La Grange Park Takes "Hard Look" at Their Parks Tonight

The Community Park District of La Grange Park needs to take a "hard look" at its parks, according to Executive Director Roy Cripe.

The first step in the park district's re-evaluation of its outdoor recreation facilities will begin tonight at 6:30 p.m. with a public meeting held in the activity room at the , 1501 Barnsdale Rd.

The focus of the meeting will be on and and possible improvements that can be made to enhance user's experience.

"We need to take a critical look at all of our outdoor facilities," Cripe said.

Cripe said he hopes this critical examination of the parks in La Grange Park will help to re-envision how residents use the parks. In particular, Cripe said he believes the playground at Memorial Park needs to become more family friendly, and other improvements at the park's entryway near Village Market could be made to make it more inviting to local shoppers.

Cripe said the meeting will be informal and feature a presentation by the Park District's landscape architect John Vann of LandTech Designs. Community members are encouraged to attend and share their own vision for the future of La Grange Park's outdoor facilities.

Cripe said the meetings would have the added benefit of helping the Park District when it applies for state grants to fulfill its vision.

"It's the first step in our process to identify and create a plan for park improvements," Cripe said.

Cripe said the Park District plans to hold public meetings for each of its parks this winter with the next meeting scheduled to be held in January 2012.