A new natural prairie garden has been proposed for a spot along the Naperville Riverwalk, near Centennial Beach and the sand volleyball courts.
Since the 1970s, the two-acre, saucer-shaped site has been used for stormwater detention. During the summer, Naperville Park District uses it as an extension of the volleyball courts and during the winter, it’s flooded for ice skating.
The district had its landscape architects draft a plan that would use the city-owned space for prairie nature garden instead, as proposed in the Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan, which includes multiple projects in honor of the Riverwalk’s 50th anniversary.
– Original Credit:
The plan was presented this week to the city’s Riverwalk Planning, Design and Construction Committee, which makes recommendations to the Riverwalk Commission.
Bill Novak, director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department, said the response from committee members was positive and the conversation with park district staff productive.
“Everyone there supports it and knows it’s a step in the right direction,” Novak said. “It’s a very preliminary plan.”
Committee members had asked if an elevated boardwalk could be installed so visitors could view the planting from above but that’s not feasible, he said. Because the area is in a floodway, it can’t support a boardwalk.
“That was a constraint we already ran into, so it’s important to talk through this,” Novak said.
Eric Shutes, director of planning for the park district, said a timetable for the work won’t be established until after the Riverwalk Commission signs off on the concept and the garden’s final plan, he said.
More Top Picks Wireless Chargers
However, it is know that there will be educational signage explaining the benefits of a natural prairie and benches placed throughout so people can sit and rest, Shutes said.
A shade plant bed will feature perennial plants and about half an acre will be used for a detention basin prairie, planted with a mix of native plant seed.
The garden would be to the right of the existing volleyball courts at Centennial Beach.
According to the master plan, the project is estimated to cost between $141,500 and $202,200 and will cost around $5,000 to maintain annually.