It's "play ball" on new, second field at Waiola Park

The La Grange Little League last week began playing ballgames on a second, temporary field at Waiola Park, one week behind schedule, and after implementing its portion of a traffic safety plan that commissioners for the Park District of La Grange promised in an effort to address concerns raised by residents whose homes face the park.

Little League motorists are asked to park only along curbs abutting Waiola Park, not in front of neighboring homes. Click photo to enlarge image

League President Tom Cushing said that an email had been sent to the families of all affected ballplayers asking that cars be parked only along the parkside curbs of Waiola And Stone Aves, and not along the curbs in front of neighboring homes. If the parkside curbs become full, Cushing said, motorists are asked to seek parking south of 48th St.

A perusal of the streets during the new field's inaugural game April 26 indicated that there was general compliance with the new restrictions.

Construction of the new field initially began April 1 but was halted amid protests from neighboring residents, who said they had not been informed by the Park District or the Little League regarding plans for the new ball field.

Park and league officials then held two meetings—April 10 and 14—with residents at the park to detail their plans and belatedly seek input.

Following those meetings, Cushing announced that the new field would be built in the northeast corner of the park, near Stone Ave and 47th St, away from the park's grassy center favored as a playspot for families with young children.

At a park board meeting April 19, commissioners decided to allow construction of the new field to proceed but ordered that no games be played there until a traffic safety plan was "created, implemented and communicated."

Traffic safety was the foremost concern cited by Waiola Park neighbors, several of whom expressed fear that the additional traffic generated by the new ball field would worsen an already bad problem.

In June 2008, a young girl was seriously injured when she darted between parked cars on Stone Ave and ran into the side of another, moving vehicle.

Because only the Village of La Grange has jurisdiction over parking and safety regulations for the streets, park commissioners instructed Executive Director Dean Bissias to work with village officials in formulating a long-term safety plan.

Bissias was called out of town on a personal matter a couple days after the board meeting and did not have an opportunity to convey the board's wishes to village officials before departing, he said today.

Nonetheless, Bissias said games on the new field were allowed after it was assured that an email had gone out to Little League families.

Bissias said he has been in contact with Village Manager Bob Pilipszyn since returning home last Thursday, and that they now are awaiting for the results of a survey that was distributed to Waiola neighbors seeking their input on several possible traffic safety scenarios.

Among the actions proposed are formally prohibiting parking along the homeside curbs of Waiola & Stone Aves on game days, converting both streets into one-way thoroughfares, and prohibiting vendor vehicles such as ice-cream trucks from circling the park. Residents also were asked to state their preferences regarding a pedestrian crosswalk for 47th St that already has been approved by the village board.

Kathi Mungo, a Waiola Ave resident who created the survey, said last week, "The concensus there is no concensus, but we will foward the results to the powers that be."

Park and Little League officials said the new ball field was needed because games played at Gordon Park often had to be canceled when rainfall made the fields there unplayable. The Waiola field will be removed after the plans to renovate Gordon Park are completed in the next three years, they said.

Comments

[Some Guy]

Really La Grange, when did you become so anal about non-issues? Can't believe I grew up here sometimes. Things were better in the 1990s before all the yuppies moved in and thought they owned the place.