Last year, two new ideas were proposed for the Riverwalk. The Naperville Rotary Club brought forward the idea of a harmony park with musical instruments, and mayor Steve Chirico suggested a “smart” park complete with Wi-Fi and electricity for working outside.
After several months of fundraising, planning, and designing, the Riverwalk Commission approved both projects – though they still need approval from both the park district and city council before any work can begin. But now, there’s a pretty clear idea as to what those projects will look like.
To help reduce noise levels, Harmony Park will be tucked in a corner on top of rotary hill next to the parking lot.
“Depending on the wind direction, you’ll probably not be able to hear the equipment. If you do it’s a faint sound but you’d have to listen to hear it,” said Riverwalk Commission Chairman Geoff Roehll.
Developers say from 160 feet away, the loudest instruments at the park will be about as loud as a normal conversation.
The “smart” Naperville Jaycees Park’s final design is coming in to focus too. The park will sit between the river walk and city hall, and will feature power outlets and high-speed Wi-Fi for devices, and the layout is set up to encourage business use.
“The type of furniture has been organized in such a way to encouraged a variety of sizes of group meetings,” said Roehll. “There are some tables for two people, and tables for 8 people to support large group meetings.”
The park will be powered by solar panels that are being installed on the top of city hall. Extra funds created by those panels will be used for maintenance of the park.
As of right now, Harmony Park is slated to open by memorial day while the Naperville Jaycees Park should be complete by fall of this year.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
