The Peoria Park District is planning new renovations and additions to their offered amenities, including a new roller skating loop outside the Lakeview Recreation Center at 1013 West Lake Ave.
Emily Cahill, executive director of the Peoria Park District, said the project is part of a plan to build flexible spaces that have multiple functions. She said a roller skating loop has been something the district has wanted to add for many years.
The loop will be built just outside the front doors of the recreation center, and Cahill said it will be built with the environment in mind.
“Placing a loop here rather than putting in a large rectangle of concrete means that our skating loop can welcome skaters, it can serve as the backdrop for public art, and it can host gatherings of people for a concert or other social gathering,” Cahill said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“It also allows for water runoff and absorption rather than adding to impermeable surfaces that can cause erosion or other negative environmental impacts.”
State Rep. Jehan Gordon Booth, D-Peoria, said the roller skating loop is one example of how Peoria leaders are creating recreational activities for all ages.
“When we think about where Peoria is today and where we want Peoria to grow for the future, we have to be thinking about…not just our Boomers,” she said. “But what do Gen Xers want? What do millennials want? What does the Gen Z generation want out of a community?”
Cahill said the park district also will be adding accessibility features to give people with physical difficulties better access to amenities.
“Everything that we do at the district comes from a foundational commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,” she said. “We look forward to supporting our entire community with this project, which alone checks so many mission-driven boxes for our work, and we're not finished.”
The park district also has budgeted $10 million for renovations to the Owens Center indoor ice arena.
Cahill said safety will be a top priority for the skate loop, and that the location will allow the park district to better monitor it, adding offering a wide variety of activities provides more positive things to do for Peoria residents.
