Politics & Government
Crossing, Road and Sidewalk Improvements On Track
Runners and bikers on the Prairie Path may have a new way to warn drivers they are about to cross York Road.
Before work can begin on street improvements in a few areas of the city, Elmhurst staff need to coordinate with state agencies, aldermen learned Monday night.
In an update to the Public Affairs and Safety Committee, Assistant City Manager Mike Kopp said regulations and grant funding mandates mean staff have to work with the state on a new crosswalk on West Avenue over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and on any improvements to signals where the Prairie Path crosses York Road.
Both projects were discussed in a meeting on pending capital projects.
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There currently is no sidewalk or pedestrian crosswalk on West Avenue from Alexander to First Street. The city plans to spend about $200,000 to install a sidewalk on the east side of West and a pedestrian gate over the tracks. But to do so, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the agency that regulates railroads in the state, must sign off on the project. Kopp told the committee that Union Pacific is on board with the project already.
Kopp added that the corridor along West Avenue from the tracks to North Avenue is being studied for future upgrades.
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Also on the list for 2012 is the resurfacing of York Road from Vallette Street to Robert Palmer Drive. This $770,000 project will be supplemented with a $450,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The city wants to create better awareness of Prairie Path users as they cross York Road, but Kopp said the city needs to work with IDOT to do so.
One solution could be to install a signal that people can activate to alert drivers. This signal would not stop traffic but would flash, alerting cars that path users intend to cross.
Aldermen also heard there was no progress to report on a plan to pull truck traffic off of North Avenue by constructing a ramp off southbound I-294 going east. The ramp would keep trucks that want to head into Northlake from exiting westbound on North Avenue and turning around in a residential neighborhood near Field Elementary School.
“It's all based on funding,” Kopp said.
