Southwest IL watchdog group wants to retain green space in Edwardsville
A watchdog group’s demonstration over the loss of green space in Edwardsville drew more than 50 people on Saturday.
Madison County is accepting sealed bids through 2 p.m. Feb. 14 on a 15-acre piece of land northwest of the Plum Street (Illinois 159) and Governors’ Parkway intersection. Bids under the $3.87 million appraisal won’t be accepted, according to the county website.
While the county owns the property, demonstrators said that it’s in Edwardsville, and the city and a community should have a say in what the land, which is covered in woods and wetlands, is used for.
“That’s our property,” said Jay Myers, of Edwardsville. “We’re taxpayers.”
Members of the group said that they have different opinions on what should happen with the prime real estate, whether that means it’s left untouched, turned into a dog park or playground, developed into affordable housing or turned into a “destination” stop along the bike trail that runs just outside of the land boundaries.
What they all agree on, though, is that the community should have a say, and that they don’t want another big box store, and they’re concerned about traffic congestion, water runoff and the loss of wildlife habitat.
“Don’t flatten, don’t pave, don’t have cars coming in and out,” said Rachel Tompkins, one of the organizers.
The land owned by the county is currently zoned for commercial use.
On the other corners of the same intersection at Plum Street and Governors’ Parkway, development is either well-established or recently underway. On one corner is Edwardsville Crossing, a commercial district with Dierbergs, T.J. Maxx and more than 50 other stores and restaurants.
On the southeast corner, the Foucek tree farm was recently bulldozed for a $70 million, 52-acre commercial district called Orchard Town Center. Looking across the intersection, Peg Falch noted that without the trees, the land looked foreign, like a “lunar landscape.”
Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said there are six-tenths of an acre the county is working on transferring to Madison County Transit for free space around the trail head of the bike path, according to the Edwardsville Intelligencer.
The group, which organizes on the Plum Creek Greenspace Facebook page, has been involved in other environmental causes, including the single-use shopping bag fee designed to encourage reusable bags. They say they’re trying to get the City of Edwardsville and the community to be more proactive instead of reactive, with public demonstrations such as the one on Saturday, commenting at public meetings, circulating a petition (now with 870 signatures), and starting a letter-writing campaign directed at members of the Madison County Board.
“People don’t get connected until the trees come down,” Myers said.
