Site work for a playground / park / athletic field in Evanston, Illinois. Conceptual plans call for site work for a playground / park / athletic field.

https://evanstonnow.com/parks-and-wrecks/ Parks and Wrecks Jeff Hirsh by Jeff Hirsh July 2, 2025 Snyder Park in Southeast Evanston. Credit: Jeff Hirsh Hannah Koesterer gave the Evanston Parks and Recreation Board an earful Tuesday evening. And the board members didn’t really disagree. Sign up for our free newsletters. Daybreak News Sent at 6 a.m. daily. Midday Update Sent at 11 a.m. daily. Breaking News Alerts as news happens. PM Report Sent at 4:30 p.m. daily. Email Address Sign up Koesterer has three young children who love to play in Snyder Park, at Judson and Kedzie. Hannah Koesterer addresses Park Board on Tuesday at Levy Senior Center. “You’ve been tying yourselves up in knots over a strategic plan while our playgrounds fell apart,” Koesterer said. Park Board members indicated they’ll likely ask City Council to increase spending in 2026 beyond what’s already anticipated for park/playground improvements. Between total overhaul or simply new equipment, the Capital Improvement Program would spend about $5.5 million in for the parks next year, which Park Board member Robert Bush called “totally inadequate.” The proposed funding level would overhaul three parks, and replace equipment at two playgrounds and one tot lot. The same equipment schedule is projected for future years. But with 78 parks, 56 of which have playgrounds/tot lots, upgrading just three playgrounds/lots annually ($700,000 per year), it would take Evanston forever to dig itself out of the hole of “parks need work.” “I don’t know any of my colleagues [in other communities] around here who are as far behind as we are,” Parks Director Audrey Thompson said. For example, Snyder is one of nine playgrounds or tot lots just this year where playground equipment was either taken completely out of service, or temporarily removed and fixed. At Snyder, a report given to the Park Board said “The 2-5 age structure had significant rot and was unable to be replaced. Public Service Staff has removed the structure.” Credit: Jeff Hirsh And while Snyder is on the playground fix-up list for next year, Thompson told the board that there’s no more money in the budget to make the repairs now. Thompson said the Park system has gone from one inspection a year per park,to two, at the city’s 56 playgrounds (including tot lots). But while playground equipment has a “useful life,” Thompson told the board that there’s more to replacement than just calendar age. “Useful Life” guide for park/rec facilties and equipment. Credit: Evanston Parks and Recreation In deciding which parks to fix up when, the city has to take equity into consideration — making sure any improvements are spread throughout all socioeconomic parts of town. Plus, some equipment is used frequently in park “A,” while in park “B” it can often sit idle. In fact, Thompson said playground equipment replacement at Alexander Park has been dropped from the proposed CIP because other parks with higher usage are better places to spend the money. Some of that money is needed to make playground equipment ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant, a cost which may not have been on the books when some equipment was installed. And speaking of money, Bush said the Park Board should urge City Council to spend 5% of the city’s yearly budget, around $20 million, on park upgrades and repairs. Thompson indicated that such a big increase is a significant ask, even though she said that in principle, council members are committed to park improvements. The city already has 11 so-called “legacy parks,” which is just a polite way of saying the oldest in town. Raymond Park (downtown) is one of the “Legacy” parks. Credit: Jeff Hirsh “Legacy parks” have not had a full park upgrade since at least 1997. Some likely go back before that, as 1997 is when the city first started keeping records on park age and updating. Besides the current 11, there are 25 more parks which will become “legacies” over the next decade or so. Thompson noted that a consultant has rated 79% of Evanston’s parks as in either “poor or very poor condition.” This meeting was just informational. No actions were taken. The Park Board may decide later this month whether to ask City Council for more than what’s in the current CIP. Of course, asking doesn’t mean you’ll get it … but Evanston’s parks need some tender, loving care. Thompson said that there’s only so much maintenance you can do on old stuff which is used over and over. “I don’t care how many times I change the oil, if you have 400,000 miles on your car you have to replace it.” Credit: Jeff Hirsh So think of this as the 400,000-mile checkup for Evanston parks and playgrounds. --------------------------------------------------------------- Update: https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showpublisheddocument/98379/638701294836100000 Raymond Park Renovations Project is included City of Evanston Fiscal Year 2025-2030 Page No 435 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Raymond Park Renovations As of January 25, 2024, this project is currently in the FY 2024-2028 CIP. Funding for this project is allotted in the city's capital improvement plan for construction FY2028. A firm timeline has not been established. *Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.