BLUE ISLAND
Street upgrades set for day of bike races
The racecourse has been set for next month’s professional and amateur bike race through Blue Island, and the City Council has approved road improvements to Western Avenue to prepare for it.
“I feel very positive we have a great thing going on here,” Mayor Donald Peloquin said Tuesday of the July 14 race.
More Top Picks Best Beverage Dispensers For Parties
The criterium-style race, in which racers ride up to 30 m.p.h. on a short track, is part of the International Cycling Association’s summer series throughout the Midwest.
The race will be a day after Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood hosts its own race as part of the series.
The racing course of about 1 mile starts at York Street and Western Avenue, continues south to Vermont Street, west to Greenwood Avenue, north to Oak Street, then back east to Western. The course highlights some of Blue Island’s historic sites, including the post office, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first of six races begins at 9:45 a.m. The last one, a 60-mile professional race featuring about 100 riders, will be at 5 p.m.
“It’s a constant race, and I think we have a handle on things,” Peloquin said.
He said the city will be striping and improving intersections along the course to make it more pedestrian-friendly.
Main Street Blue Island, one of the race sponsors, is seeking volunteers to help, including serving as host families for some of the racers. For information call 708-388-5735.
Carmen Greco Jr.
OAK FOREST
Sidewalks planned for Metra travelers
Officials said the construction of four stretches of sidewalks will make it easier for commuters to walk to the Metra Station at 159th Street and Cicero Avenue and will not increase flooding.
The City Council on Tuesday approved an engineering study for sidewalks along LaPorte Avenue from 151st to 153rd Streets; LaCrosse Avenue from 151st to 153rd Streets; LeClaire Avenue from 151st to 158th Streets; and LaVergne Avenue from 151st to 158th Streets.
The engineering study, by Baxter & Woodman of Mokena for $16,974, will include an evaluation of topography. The work is being done with the Illinois Department of Transportation. It will be paid through a $652,000 federal Congestion Mitigation for Air Quality grant, with the city paying 20 percent of the costs.
Ald. Richard Simon, the dissenter in a 5-1 vote, said he worried about water-main repairs in the area interfering with installation of sidewalks.
Simon and Ald. Greg Simos, also questioned granting facade-improvement funds to build a deck at Chilly Willy’s Eatery & Saloon, 15501 S. Cicero Ave., saying the work should not have been approved by the city because of its size and proximity to the street. The council voted to grant $8,293 for the 900–square-foot deck and two signs, or about one-third of the $25,100 the establishment spent.
Officials said the city granted owner Ron Sowder a building permit to build the deck and signs a year ago. New procedures have been instituted so a similar project would need further review by staff and possibly the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee.
Simon voted for the funding because the owner thought he was following procedure, but Simos voted against it, saying he thought it was “an illegal deck.”
Janice Neumann
MOKENA
Residents heed pleas to save water
Mokena’s voluntary water-conservation program passed its first test last week, village officials said Monday.
When a spell of hot, dry weather hit earlier this month, the village posted signs indicating residents should cut outdoor water use to avoid drying up the town’s reserve supply.
“We saw a voluntary 25-percent reduction,” Village Administrator John Downs said.
The immediate response proves that educating the public about water problems and giving residents a chance to contribute to a solution is an effective approach, officials said. “Congratulations to the community for helping itself,” Downs said.
Mayor Joe Werner said he prefers what he called the “proactive” voluntary approach to using law-enforcement methods, such as ticketing and fines. “All of us are working together to save water, money and aggravation,” he said.
In a related matter, residents will be spared higher water rates this year, but developers must come up with more cash.
The village’s $29 million budget for fiscal 2008 will produce healthy fund balances, but growth-related revenues, including water and sewer money, have dropped with a downturn in the housing market, Downs said.
The cost of connecting commercial buildings will rise. Based on the size, costs will range from $9,323 to $146,723. Residential rates will stay at $3.96 for 1,000 gallons, but the cost of connecting a new home to the system will increase from $9,008 to $9,323.
Downs noted residential water fees have remained stable since the village switched to Lake Michigan water, but an increase will probably be needed sometime after 2010.
Pat Harper
MOKENA
Trustees target congestion, floods
More Top Picks Best Field Watches For Fall
Trustees signed off Monday on a study they hope will point the way to rid Wolf Road of chronic traffic jams.
Village Engineer Paul Pearson noted that Wolf Road is extremely congested during rush hours. When the gates go down at the railroad crossing, traffic gets even worse, Pearson said.
The village will hire Robinson Engineering to look at the timing of the traffic signals on Wolf between 187th Street and LaPorte Road. The $21,000 study is aimed at finding out if the lights can be coordinated to keep traffic flowing, Pearson said.
“We’d like to see if we can try and tweak the timing,” he said. .
The board also agreed to fund drainage studies of two flood-prone residential areas, one near Bryant Street and Revere Road and another in the Brightway area south of LaPorte.
The Bryant-Revere area lies on low ground and is “subject to severe ponding,” Pearson said. The study will look at the operation of storm sewers, he said.
The Brightway area has a lot of shallow drainage ditches and storm water often spills onto the road, he said.
Postl-Yore engineering firm will conduct the studies for $31,680 and make recommendations.
Pat Harper
PLAINFIELD
Animal-control laws under review
Village officials have seen an increase in animal-cruelty calls and dogs running loose.
This week trustees reviewed a stricter ordinance that would require all dogs be leashed and also decrease by one the number of animals that residents can have in a household.
Trustee Jim Racich, who was attacked by three dogs on a walk in 2004, said he has received complaints from residents about roaming dogs.
“I want the ordinance to be stricter on people who have their dogs run loose,” he said.
Community-service officers also get complaints, said village attorney Joan Meyers.
Meyers said the proposed ordinance, reviewed at the Village Board’s committee of the whole meeting Monday, would primarily require dogs to be on a leash when not in a fenced area.
The draft requires a six-foot leash. Garrett Peck, a member of the Plainfield Humane Society’s advisory board, recommended that dogs at public events be on a three-foot leash.
The ordinance would limit the total number of dogs and cats to five. That is down from allowing three dogs and three cats. It excludes puppies or kittens under 6 months old.
The proposal will be reviewed in two weeks, Meyers said.
Patricia Trebe