Residents oppose marina proposal

Study says boat owners approve, but residents concerned about traffic

By Yuxing Zheng

The Daily Northwestern

There is enough demand from boat owners to support a possible marina in Evanston, but less than 40 percent of Evanston residents approve of the idea, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study released Friday.

About 46 percent of the 400 randomly selected residents surveyed oppose a possible marina across from Calvary Cemetery, 301 Chicago Ave. About 39 percent favored the proposal, while about 15 percent were indifferent or did not answer.

The federally funded study, which cost about $100,000, was presented to the city’s marina task force Thursday. It included a conceptual drawing of a marina for 378 boats and a parking lot, which would be built on a landfill, for 310 cars.

The corps will present the findings, which recommend further funding for a more in-depth study, to the public at the City Council meeting tonight.

Opponents said they worried about the increased traffic and congestion a marina would create in the area. But the traffic portion of the study, conducted by Northwestern’s Transportation Program, found there would be minimal effects on traffic.

Ramona Meher, a co-founder of Citizens for Lakefront Preservation, said she was surprised by the findings presented.

“It’s baffling to me that the traffic section of the study believes that there will be no impact on the traffic flow or density,” Meher said. “I don’t understand how you can put 300 cars on two blocks of Sheridan Road and not impact traffic.”

Meher said she received an e-mail Friday from Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd), in which the alderman said she would not support the marina.

Wynne, whose ward includes the site of the possible marina, could not be reached for comment this weekend.

“I don’t think there’s enough support in the community for the marina,” said Ald. Gene Feldman (9th). “It is a dramatic imposition on the lakefront that, if built, would have to have the support of the overwhelming majority of the people in Evanston and I don’t believe it’s there.”

Meher said she hopes aldermen value the opinions of local residents more than the opinions of the boat owners, who reside within a 30-mile radius of Evanston.

“Their constituents don’t live 30 miles away,” Meher said. “The people who voted them into office have clearly sent the message that they are opposed (to the marina).”

Meher said she wanted to ensure that the lake remain open to all citizens. Instead she suggested building a dock to accommodate kayakers and other beachgoers to make the lake more accessible.

The study predicted construction costs of $18 million to $20 million but provided no figures for potential revenue.

Evanston resident and Kellogg School of Management Prof. Therese McGuire conducted a preliminary study earlier this year about the cost and revenue of a possible marina for 500 boats.

McGuire found the marina would cost $18 million to build and would annually yield $1 million in profits. In comparison the city received $3.5 million a year from parking fees in a recent budget, she said.

Ald. Steven Bernstein (4th) originally suggested a marina two years ago as a way for the city to bring in more money.

Peter Demuth, a resident who wrote a song protesting the marina, said aldermen should consider citizens’ concerns in addition to financial issues.

“To be fair they should have some sort of hearing or several town-hall meetings for the people in the area,” said Demuth, who lives near the studied site. “Politicians are supposed to listen to the will of the people. And if the will of the people say ‘no marina in southeast Evanston,’ then there shouldn’t be one.”