Parking the Center of Dispute Over Fort Sheridan Preserve

The Lake County Forest Preserve District would like to open up land near the lakefront at the 253-acre Fort Sheridan preserve by eliminating a parking lot there, but officials in Highland Park and Highwood are opposed to the idea.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering told the Highland Park News. “It seems to be contrary to what we’re trying to achieve in preserving a destination where people can enjoy the beauty of the lakefront.”

The Forest Preserve’s reasoning is based on the desire to return the area to its natural oak-hickory forest without disturbing the grasses that are popular with wildlife there.

Two options for reduced parking exist right now: one to completely get rid of the lot and another to reduce the number of spaces from 80 to 20.

Read more via the Highland Park News