As Oak Park’s new Field Center draws closer to groundbreaking, area residents have expressed concerns over the cost, the location of the center and its effects on traffic. Park District of Oak Park officials met with some of them last week in an effort to ease those concerns.
The project to replace the century-old Field Center building began last March, when park officials asked for proposal designs. They ended up with plans for a new center that will be twice as large and more accessible to people with disabilities.
However, in November, residents expressed shock at the $2.8 million price tag and worried about the potential for worse traffic around Field Park, between Berkshire and Division streets and next to Horace Mann Elementary. Other objections concerned taking more green space for a building.
During an online meeting last week members tried to allay those concerns as the Park Board nears final decisions on the Field Center, which should come Thursday.
They said though the new building will occupy more land than the previous facility, the redesigned area calls for more usable green space in the park as well as an improved flow of vehicles.
Plus, parks Director Jan Arnold pointed out, with a bigger building, the Park District can accommodate more students for afterschool programs and stagger the classes, meaning parents will not drop off or pick up kids all at once.
“It’s not like this building is going to add traffic,” she said. “In fact, I believe this is going to help spread traffic out.”
In addition, she said the village is looking at traffic congestion in the area and they should be working on mitigation efforts of their own this year, though their plans have no bearing on nor input from park officials.
“There’s tons of traffic calming they are going to be doing as well as pedestrian safety issues they will be doing throughout the community,” said Chris Lindgren, the Park District’s deputy director of properties and planning.
While the design for the building already has been approved, the positioning of the building will come down to two options outlined at the meeting. Neither plan will affect the current Field Center until the new one is finished and ready, and the old center will remain open through construction.
The main difference between the two plans is “Option B” would position the new center directly north of the existing center while “Option A” would move the new building nearer to Berkshire and would cause more trees to get the ax. Option B would mean the loss of six trees while Option A would remove 11 trees, including seven memorial trees. Officials said all trees would be replaced and two memorial trees need to be removed regardless of what happens.
The park’s existing berms — man-made hills created from leftover soil when the original center’s basement was dug out — will be moved to the center of the park.
“We’re planning on putting some berming in that area so we will still have mature trees, similar to what we have on the north side of the park, but in the center of the park,” said Arnold.
The other difference is the distance from Berkshire Street.
“Option A is about 65 feet from Berkshire,” said Keven Graham, an engineer with Terra Engineering. Option B is 266 feet from the street.
“It is a real issue when it comes to dropping off kids or picking up kids at a community center,” Graham said.
With either option, Arnold said, an alley behind the center would be completely fenced off and the park lights would be LED and be on a timer system to prevent light pollution late at night.
Additional amenities in the park may include input from its main users — children.
“We’ve talked about having the kids vote on playground equipment,” Arnold said. Once the Park Board settles on Option A or B, the district will work on the play equipment.
“Then we would work with Horace Mann school to have the kids involved with selecting the pieces of equipment,” she said.
“The kids in the past have had a really good time with it,” Graham said.
Once ground is broken on the project, Arnold said the new center should be open within a year.
“Ten-to-12-months is what we’re going to say,” she said. “Sometimes (we get) wet springs, wet falls, wet winters, so we’re talking at the most, 12 months. When we start dictates that.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
