After stirring up mixed reactions from Riverside residents last summer, a disc golf course will soon be coming to the wooded area of Indian Gardens south of Fairbank Road.
Parks & Recreation Director Ron Malchiodi confirmed in a voicemail to the Landmark April 26 that the course is expected to be installed later this month.
“We’re working with the contractor now, but we’re thinking mid-May, we’d begin the installation,” he said.
According to the most recent map, most of the baskets will be placed along the curvature of Fairbank Road while some will extend further south, just north of the baseball fields.
At a September 2023 village board meeting, Riverside trustees approved the purchase of baskets, discs and poles for the course. In total, the project will cost no more than $12,000.
The plan for the course drew controversy from Riversiders who live near the site last August and September due to some inconsistent communication after the project quietly progressed for more than a year.
In August, the Landmark reported Malchiodi had sent a letter at the end of June including a preliminary map to neighborhood residents, where he wrote the course’s layout had not been confirmed. In July, John McGlennon, a parks & recreation board member, now chair, posted to a local Facebook group that the park and village boards had “approved provisions” for the course, suggesting to neighbors that the preliminary map was finalized.
Opponents of the plan pointed to safety issues due to the preliminary layout’s proximity to Fairbank Road. One resident, Melinda Pruett-Jones, who lives across the street from the site of the course, said at a July village board meeting that there were “increasing negative interactions between vehicles, park users, pedestrians, cyclists, skiers and dog owners that are constantly using this space throughout the year.”
She also questioned the look and placements of the baskets at the July meeting, saying the baskets’ metal posts with chains would impact the natural appearance of the wooded area. At an August board meeting, Trustee Elizabeth Kos, then chair of the parks & recreation board, said the disc golf structures will be removed seasonally; at a September meeting, Malchiodi said the baskets would be painted in green or brown powder for both aesthetics and durability.
In the months since then, the parks & recreation team has worked with residents to find a layout that would include their feedback. A village memo included in the April 18 village board agenda packet provided a final update to trustees ahead of the course’s installation.
The parks & recreation board and parks & rec staff “have looked into every aspect of this project and [have] completed extensive research,” Malchiodi wrote in the memo. “We solicited and received feedback from the community, including neighbors who live across from the proposed course. We held walk-throughs, took their specific feedback and adjusted the layout of the course to their requests.”
