Instead of wasting 1.5 million on an underpass, how about routing path traffic to the traffic signals at York & Vallette. Two $ 100.00 signs should cover that cost.

I tend to agree 5D. At least look at as many possible alternatives to solve this issue. To spend 1.5 million is absolutely insane in today's economy. We tax payers also can't handle any new financial burdens.

a time when most americans are broke this type of pork barrel spending is ridiculous, this city manager position is a joke, whoever thought of the idea of having a "city manager" must have come from stalinist russia, elmhurst property taxes are outrageous and there are tons of home burglaries...

then you have to worry about some guy like this who wants to spend a couple of million dollars so people dont have to stop for a second to cross the street. give me a freakin' break

How about launching an educational campaign for cyclists/runners outlining THEIR responsibility to stop and look before they proceed. This "law" does not mean they have the right of way - it means, if they are already in the street the cars must stop (which is only common sense). There are many considerate cyclists and runners out there and the others are giving them a bad name. We have signs for the cars - why not for the prairie path users?

disagree with most all of the above comments. the path gets heavy, heavy usage and this project would be a community asset and an excellent investment.

if you total up all the money in this article, this underpass could cost upwards of three million dollars...not economically feasible in these times. And when the city hall parking lot is repaved, I hope they also re-engineer it. The present layout must have been done by a first year engineering student, the lot circulation does not work and the turning radii are too tight. The position of the drop off mail box is crazy.

Underpasses are for sissies. I like to try and mow down these health freaks as they blindly cross York Road. It's a great stress reliever for me. I agree, we should redo the parking lot at City Hall. Instead of new pavers, how about a rack for torturing any residents who cross my path?

The Prairie Path is a recreational asset for Elmhurst residents, and its use should be encouraged. How nice it would be to have an underpass, so that parents could have children riding their bikes on this green area without fear of York Street traffic. The cost of $1.5 Million would be substantial, but not monumental With 40,000 residents, that comes out to about $37.50 per resident.

I have said this on many Patch articles. No matter what your position is I would recommend you voice it at the next council meeting during the public forum.

I like the idea of the underpass for these reasons. Every time a car has to stop for a person at the P.P. they are using more gas than they would had they not had to stop. Lombard is almost done with their overpass over St. Charles, coupled with an underpass on York and you might bust a few more people out of their cars and maybe they would ride their bikes to work. While driving I see people stopping for absolutely no one at the P.P., this would stop if there was an under pass. My opinion is to build the underpass, max out any grants available, and bite the bullet.

If (big 'if") the York PP is such a problem... Why throw money at the problem? Buy a four used stop signs and make the crossing a four way stop. If you really want to spend money, do a underpass at Butterfield and Kirk (3 dead, hit and run, unsolved).

Let's also keep in mind that certain real estate interests want to reconfigure the York-Seminole-South Street intersection. That "traffic problem" will supposedly be solved by the taking of land from the park. Is it just possible that the PP/York "problem" is just a trial balloon for a much larger project?

Also, does anyone remember all the talk about the great need for an underpass in front of York High School? Well meaning people have a great knack for spending other peoples money, on spurious problems. No amount of money will prevent an idiot from jumping a curb anywhere in town. How about lowering all Elmhurst speed limits to 10 MPH? A couple dozen cheap signs will take care of that. Hell, I'd be glad to paint over the old signs.....

A very quick thought but what about an overpass with space for electronic signage that could announce community events and advertising sold to offset costs.

You take the low way and I'll take the high way.......

@ jc: this is your best idea yet; overpasses are way more palatable for a variety of reasons. first and foremost, from a safety standpoint, no one wants to enter an underpass when it's dark out (and yes, many of us use the prairie path after dusk). second, as jc said, this can also be used to advertise community events much like the overpass @ palmer drive. third, and most importantly, an overpass is much cheaper to build because there is very little, if any, excavation required. however, in the final analysis, i still agree with 5decades in that you have to address needs before you spend money on wants.

How about you stand at the intersection of route 83 and north avenue and wear a yellow vest and take donations for your cause, rather than try and steal my hard earned money from me through strong armed robbery taxation, for your project that I will never use.

if your kid can't cross the street he shouldn't be riding a bike.

if any biker wants to ride his bike directly into my car trying to collect insurance without looking, it's a good thing ObamieCommieCare is around after all so to pay for his new neck brace. Because the law clearly says they need to yield to traffic as well.

We need to have a ban on any renters in elmhurst being able to vote for property tax increases as well, anyone agree?

this is how this kind of stuff gets started, its two wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner.