Tinley Park Ice Rink To Come Down But Could Be Replaced: Village

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park officials are looking into adding an ice rink near an area which used to house a homemade version against village guidelines.

According to Elizabeth Keblusek, village officials held strong during a meeting last week to discuss shutting down a DIY ice rink which was built in the Timbers Pointe subdivision, but did recognize the interest for a neighborhood space.

BEFORE: Village Attorney Shuts Down Tinley Park Neighbors' DIY Ice Rink

"As expected, our structure will need to come down," the mother of three wrote in a Facebook post updating residents who had been following the neighborhood project since Keblusek's post on the village taking down the rink went viral. "However, next year the village is looking into creating an ice rink near the 80th Avenue train station for all of our kids to enjoy!"

According to Village Manager Pat Carr, the homemade rink presented a safety issue. As a private project built on public land, Carr said anyone could have wandered onto the ice. While there was no risk of someone falling into a nonexistent pond below, someone could still have hurt themselves and sued the village for their injuries.

A local resident alerted village officials to the ice rink when they complained about the noise level in the retention plot it was built in. Keblusek said no one knows who the complainer was, but she was puzzled on how the noise level — which never went past 9 p.m. — could have bothered someone in her neighborhood.

Keblusek and her neighbors went into the meeting hoping to find a way to keep their neighborhood project for the rest of the winter. However, she told Patch she is excited for the potential new ice rink.

While there is a local park district ice rink off 171st Street, Keblusek said the crowded destination wasn't what she had in mind for her children. Village officials have not released updated plans on how the 80th Avenue ice rink would progress.