THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008
Arredia Should Still Lead Riverwalk Vision
 Off The RecordBy Todd Wessell |
Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia figures all he needs is another two years. In that amount of time, Arredia be lieves he could finish his work on the planned Des Plaines Riverwalk, then retire to his back yard.
And yet, Arredia doesn't have two years left as Mayor. Term limits will force him out of of fice next spring. He'll no longer be able to spearhead the Riverwalk project-at least as Mayor. It's our suggestion that whoever is elected Arredia's re placement and the new City Council ask him to continue to serve as the visionary and leader of this vital and wholesome pro ject. Otherwise, the interest sparked by Arredia could gradu ally fizzle.
Meanwhile, enthusiasm for the Riverwalk and related civic improvements continues to grind forward. As reported in last Friday's Journal & Topics Newspapers, City Engineer Tim Oakley believes work on the bi cycle/pedestrian walkway and floodwall along the Des Plaines River near Miner Street will be completed in June. We sug gested to Mayor Arredia yester day (Tuesday) that when that time approaches, a huge com munity party be planned to mark the occasion. Everyone in Des Plaines should be invited to stroll along the concrete path way, take in the serenity of the Des Plaines River, munch on refreshments, marvel at the pro ject that not only will serve as protection against flooding, but utilize our town's greatest natu ral resource.
Arredia, of course, already had the brain engaged, saying he would love to tie in the walk way's opening with the down town Taste of Des Plaines cele bration that will be held the first weekend in June.
"We could have 20,000 peo ple walk to the river and over the Miner Street bridge," said Tony. "I've been trying to get Gov. Blagojevich here and I'd like to get the people from the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and Army Corps of Engineers and have a big party. This is a giant step in fixing up the image of Des Plaines espe cially the Dempster Street gate way. It will look unbelievable. Before, it looked like another planet. This is something I'm proud of." Arredia credited for mer Prospect Hts. mayors Ed Rotchford and Rodney Pace along with ex-Mt. Prospect Mayor Skip Farley for their support and work on the project and other flood relief efforts. As for the overall Riverwalk, Arredia last week attended a meeting of the Cook County Board where unanimous ap proval was given for an inter governmental agreement be tween the county and Des Plaines. That agreement grants the city permission to move ahead with improvements on Cook County Forest Preserve property in Des Plaines. Those improvements will be to exist ing horse and hiking trails along the river from Touhy Avenue on the south north to Golf Road. Approximately $1 million in grant money has been secured by Arredia and the city to pay for the widening of the trails and laying of crushed stone so peo ple can walk, ride and enjoy the river and greenery. This is also tied in to the Big Bend Lake flood prevention project, made possible by Arredia, that will increase the water holding capac ity of the lake during heavy rainfalls and utilize the services of a large pump to keep water out of people's homes.
And one other project associ ated with all of this is the planned development of the community's Historical Campus near River and Rand roads where the Historical Society museum may operate out of. That pro posal calls for the partnering with the McDonald's Corp. to utilize the hamburger giant's original site on Lee Street as a larger public museum, and to develop green space-a lost commodity in suburbia's sprawl. One idea, said Arredia, is to construct a wooden bridge that would link the campus area with the Des Plaines River pos sibly east of Rand Road near Elk Boulevard. The campus idea could require the securing of an other $5 million in state and federal grants along with some kind of financial commitment by the city to provide planning.
"We want to enhance that area so it becomes an attraction and enhances pedestrian traffic for Metropolitan Square as well as improve the city's gateway in that area," added Arredia.
We couldn't agree more.