WINNETKA : City to Install $30,000 Park Lighting System

Evening sports fans will no longer have to brave darkness before reaching lighted play fields at Winnetka Recreation Center at 8401 Winnetka Ave.

The city Recreation and Parks Department is planning to install a $30,000 lighting system around the parking lot to improve security at the popular park. Kathleen Chan, project manager, said she expects the department to begin work on six 30-foot-high light posts within the next three months.

“We have had a couple problems in the parking lot,” said Ed Laakso, director of the recreation center, who said burglars occasionally break into parked cars while their owners are using the park or center.

Joan Thomas, Planning Commission secretary, said the funds for the lights came from fees collected from developers for park improvements. The lights were placed in the budget several years ago, and the Parks Commission approved a call for bids on the project on Monday.