By Carleigh Turner

A hidden bridge in the Will-O-Way Commons Park has been put on the clean up list, but as the Dupage County Forest Preserve cleans up graffiti, it’s also erasing a beloved teen hangout.

Teenagers have made a second home out of a railroad bridge near the Dupage River. This bridge, called “Count Casa,” has been home to teenagers and an expressive array of artwork for years, but according to the Forest Preserve, the graffiti will be taken down and graffiti-resistant paint will be put on the bridge.

David Bakke, a “Count Casa” regular, said the end of the hangout leaves a hole in life of many a Naperville young person.

“There is now nowhere left to go in Naperville to escape from Naperville… I remember my sophomore and junior year, walking home on the tracks with my group of friends. We stayed at ‘Count Casa’ for hours having so much fun, just being kids. And now future generations won’t be able to have that experience,” said Bakke.

His best friend, Joe Mazzone, also loved to visit the hidden haven.

“There are just too many to narrow down — throwing rocks, and falling in love, escaping from the world is what it all comes down to,” said Mazzone.

According to the press release from the Dupage Forest Preserve, the new trail portion “will extend the West Branch Riverway path north from Wil-O-Way Commons on Jefferson Avenue to just north of Ogden Avenue, where it will join an existing trail system in McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. “

The trail is 0.9 miles long and will be completed in 2012, but will allow local residents access to the 23-mile West Branch Regional Trail, according to a press release.

Naperville Park Police Chief Carl Schnibben, has been patrolling Naperville parks since 2006. Schnibben said the path and other measure will reduce costs associated with graffiti clean up.

“The graffiti is not an overriding concern, it is more of a nuisance,” Schnibben said.

Because of this path, police will be able to go back on A.T.V s.  Schnibben said Wil-o-Way Park is home to mostly innocent recreation.

Count Casa has been a teen hang out for years.  North staff member Mark Jaynes said students were hanging out at the bridge a decade ago. He acknowledged students would miss the park, but didn’t bemoan its loss himself.

“Here is where I get all adult on you – I think kids should use their creativity to do constructive things, join a band, or make art legally,” Jaynes said.

He also believed that they should maybe clean up the bridge then turn it into a city art project. Mr. Jaynes began going to the bridge at age ten, and continued to visit the getaway till age seventeen. Jaynes loved the mystery of the place, but said the area was far from perfect.

“Every day there were new broken bottles and graffiti,” Jaynes said.