Itasca wants to know what to name that river walk

Turtle Lane, Pebbles Creek and The Frog Walk are just some of the names kids and community members are suggesting for Itasca's soon-to-be-built river walk.

Through next Friday, the village is accepting suggestions on what the future hot spot should be called.

"The river walk is in the heart of the downtown," Mayor Gigi Gruber said. "This will give the rest of the community an opportunity to get involved and name it."

About 200 adults, students and children have submitted names. Some are even going all out and coming up with a logo, too.

"It's exciting to see that they really put some thought behind this," Gruber said.

Residents can send suggestions to mayor@itasca.com.

Officials plan to decide on a name by Christmas.

Itasca's $1.8 million river walk project includes a concrete path surrounded by lighting, decorative features and signage. The roughly half-mile path would start at the intersection of Irving Park Road and Walnut Avenue, meander south and west alongside Spring Creek and continue behind the fire station, library and park district water park.

The 10-foot-wide path will be wheelchair and stroller accessible.

The project is in its first phase, and will take several months to complete.

Leaders were trying to get the project rolling in the summer, but the county's permitting process took longer than expected.

Before that, the project was on hold for more than five years. It came to fruition when the new village hall was completed.

Hitchcock Design Group, which designed Naperville's Riverwalk in the early 1980s, is working on the Itasca project.