Evanston’s lakefront could become more visitor-friendly with a new boat launch, play areas, restroom facilities and improved bike and walking paths.
About 75 residents came to the Presbyterian Homes Westminster Place Campus, 3200 Grant St., on Tuesday night to listen and comment on the most recent preliminary version for Evanston’s Lakefront Master Plan.
The plan includes putting in a new boat launch and restroom facilities near Clark St., a new picnic shelter near Church St., and gardens and trails near Central St. The plan would also consolidate parking, improve walking and biking trails, and increase beach access throughout.
Consultant Greg Weykamp said the new plan could also include changing parts of Sheridan Road, by rerouting traffic near the Clark Street Beach and merging several different park spaces. These changes would create the largest contiguous park possible and make the street safer for pedestrians, he said. However, any changes to Sheridan Road would require a comprehensive traffic study.
Evanston resident Mike Meyers thought adding stoplights or pedestrian bridges were better alternatives than changing Sheridan Road. If the road were to change, the change in traffic patterns would affect the neighborhood he lives in, Meyers said.
“The plan needs a lot more study,” Meyers said. “I think the traffic flow and safety hasn’t been properly researched. Re-routing Sheridan Road is a huge mistake.”
Many residents came to Tuesday’s meeting wearing “Save our Harbor” stickers to show support for keeping a boat dock in Evanston. Earlier proposals would have eliminated Evanston’s only boat launch point near Church St. The latest plan includes a ramp on the north end of Clark Street Beach, just south of Northwestern’s campus. Longtime boater Larry Emerson said the boat dock is an asset for Evanston residents and people who don’t live by the water.
“Lake Michigan is a precious jewel of the Midwest and it should be enjoyed by all members of the state and not just those closest to it,” Emerson said.
Weykamp said the current boat ramp can’t be a part of the lakefront plan in it’s present state because of dredging costs, functionality and safety issues.
“The boat ramp can’t stay as it is, ” Weykamp said. “That doesn’t mean it can’t stay where it is, but it must have some tenable improvements. It can be made to work but the question is should it be made to work and I think a large number of people here would say, ‘yes.'”
The Lakefront Plan was based on a series of meetings started about five months ago. Weykamp said he and a group of other consultants heard residents’ initial comments and formulated three proposals. After more community feedback, they consolidated the more popular aspects of the plans into two proposals. Eventually, they created the single Draft Consensus Plan, which was presented at a public workshop Oct. 4.
Evanston residents will have at least two more opportunities to learn about the plan and give input. The next meeting will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. A third meeting will be held at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 1655 Foster St. on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.
Evanston resident and director of the Illinois Paddling Council Sigrid Pilgrim said she has mixed feelings about the plan.
“As a representative of the paddling community I didn’t see the need for moving the kayaking and sailing facilities,” Pilgrim said. “All we need is a parking space.”
Reach Annie Martin at [email protected].
