Cosley Zoo parking project gets final OK from Wheaton city council

The Wheaton Park District has the green light to add parking for Cosley Zoo now that the City Council has approved plans for the much-discussed project.

The council’s 5-1 vote paves the way for construction of an accessory parking lot across from Cosley Zoo. The park district plans to put the project out to bid in August and begin construction this fall.

Some neighbors last week reiterated their objections to expanding zoo parking. The project calls for 93 parking slots, scaled back from an originally proposed 258-space lot along Gary Avenue.

“The park district has made tremendous modifications to this project,” Wheaton Mayor Phil Suess said. “What we’re looking at today is dramatically different than where we started.”

The park district also intends to remove an existing 30-car staff parking lot, resulting in a net gain of 63 new spaces on the east side of Gary Avenue. The Cosley Foundation is expected to cover the design and construction of the new parking area at an estimated cost of $2.1 million, meaning no taxpayer funds will be used to pay for it.

“We are very pleased that we can continue with our plans to build a new staff and visitor overflow parking area that will allow more children and families to visit the zoo on its busiest days. For more than a year, we have listened to constructive feedback to shape our plans, maintain green space and reduce the size of the parking area from the original proposal,” Wheaton Park District Executive Director Mike Benard said in a statement July 19. “The current plan is the culmination of input from residents and stakeholders and evenly balances the need for additional parking without changing our community’s character.”

The park district owns six acres on the east side of Gary Avenue. The parking lot, when complete, would occupy about an acre of that land.

Some neighbors, however, continue to raise concerns about pedestrian safety and the demand for more parking.

“The $2 million from the Cosley Foundation could be better spent inside Cosley Zoo rather than on an unnecessary parking lot that will devalue property values in Pioneer Terrace,” Wheaton resident Joan Wegrzyn said, referring to a subdivision of homes.

Councilman Scott Brown was the only dissenting vote.

“What’s the urgency? I haven’t heard it. Maybe it exists, but I haven’t heard it,” Brown said earlier this month.

Among the conditions imposed by the city, the new parking area cannot be used until a Gary Avenue roadwork project is complete. Crews are set to install a traffic signal and a crosswalk at the intersection of Gary and Prairie avenues.

The park district will put in a 6-foot fence along the west side of the parking lot to direct people to the signalized crosswalk. Park district officials have said the new 93-space area will be used by “50 to 60 staff members during the busiest summer months” as part of an effort to free up spaces on the west side of Gary Avenue for zoo visitors.

“In the context of the City Council, this is a zoning issue,” Suess said. “It’s not a policy issue. The policy issue rests with the park district.”

• Daily Herald staff writer Dave Oberhelman contributed to this report.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240719/news/cosley-zoo-parking-project-gets-final-ok-from-wheaton-council/