Kim Liddell, a Tinley Park resident with visual impairment, said Blue Island is like her second home because in the 15 years she has worked in the area, she walks around town and knows every corner and curve of most sidewalks and alleys.
Liddell stood for the first time on a walkway next the the roaring water of the Blue Island Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration Friday, just after city and state officials and advocates unveiled accessibility improvements to the station that is also a community green space.
Liddell said it might take some training to learn the route to the station, but with time she would like to visit the waterfalls as part of her walks, now that there’s a ramp path.
“To have the inclusion, something that older generations like me have been fighting for and be a part of this … I’m really excited to be here,” she said.
The improvements, including a ramp, a retaining wall and a few braille signs, allowed Liddell and dozens of other area residents to access the park for the first time Friday. The park offers waterfalls, picnic areas, recreational space, fishing, birding and educational opportunities focused on water quality.
The Blue Island aeration station, originally built in the early 1990s as one of five stations aiming to reduce odors, improve water quality and help fish populations, has become a popular spot for city events, photo opportunities and gathering, said Tom Shepherd, one of the co-founders of the annual Blessing of the Waters event.
The stations pull water in from the canal and let it cascade through a series of waterfalls, increasing the oxygen in the water, according to Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Previously, Shepherd said accessing the waterfalls took some climbing and difficult movements that prevented people with disabilities from attending events. He said one year two wives of area commissioners who had injuries could not access the Blessing of the Waters event, which raises awareness for water quality.
“Each year we had asked them to make this happen and finally it has, to make this beautiful place accessible to everybody, and particularly those with some kind of disability that couldn’t come up here,” he said.
Debbie Pittman, a president at the Progress Center for Independent Living who is visually impaired, said she could hear the water, but did not know its importance until reading the braille sign.
“This is history, this is progress, this is what inclusion is about,” Pittman said. “This is wonderful, and the nature is good, it’s peaceful and I love the ramp. It’s wide and easy to walk down.”
Clark Craig, who works for the Progress Center, said it’s especially important to have green spaces to help with mental health. He said he has struggled with being ashamed of his own disability, and the park by his house helps calm his mind.
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Craig said he hopes accessibility can become a more common part of life, as he called people without a disability “temporarily able-bodied,” as he said disability can happen in a moment to anyone.
“It’s important to celebrate these victories,” he said.
Horacio Esparza, executive director of the Progress Center for Independent Living who is visually impaired, said he hopes other suburbs replicate this effort.
“If every resident and their needs are considered, inclusion becomes a standard and dignity a result,” he said. “Governments are not just for one, they’re for a group, they’re for everybody.”
The improvements were the result of a partnership by the Progress Center for Independent Living, the MWRD, the Blue Island Chamber of Commerce, the Blue Island Disability Committee and other area groups.
Blue Island Mayor Fred Bilotto said the city has talked about building the improvements for three years and started last year. He said he remembers growing up along the Calumet Sag Channel, when the area Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration station was just open fields.
Seeing it as an accessible recreational space for the community, as someone with a family history of people with disabilities, hits close to home, Bilotto said.
“It’s a public space where residents can gather with friends and family and generally enjoy nature,” he said. “(The improvements) represent a commitment to inclusion and ensuring that public spaces are welcoming and accessible to residents of all ages and abilities.
Pittman and Liddell both said Blue Island has become a more accessible area and said they hope other suburbs take on similar accessibility improvements.
“It’s just lovely to see a city wanting to include everybody,” Pittman said. “Some other suburbs should take note of this moment and what it means to include everybody because people with disabilities are everywhere.”