outing also will have another point -- to show support for a proposed whitewater kayak park on the Fox River in Aurora.

Participants will meet at the Batavia VFW, 645 S. River St., at 10 a.m. today for a group paddle down the river.

Around noon, they'll gather at the canoe chute between New York Street and Galena Boulevard on the west bank of the river in Aurora.

From 2 to 3 p.m., three-time world-champion and Olympic kayaker Scott Shipley will be available for autographs and photos at Walter Payton's Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway in Aurora.

At 3 p.m., Shipley, who also is a kayak park designer and engineer, will give a presentation on the possibility of such a park in Aurora.

The plan has long been a dream of Aurora resident Charlie Zine, who founded the Pigeon Hill Paddlers Kayak Club.

An advocate for dam safety, Zine is heading a grassroots campaign to build support at city, county and state levels to create a multimillion dollar kayak park for all levels.

The river could become a regional attraction and help revitalize the city's economy, he said. He enlisted the help of Shipley, who lives in Denver, to push the proposal.

"This park fits so well with what Aurora already is trying to do," Shipley said on Friday. "This is a way to create a river that's safe for people to go down. It's a lifestyle park."

In the process, workers would eliminate the dangers associated with dams by re-engineering the waterway, Zine said.