Oak Park is such beautiful town.
It seems a shame – or maybe it’s only fair – that Oak Park has one of the ugliest sections of land it ever has been my misfortune to behold.
More Top Picks Best Table Saws For Flooring
I am talking about that section of Harlem Avenue between Jackson Boulevard and Garfield Street.
Yes, it’s the entrance and exit to and from the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290). There ought to be a sign over it, inspired by Dante “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”
The entrances and exit are at the top of a hill exposed to stroke-inducing heat in summer and razor-blade wind in winter. There is so much traffic entering and exiting the Ike that cars and trucks always are stranded in the intersection adding to the already horrible congestion.
And if drivers aren’t rude, impatient, pushy and angry when they get to the Harlem entrance, they become so on arrival.
The inclined exit and entrance become slippery when it rains and almost undriveable in snow and ice. I once arrived there just after a woman had been killed. She was merely standing on the sidewalk. A huge truck cut its turn to close and crushed the woman.
It’s a terrible place, as you know, too.
So, I was happy to read in Oak Leaves that the village and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are considering ways to improve the Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard entrances and exits as part of the project to revamp the expressway.
Improve traffic flow and make the area safer not only for drivers, but also pedestrians and bicyclists. That’s the hope.
As they toss around ideas, I hope Oak Park officials and IDOT keep in mind the village not only as it is but as it is becoming. Multiple building projects are in the works that will add condos and apartments – people and cars.
For instance, I also read in Oak Leaves that the Oak Park Station project is on its way to the village board. This project, on Westgate Street just east of Harlem, would be 20 stories tall and include businesses, 271 luxury apartments and 428 parking spaces. Much of this new population will head for the Ike entrance at Harlem.
Good luck IDOT and Oak Park. Vision needed.
Paul Sassone is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.