When Matt Poole joined Evanston's Parks and Recreation department in 2013, one of his first jobs was running canoeing programs out of the Ecology Center in Ladd Arboretum. Kids and adults would haul boats down narrow steps to a small wooden dock on the North Shore Channel. By 2018, those steps had washed out, the dock was unusable, and the programs moved to Skokie's Dammrich Rowing Center.

"Operationally, it's difficult," Poole, now deputy director of Parks and Recreation, told the Evanston RoundTable about running Evanston programs from another municipality's facility.

That workaround may finally have an end date. On Monday, July 13, City Council voted to approve a $249,957 contract amendment with Christopher B. Burke Engineering to draft a construction request for proposals and complete final permitting for a new accessible canoe launch at Ladd Arboretum. The vote followed the inclusion of $609,000 for the project in the fiscal year 2027 Illinois state budget, passed by the General Assembly earlier this year.

The launch will sit just off the parking lot across Bridge Street from the Ecology Center, a site recommended by contractor GZA GeoEnvironmental after a 2019 feasibility study that examined three locations. Plans call for an ADA-compliant pathway to the water, a floating dock, a loading chute, native landscaping, stone seating, and interpretive signage, according to the Evanston Environmental Association's project materials.

Total construction costs are estimated at $2.8 million. The $609,000 state allocation covers a portion, and the city committed $600,000 under a September 2024 memorandum of understanding to redevelop the adjacent parking lot as part of the project. That leaves a gap of roughly $1.6 million. The Evanston Environmental Association plans to launch a fundraising campaign to close it. Former EEA board chair Julia Bunn confirmed a fundraising plan has been completed, according to the RoundTable.

The $249,957 Burke Engineering contract approved July 13 is funded half by city Capital Improvement Fund project bonds ($124,978.50) and half by EEA donations, City Engineer Lara Biggs confirmed at the council meeting in response to questions from 1st Ward Councilmember Clare Kelly.

Poole said he hopes a construction contract will be awarded in December 2026, with work beginning early in 2027 and wrapping up in early 2028. Accessible launches like this one are "few and far between" in the Chicago area, he said.

EEA, founded in 1976 to support the Ecology Center and environmental education, has been splitting project planning costs with the city for several years. A design contract was first awarded to Burke Engineering in 2023, with EEA paying half. Completed plans were presented at a November 2023 community open house.

For Poole, the payoff is straightforward. What he's most looking forward to: getting kids on the water again, in a spot where you can see mink running along the bankside and paddle south to view the Bahá'í Temple from the North Shore Channel.