Pedestrians along the north side of Ogden Avenue will have to continue battling traffic and weeds between Oakwood and Pasquinelli Drives until the village can come up with a safe, affordable plan to install a sidewalk there, trustees have decided.
Despite repeated pleas from area residents and business owners, Village Board members voted 5-1 Monday to reject a $102,000 plan to build a sidewalk and guardrail on the north side of Ogden between Oakwood and Pasquinelli, saying the plan was too expensive.
To install the guardrail, the village would have to pay about $26,000 to replace a fence along Ogden to obtain easements from about 15 residents whose properties border Ogden, village staff members said. The village also would have to foot the bill for a $15,000 guardrail along the sidewalk for pedestrian safety, staff members said.
Money from the village’s allotment of state motor fuel taxes was earmarked to pay for the project.
With no sidewalk between Oakwood and Pasquinelli, pedestrians along that stretch of Ogden often choose to walk in the road with 40 m.p.h. traffic instead of trying to wade through the tall weeds on the roadside.