Joliet Park District hosts ribbon cutting to celebrate Pilcher Park improvements

Rain could not keep some park lovers from coming out on Saturday morning to celebrate Joliet’s new and improved Pilcher Park.

With the repaving of most of the park’s roads and the addition of three security gates completing the final phase of its $2.4 million overhaul this week, the Joliet Park District held a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate a long-awaited event for its largest park.

“I call this park a jewel [of the park district] and this jewel has needed to be polished for a few years, and we’ve finally gotten there,” Park District Executive Director Tom Carstens told the amused crowd of more than 50 that filled the hall of the park’s Nature Center.

Carstens thanked many of the parties who contributed to the realization of the project, such as the park commission and staff, as well as members of what he calls the Pilcher Park Neighborhood Group — like Earley Coleman — who he said were instrumental in helping the park district review and hone plans for the improvements.

“You always, always have to include the community when you’re working on a project like this,” Carstens said.

Among the attendees were longtime members of the Will County Audubon Society, Rita Renwick, Ruth Meyer and Carol Cooley. Renwick, who is president of the group, said that she had been glad to see people from the community advocating for the improvements to the park.

“It’s a sign that people care about the park,” she said.

Grasping umbrellas, the crowd marched into the persistent rain, as a smiling group of elected officials, employees and Coleman cut a bright blue ribbon at the site of one of the park’s new security gates.

With 650 acres, Pilcher Park is Joliet’s largest park. It is also its oldest. Not only were its trail and roads crumbling, but dumping of not just garbage but things like old televisions, refrigerators and tires had been a problem as well, according to Carstens.

To help alleviate this problem, security gates were placed at three strategic points along Highland Park Drive which allow cars into the park. The gates will open and close when the park does — at dawn and dusk, Carstens said.

However, the entrance to the Nature Center parking lot will not be gated to allow access for people attending its various events, he added.

Ryan Terlep, 28 — born and raised in Joliet — has been coming to the park since he was a boy and introduced it to his now wife, Alex. Both still enjoy hiking in the park and were pleased with the improvements, including the gates, which Ryan said were “absolutely” needed.

“I hope that really cleans up the area [from crime and dumping] and more people will get to enjoy this place,” he said.

Seven-year-old Noah Christie, who enjoys hiking in Pilcher Park with the Little Sprouts Learning Center Summer Camp along with his 4-year-old brother Wyatt, also attended the ceremony with their mom, Amy, and little sister Charlotte.

One of his favorite parts of the park is the hollow tree, said the bashful Noah. Amy Christie added, “We come here all the time.”

The renovations were part of a $19.5 million bond referendum approved in 2014 for capital improvements throughout the city.

Along with the new gates, about 2 miles of the 2.6 miles of park roads were repaved over the summer. Last year, in phase 1, the whole length of the 2.3 miles of trails were improved. Upper Pilcher Trail was repaved while the rest of the trails were resurfaced with crushed asphalt topped with crushed limestone.

Completion of the project was delayed about six weeks as they waited for customized road bridges to be delivered, Carstens said.