Riverwalk rehab behind schedule - have your say

My first question is why was there even work being done on the Riverwalk to begin with? I and my wife were down there a number of times last year and there was nothing I could see that would warrant there being any type of work to be done on the Riverwalk to begin with. So why even bother ripping it up to begin with?

My second question is why tear up a portion of the Riverwalk when you have a half-completed Carillon just down the way that has yet to be finished? And don't give me the "insufficient funds" line, because I am no longer buying this "funding" nonsense that the City likes to convienently fall back on when people start asking questions like this. If the money is there to screw up the Riverwalk, then it is there to finish the Carillon.

So instead of tearing up the Riverwalk for whatever reason, why not take that money for this dumb project and put it towards completely that Carillon first?

"So instead of tearing up the Riverwalk for whatever reason, why not take that money for this dumb project and put it towards completely that Carillon first?"

Grand idea Windrider, just walk away from the Riverwalk project already underway and finish the Carrilon. Brilliant! That way you can write another blog in the future whining about how the Riverwalk project isn't complete.

Hey RJ, that is NOT what I said. I was implying that before they even started breaking ground on the Riverwalk, they could have postponed that project and put that money towards completing the Carillon first. I never said anything about walking away from any project already underway, and you darn well know that.

Get your facts straight in the future before making your own "brilliant" pithy comments.

clarifiation please. wasn't the carillon originally a privately funded project that went over-budget/over-schedule, and ran out of money? and now we taxpayers are burdened with cost of completion?

Time for a reality check, guys. The Carillon was completed last summer, along with a fantastic visitors' center, and opened to the public. The project applied for a 3.3 million dollar grant from the Culture Fund and got it. Money from the CF, as I understand it, comes mostly from people who visit Naperville and eat/drink here. Thankfully, we can have both the repaired RW and the Carillon to make Naperville even better than it already is....hard to believe!

The City of Naperville would like to clarify the details of the Riverwalk rehabilitation project and the recent construction delay.

The Riverwalk rehabilitation project is necessary, in part, to maintain the structural integrity of one of Naperville’s most beautiful attractions. In addition, the city saw this as an opportunity to enhance some of the characteristics of the Riverwalk to make it even more beautiful and user-friendly for residents and visitors.

As part of the project, the existing lower walkway (bulkhead) wall is being replaced with a sturdy, long-lasting textured concrete wall system. The lower walkway is also being widened to 5 feet with two “bumped out” areas that will be 7 feet wide. An ADA accessible ramp and new overlook are being added to the east end of the lower walkway and the stairway east of the Webster Street Bridge will be widened and enhanced.

In addition to the structural changes above, a new Veterans Plaza is being built to provide a more respectable place of honor for our city’s fallen soldiers. This will include the existing elements currently on the Riverwalk as well as a few new items. The sidewalk north of the Dandelion Fountain will be widened to make a safer walkway for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Plus, the existing concrete sidewalk along Jackson Avenue will be widened to 7 feet and replaced with Riverwalk brick pavers.

Currently, the project is 32 days behind schedule, not two months. The initial target date for completion was June 30. Due, in part, to the snowy weather, the new anticipated completion date is August 1. During construction, crews discovered that the bedrock underneath the bulkhead wall, which supports the lower walkway, was an additional 2.5 to 3 feet lower than anticipated. Therefore, additional time is required to accommodate the need for further engineering and design.

The City of Naperville realizes that the loss of the Riverwalk parking lot is an inconvenience. However, the city is continuously working on its Parking Management Plan to minimize the impacts of the loss of the parking spaces on the downtown merchants.

For more information on the Riverwalk Rehabilitation Project, visit www.naperville.il.us/riverwalkrenovation.aspx. For more information on the city’s Downtown Construction Parking Management Plan, visit www.naperville.il.us/parkingmanagement.aspx.

Moderator Jim to Jennifer: Thanks so much for supplying the details of the Riverwalk construction. We can all look forward to an even better and more charming Riverwalk for years to come once the construction is over.

Well Windrider, you can imply all you want, it is a little late now, isn't it? BTW, Steve was kind enough to post that the Carillon is already done. Possibly there is another pet project on your list you can wish for?

I am so sick of people moaning and groaning about our poor tax payers. Naperville has one of the lowest tax rates, if not the lowest, in the Chicago metro area. When you think of all we get here, world-class amenities like the Riverwalk, Carillon, Settlement, etc, I think we're getting a good return on our dollars. Give it some thought before you start whining about the taxes here. Why do you think people move here? It's not because Naperville looks like most other suburbs. It's because it stands out because of initiatives I mentioned above. By the way, these initiatives were started, without exception, by volunteers. I wonder how many of you tax-moaners have volunteered any time to promote and improve out community? You get what you pay for!

The Naperville Riverwalk is way over rated. For that part, most of Naperville is way over rated. If that eyesore and poor excuse for a river is our "Crown Jewel" god help us all. Way too much time, money, and effort has been put into trying to make the Riverwalk something it simply never will be.

I'm not sure why we are building a new Veterans Plaza and adding a few things to it either? We have Veterans Park a few blocks away and we need a Veterans Plaza at the Riverwalk too? Why wasn't everything to honor our veterans consolidated in one place? It would make a more meaningful and impressive display than diluting the combined effort in two places. Were the planners of the Riverwalk so devoid of creativity or originality that they couldn't come up with anything better for this spot on the Riverwalk?

The comment above from the City of Naperville is especially irritating and insulting. The City of Naperville only cares about the loss of parking spaces and the impact on downtown merchants? Yep, forget about the citizens who actually live here and pay taxes. Forget about the visitors who we lure here with this arguable "crown jewel" who may never step foot inside a downtown establishment. It has long been clear that the City of Naperville, from the city council down through all the departments, have become whores for the tax dollars generated by the downtown merchants and the average citizens can all be damned.

Downtown Naperville lost most of its charm and personality ten to fifteen years ago. Sadly, most of the people now living in Naperville never had a chance to experience it. Naperville has lost nearly every one of its small businesses that gave downtownn that personality and charm. What we had has now been replaced by a collection of national chains that bring us nothing unique and is more of the sameness found anywhere. The hulk and bulk of downtown buildings is growing ever larger and larger.

We are creating concrete canyons for what? To serve the needs of the developers and the relentless tax dollars needed by city hall? When is enough, enough? How big? How ugly? How many parking decks until we saturate ourself into a total gridlock of overdevelopment that our city streets will never be able to handle the traffic?

At what point does the Riverwalk become nothing more than a forgotten and obscure amenity overshadowed and tucked away somewhere behind monstrous parking decks and more bland, dime-a-dozen retail stores?

I'm now catching up on some back copies of the Naperville Sun after being away for a week on spring break. I was shocked by the pictures on the front page and on page 4 of the March 30 edition which clearly demonstrates that no one from the City of Naperville or the contractor doing the Riverwalk work cares very much for the safety of these workers. Where are their personal protective equipment? No hard hats? No safety glasses? No visibility vests? No rescue equipment? No life preservers?

Yes, even life preservers are required for this kind of work... here is what OSHA expects:

"WORKING OVER OR NEAR WATER - §1926.106

Employees working over or near water, where the danger of drowning exists, shall be provided with U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket or buoyant work vests.

Prior to and after each use, the buoyant work vests or life preservers shall be inspected for defects which would alter their strength or buoyancy. Defective units shall not be used.

Ring buoys with at least 90 feet of line shall be provided and readily available for emergency rescue operations. Distance between ring buoys shall not exceed 200 feet.

At least one lifesaving skiff shall be immediately available at locations where employees are working over or adjacent to water."

This is a disaster waiting to happen. Well at least the Naperville Sun documented it well. My copy of this edition of the Naperville Sun will be in the mail Monday morning to the OSHA Area Office alerting them to these flagrant safety violations. Hopefully someone from OSHA can take action before a worker is seriously injured and costs the citizens of Naperville additional hundreds of thousands of dollars in a personal injury lawsuit.

There is no need for any of this ugly safety equipment in Pleasantville!!

Those sort of things might make people think that something bad might happen, and nothing bad happens in Pleasantville!!!