Planned parking lot in Darien yields community dissent

DARIEN – A passionate debate took center stage Monday during a Darien Park District Board meeting that addressed a proposed 57 spot parking lot expansion to the Park District Community Center, 7301 Fairview Ave.

During the meeting, residents who have homes with backyards that border the proposed parking lot space cited a list of reasons the parking lot was a bad idea. Among the expressed grievances are property devaluation, intrusive light from the lot onto residences, people loitering in the lot, fear that criminals can gain access to residential backyards and potential flood problems.

Resident John Straus said his home already has flooding issues, enough that his sub pump is always running. Removing sod and adding a parking lot will only amplify the flooding problems, according to Straus.

“To put any type of solid material on top of that, that could in any way slow down the drainage, and will only lead to more problems,” Straus said.

However, Byron Wyns, one of the engineers working on the parking lot, said that since the parking lot will be built with permeable pavers, water drainage will not be slowed down.

The $560,832 project comes after the park district board has seen a need for increased parking since they opened the doors to the current facility in 2007, Darien Park District Executive Director Stephanie Gurgone said.

When the community center opened in 2007, the board had hoped to have 300 members using the facilities.

“As of today we have 497 current members,” Gurgone said.

Additionally, Gurgone that about 220 people are enrolled every year in the facility’s preschool program.

“If anybody has ever been here during preschool drop off or pick up, the line [of cars] goes through the preschool and it goes through the current lot and it backs up onto Fairview Avenue,” she said.

All of those people seeking parking throughout the day are currently serviced by a 71 space parking lot outside of the community center.

But even with the need being great, residents questioned why additional parking is needed if other lots that can service the park district already exist. The Westwood Park parking lot, which is located directly south of the community center, has been offered as a solution to the parking problem.

“We’ve tried to encourage people to park in that lot and to walk,” Gurgone said. “It is significantly further. If you measure the closest possible spot at Westwood to the front door entrance versus the furthest space in the proposed lot, the walk from Westwood to the closest spot is 860 feet and from the furthest space is 490 [feet], so it is significantly closer.”

But community members disagreed, saying the walk was not that significant.

Straus said he made the walk and, compared to the proposed lot, it takes 10 to 20 more seconds to walk from the Westwood parking lot to the entrance.

“If someone parks in that back corner by me – the 57th parking spot – they’re saving 10 seconds walking by doing that,” he said. “And we’re spending as taxpayers $560,000 to do that. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

The park district board will be able to vote on the new parking lot as early as the Sept. 8 meeting.

“Even though it may be your legal right to do it,” Straus said. “We ask that you think about the implications it might have.”