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Some residents in the northeast corner of Downers Grove have found themselves walking in different directions when it comes to sidewalk construction.
Sixth Street resident Cheryl Popielarz has lived in the village for about four years. She and her husband chose the neighborhood because of its rural appeal.
During the March 17 Downers Grove Village Council meeting, Popielarz said she became aware of the sidewalk matrix a couple years ago, which resulted out of the Total Community Development Two process in the mid-1990s.
“I think it’s our responsibility, particularly of the commissioners, to reassess and re-evaluate the plans that you have today to make sure they are realistic given the needs of the neighborhood, the concerns of the neighborhood and also the expenses that will be entailed with this sidewalk,” Popielarz said.
She added the sidewalk installation will result in the loss of trees and raise concerns from some residents over negative impacts on property values.
Village spokesman Doug Kozlowski said advertisements announcing the bid for sidewalk construction will be publicized beginning April 10.
The village will hold a neighborhood meeting with the affected residents at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Public Works Department, 5101 Walnut Ave., to discuss design plan changes made to the $400,000 project, Kozlowski said.
Some residents view the sidewalks as steps to increase safety for adults and children.
Shane O’Flaherty of Fourth Street and Miles Boone of Second Street both spoke at the March 17 meeting of the benefits they foresee with the installation of sidewalks.
“From my perspective in living in Downers Grove for about eight years (sidewalks are) a missing element, and it’s a future element that is needed down those streets,” O’Flaherty said.
Resident Kevin Lucas brought another angle of concern before the Village Council. Lucas said his home on Eighth Street is at the lowest level on the block, therefore creating flooding problems. Lucas said he has concerns over putting sidewalks in because of the land that will be displaced, potentially making his flooding worse.
“We fix one problem, we create another,” Lucas said.
Mayor Ron Sandack said the sidewalk policy is in place to avoid “pitting neighbor against neighbor.” It calls for every street in the village to eventually have at least have one sidewalk to provide connectivity to schools, parks and churches, he said.
“The decision to put sidewalks on one side of each neighborhood (street) was a community-wide decision. We don’t make decisions neighborhood by neighborhood ... this decision was made a while ago and it’s been adhered to by my predecessors on this council, as well as likely my successors because ... it’s resoundingly safer (to have sidewalks,)” Sandack said.
The Village Council expects to have the bids back by mid-May and the sidewalk construction would start shortly after, Kozlowski said.
| Streets scheduled for sidewalks in 2009 Second, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth streets from Cumnor Road to Williams Street Victor Street from Second to 55th streets Lincoln Avenue from Stanley Avenue to Sterling Road Traube Avenue from Roslyn Road to the east village limits Herbert Street from Downers Drive to west of Morton Avenue *Source: downers.us |
Some residents in the northeast corner of Downers Grove have found themselves walking in different directions when it comes to sidewalk construction.
Sixth Street resident Cheryl Popielarz has lived in the village for about four years. She and her husband chose the neighborhood because of its rural appeal.
During the March 17 Downers Grove Village Council meeting, Popielarz said she became aware of the sidewalk matrix a couple years ago, which resulted out of the Total Community Development Two process in the mid-1990s.
“I think it’s our responsibility, particularly of the commissioners, to reassess and re-evaluate the plans that you have today to make sure they are realistic given the needs of the neighborhood, the concerns of the neighborhood and also the expenses that will be entailed with this sidewalk,” Popielarz said.
She added the sidewalk installation will result in the loss of trees and raise concerns from some residents over negative impacts on property values.
Village spokesman Doug Kozlowski said advertisements announcing the bid for sidewalk construction will be publicized beginning April 10.
The village will hold a neighborhood meeting with the affected residents at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Public Works Department, 5101 Walnut Ave., to discuss design plan changes made to the $400,000 project, Kozlowski said.
Some residents view the sidewalks as steps to increase safety for adults and children.
Shane O’Flaherty of Fourth Street and Miles Boone of Second Street both spoke at the March 17 meeting of the benefits they foresee with the installation of sidewalks.
“From my perspective in living in Downers Grove for about eight years (sidewalks are) a missing element, and it’s a future element that is needed down those streets,” O’Flaherty said.
Resident Kevin Lucas brought another angle of concern before the Village Council. Lucas said his home on Eighth Street is at the lowest level on the block, therefore creating flooding problems. Lucas said he has concerns over putting sidewalks in because of the land that will be displaced, potentially making his flooding worse.
“We fix one problem, we create another,” Lucas said.
Mayor Ron Sandack said the sidewalk policy is in place to avoid “pitting neighbor against neighbor.” It calls for every street in the village to eventually have at least have one sidewalk to provide connectivity to schools, parks and churches, he said.
“The decision to put sidewalks on one side of each neighborhood (street) was a community-wide decision. We don’t make decisions neighborhood by neighborhood ... this decision was made a while ago and it’s been adhered to by my predecessors on this council, as well as likely my successors because ... it’s resoundingly safer (to have sidewalks,)” Sandack said.
The Village Council expects to have the bids back by mid-May and the sidewalk construction would start shortly after, Kozlowski said.
| Streets scheduled for sidewalks in 2009 Second, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth streets from Cumnor Road to Williams Street Victor Street from Second to 55th streets Lincoln Avenue from Stanley Avenue to Sterling Road Traube Avenue from Roslyn Road to the east village limits Herbert Street from Downers Drive to west of Morton Avenue *Source: downers.us |
