Yorkville scales back on parking at old jail
By Steve Lord slord@stmedianetwork.com March 1, 2013 12:46PM
Updated: April 4, 2013 6:40AM
YORKVILLE — The city still will get a new downtown parking lot between Route 47 and the Old Kendall County Jail property, although it will be cut down a bit.
Aldermen have approved changes to the parking lot that was created, in part, to replace parking spaces lost to the Route 47 expansion in town. It also was intended as parking for any public use that comes out of the old jail project.
Because of both of those uses, the city was able to purchase the old jail from Kendall County using a combination of IDOT funds and state tourism dollars.
IDOT, however, has made changes in its contract for the lot. The major changes include:
Using asphalt for the surface instead of permeable pavers.
Building a cheaper retaining wall.
Removing curb, gutter and sidewalk along Main Street.
Aldermen approved the changes to keep the lot within its $643,000 budget. But approval came with some questions and regret.
Alderman Diane Teeling said she particularly regrets the timing of the project. The City Council delayed acting on the old jail parking lot to search for a better location somewhere else in town.
But there was no better location, and Teeling said the time delay made the project more expensive.
Teeling said she was sorry for the loss of the permeable pavers, which are a more environmentally friendly way of building parking lots. The pavers allow water to soak through into the ground, as opposed to all running off toward the river, as the asphalt would do.
Alderman Carlo Colosimo said he was more concerned about making sure the retaining wall would do what it’s supposed to do.
State officials are hoping to let the bids for the project by July 1.
