New bike racks installed in Ottawa’s Fox River Park thanks to Eagle Scout project

Marquette Academy senior Ben Weyer drove around Ottawa searching for an idea for his Eagle Scout project when one finally came to him: Fox River Park, along Superior Street across from the Illinois and Michigan Canal towpath trail, didn’t have bike racks.

This led him to build a bike rack for the park and another for the entrance to the trail across the street.

“There’s that splash pad that’s always been there and I realized there was no bike racks,” Weyer said. “This is a popular place during the summer and I bet kids love to bike here. It’s a popular spot to have a bike rack.”

The racks are made out of steel pipes Weyer was able to purchase with donation money. He welded it together with some help from Mike Sheridan.

“He basically taught me how to weld during this whole process,” Weyer said. “It was really kind of him to help me with that.”

Weyer said one bike rack took about three days to make working about seven hours each day, since the welding takes some time to settle.

Ottawa Commissioner Marla Pearson said she was thrilled when Weyer reached out to ask permission to build bike racks for the park.

“I love when young people volunteer for the city like this,” Pearson said.

Weyer graduates from Marquette Academy this spring and intends to major in biology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He intends to become an orthodontist some day.