Sailors ready to set sail at Park Avenue Beach; photo from Friends of Park Avenue Beach’s Facebook page
HIGHLAND PARK – It was standing room only at the City Council chambers when boating enthusiasts sporting “Save Access To Park Avenue Beach” stickers gathered at the council’s Feb. 8 meeting.
Members of Friends of Park Avenue Beach and the North Shore Yacht Club (NSYC), former members of the Park Avenue Task Force (PATF) and others spoke for a total of two hours about the importance of keeping the boat launch open for Highland Park Fire Department rescue boats, sailboats, kayaks, and power boats.
NYSC member Jean Sogin summarized the group: “For the first time power boaters, sailors, fisherman, and kayakers are all on the same page.”
Before the meeting was open to public discussion, Mayor Nancy Rotering said the city’s goal was to get people to use their boats and enjoy lakefront activities, despite changes in parking and boating storage. “We are very much dedicated to maintaining access to the beach,” she said.
Later in the meeting she explained that “the city has nothing to do with boating operations. The city is in charge of the road only, the Park District is responsible for the boating, and it leases the property from the city.”
The Park District wants to eliminate power boats so that the public can safely gain access to Park Avenue Beach outside of the security fence surrounding the Water Treatment Plant.
Julie Timmons, former PATF member, explained that currently there’s a one-way traffic flow where you enter from the west road, drive around to the south of the Water Treatment Plant and exit from the north road.
On behalf of the Task Force, Timmons urged the city and the Park District to provide safe access for all lakefront activities including power boating for 2016 and beyond. The Task Force would like to create a workable plan that would include power boaters for the 2016 boating season to be directed by representatives from City Council, city staff, the Park District board, and Park District staff.
The North Shore Yacht Club opened in 1935 before the Water Treatment Plant was built, according to Commodore Alan Cohen. Without the Park Avenue Beach boat launch, there would be no safe harbor between Winnetka and Lake Forest — a distance of 11 miles, he said.
Highland Park resident Steven Fouco suggested using a security service similar to the Lake Forest Beach boating area, because Highland Park also has the same layout with two roads; one entering and one exiting. “The closure of the west road would be overkill,” he said. “If we can keep the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial open in Washington DC, why is it that we would close a road in Highland Park, IL, about an unspecific threat to our Water Treatment facilities?”
He suggested putting in a blast wall rather than closing the west road, and having people who want to enter the south beach carry bar-coded cards for police to check for security purposes. This would only be needed four or five months a year to protect the Water Treatment Plant.
Many residents questioned the security offered by a chain link fence, and a few suggested digging into the side of the hill to widen the road.
Glenn McCarthy, the past commodore of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation, asked how many attacks have occurred on the Water Treatment Plant in the last 10 years. The Chief of Police replied zero.
Several hands went up in response to McCarthy’s next question about how many people have rescued someone in a sailboat or power boat, and the audience wholeheartedly applauded. Then he explained the importance of having experienced sailors at the ready.
“By relying on professional rescue boats it causes a lot of delay,” said McCarthy. “People drown and hypothermia sets in very quickly. Power boats and sailboats help with real threats for people on the water, and they’re more immediate than waiting for the fire department to attach a trailer to the vehicle and launch a rescue boat.”
McCarthy asked the city to explore every idea and keep sailing and power boating at the beach to protect all of the citizens who operate a boat.
Mayor Rotering explained, “The city has nothing to do with boating operations. The city is in charge of the road only, the Park District is responsible for the boating, and it leases the property from the city.”
The subject was discussed during the City Council meeting’s public commentary period, so the city did not take action.
The next meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, with the Park District at West Ridge Center.
The boat launch at Park Avenue Beach; photo from Friends of Park Avenue Beach Facebook page.