Flooded parking lot gets attention
The parking lot of International Plaza in Arlington Heights turned into a body of water so large it practically deserved a name Saturday after 7.25 inches of rain soaked the area in 24 hours.
Rain that fell between 8:30 a.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday flooded virtually the entire parking lot of the shopping area on Golf Road just east of Arlington Heights Road, where gapers gathered to snap photos.
While most shops never opened Saturday, XSport Fitness never closed, letting members exercise 24-hours a day as usual, assistant manager Hong Dang said.
“We’ve had no problems, really, other than members are having trouble getting to the gym,” Dang said. “They’re calling in to see if we’re open.”
Employees and members parked across the street at retail businesses on the south side of Golf Road, he said, then walked around or through the flooded parking area to get to the gym.
Gus Tragas, manager of Elly’s Pancake House at 372 E. Golf Road near the plaza, said he trudged through about 5 inches of water to get into the restaurant.
“I took my shoes off” and went inside to assess whether the building’s interior was flooded, he said.
Finding no water inside, Tragas said, he didn’t plan on staying long; the restaurant likely will not open until Sunday morning at the earliest.
Arlington Heights police said they were working with village public works crews to drain two flooded streets Saturday afternoon before assisting with flooding on private property such as the International Plaza parking lot.
Dang said XSport contacted International Plaza’s owner and was told someone should be arriving to drain the parking lot by Sunday or Monday.