GLEN ELLYN
Plan approved to redo commuter parking lot
Plans have been approved to reconstruct the Montclair commuter parking lot on the south side of the Union Pacific railroad tracks, between Park Boulevard and Montclair Avenue.
Glen Ellyn trustees recently voted to award a $640,000 contract to Wheeling-based Hardin Paving Co. to rebuild the lot this spring and summer. The work will include increasing the number of parking spaces from 160 to 167 and adding landscaping along the Illinois Prairie Path, which runs along the south side of the parking lot.
The contractor also will pave the Prairie Path between Park and Montclair and add lighting along the pedestrian and bike path east to Taylor Avenue.
The work is expected to be completed by the start of July.
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— Bob Goldsborough
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ELBURN
Police chief says DUIs still pose problem
Motorists driving drunk still pose a problem in Elburn despite a reported 63 percent drop in DUI arrests from 2006 to 2007, Police Chief James Linane said.
“I have one very good DUI officer who came on board in 2006 and who wasn’t working night shift for a while in 2007,” Linane said. “There were still just as many drunk drivers on the roads then. We just weren’t catching as many of them.”
According to a new crime report, Elburn charged between 20 and 30 people per year with drunken driving in 2003, 2004 and 2005. That number rose to 73 in 2006, then fell to 27 last year.
Elburn still has one of the lowest crime rates in the United States, according to the report. Police reported 10.8 serious crimes per 1,000 residents compared with about 26 serious crimes per 1,000 residents in Kane County, 37 in Illinois and 48 nationwide. Elburn logged no homicides in 2007, one case of criminal sexual assault, no robberies, no arsons, one aggravated assault, six burglaries, 42 thefts and one stolen car.
Linane also said the village needs to begin planning to expand the Metra station parking lot, which has 300 spaces. An average of 50 vehicles per day used the lot in 2007, and usage has increased to between 190 and 220, depending on the month.
In other business, village officials are considering a plan to install warning horns at Elburn’s two railroad crossings to cut down the frequency of train whistles sounding in town.
“Elburn won’t be a quiet zone, but it will be a quieter zone,” said Trustee Craig Swan. “I think it’s the most feasible option to get some relief.”
–Denise Linke