Palos Heights Alderman Heather Begley will be hosting an open house in May on the idea of adding more parking at Lake Katherine. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Palos Heights looks to add more parking at Lake Katherine
By Jeff Vorva
When Lake Katherine gets busy, parking can be an issue.
The facility and the City of Palos Heights are working on improving that situation.
Plans are in the works for additional parking to be created in what is now an open field on the northeast side of the property.
“The goal is to increase parking capacity for Cal-Sag Trail users at Lake Katherine,” Municipal Grounds and Property Chairperson Heather Begley said at the April 5 city council meeting. “The proposed improvement generally consists of constructing a new 52-stall permeable paver parking lot adjacent to the existing Lake Katherine surface parking lot as well as a turn-around.”
There is a public information meeting at 4 p.m. May 4 at E.G. Simpson Clubhouse at the Lake Katherine Nature Center, 7402 W. Lake Katherine Dr., about the prosed parking lot and other improvements in the planning stages.
Attendees can view project information and talk to project team members. The purpose of the meeting is to provide project information and seek public comments on the proposed improvements.
“The project will support the city’s green initiative with water quality benefits and a reduction in stormwater runoff,” officials wrote in a city document. “Improvements will also be made to the interface of the Cal-Sag Trail with the existing and proposed parking lots to improve safety and accessibility for users.”
City documents also said that the city obtained federal funding for all phases of engineering and construction via the Southwest Conference of Mayors plus a grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
The first phase engineering is anticipated to be completed in mid-2022 with design engineering immediately following, and construction targeted in 2024.
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