The City of Peoria held a public input session on substitute parkland for the River Trail Apartment project. The City needs to convert eight acres of land into open space to compensate for the apartments along the Illinois River. Resident suggestions include parking lot improvements, keeping open green space and preserving water access. Assistant City Manager Chris Setti says the goal is to gather multiple ideas before comparing projects with available funding:
“It’s a big enough area to do lots of different things. So you can have an intensely-programmed area, and you can have contemplative areas. That’s the whole idea behind this is to generate ideas.”
Brad Henz is a professional race organizer in Peoria. He any substitute land needs to keep space for competitive and casual running:
“If you’re doing a 5K and you take away 400 meters to a half-mile of it because of the apartments, hopefully this new area will have trail as well to make up for that.”
The City still needs the approval of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to finalize any land swap to secure the substitute parkland.
Chris Setti says the city will hold another input meeting and at least one public hearing on the substitute parkland. Residents can also give input with an online survey. A link to the survey is available by clicking here.