Friends of West Park Wilmette
We need your help to Save West Park
CURRENT WEST PARK
PROPOSED CHANGES UNDER VILLAGE CONSIDERATION
Ways you can help
Stay informed. Sign up here.
Click through for instructions on how to notify the
Village of Wilmette with your opposition.
Attend a Public Board Meeting to Show Opposition
March 16, 2022, 7pm, Wilmette Village Hall second floor – the Park District application for West Park changes will be presented at a public meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals
April 6, 2022, 7pm, Wilmette Village Hall second floor – the official hearing at which the Zoning Board of Appeals will vote whether or not to recommend the Park District's application to the Village Board
TBD - after the decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Park District application will likely be considered for final approval by the Wilmette Village Board
The Park District's Proposed Changes to West Park
Move and downsize playground to be dangerously surrounded by pickleball and paddle tennis courts and the Astroturf playing field
Triple the number of lighted courts by adding eight lighted pickleball courts and four more lighted paddle tennis courts, all oriented for paying members of the Platform Tennis Club
Guarantee noise violations with pickleball courts—and adjoining paddle tennis courts—just 45 feet from private residential property and lighted play going into evening hours
Eliminate the only remaining open natural grass and trees in the park
Reduce access to the Community Gardens
Dramatically increase noise, light and traffic disturbances for both park users and neighbors
Opposition to the Park District's Proposed Changes
The Park District has failed to properly consider the proposed changes to West Park, the only Wilmette park with a playground west of the Edens, including issues of child safety, legal noise limits and other health & environmental impacts
The relocation of the playground – from where it sits; safe and secluded – to make space for the eight lighted pickleball courts, will see it dangerously situated between the pickleball courts, a paddle tennis court, and the Astroturf playing field
West Park is already overwhelmed and no more can responsibly be added; the little remaining open grass and trees must be preserved
The eight lighted pickleball courts together with the adjoining ten lighted paddle tennis courts will be only 45 feet from private residential property, which proximity is unprecedented and would create significant noise and light disturbances for the park’s neighbors
The existing six lighted paddle tennis courts in West Park cause disturbances for the park’s neighbors and are being improperly operated until 11 pm every night, an hour later than approved by Village ordinance
The Park District needs to find a suitable Wilmette location for pickleball, which does not need to be in the same place as paddle tennis
This proposed destruction of a neighborhood park would set a terrible precedent
News Media
By Peter Kaspari | 11:50 a.m. February 15, 2022
The group of residents has raised concerns at public meetings since early January, confronting park district officials at community meetings at West Park on Jan. 6 and at the Community Recreation Center on Feb. 9. ...
... nearly a dozen people told the board that they are having issues with the existing paddle ball courts and are concerned that pickleball courts will not only magnify those issues but also will continue to diminish the park’s green space.
Our Mission
We are a group of engaged friends and neighbors of West Park in Wilmette, Illinois. For over 60 years West Park has been the only Wilmette park with a playground located west of the Edens Expressway. We are dedicated to promoting a responsible, community-oriented operation of West Park that prioritizes safety and legal compliance, preserves natural grass and trees, and protects the remaining fully public features of a treasured park. The Park District must change its outlook that West Park is not a neighborhood park, and act with consideration and mindfulness of the surrounding residents.
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