Construction is about to begin on one of this summers’ largest capital road improvement projects in Evanston on one of the busiest roads in the north suburb, officials said.
Work on the $4.1 million Oakton Street Improvement Project is slated to start on June 5, and will bring a slew of changes to a mile long stretch of the East West running street starting at Asbury Avenue up the canal just East of McCormick Blvd, said Senior Project Manager Rajeev Dahal.
He said the ambitious project includes the construction of a new sidewalk on the north side of Oakton Street between Dodge Avenue and Hartrey Avenue, a shared used pedestrian/bicycle path from Dodge Avenue west to the city limits, additional intersection crosswalks and enhancements of the existing ones, traffic signals and intersection upgrades, additional street lights and replacement of existing light fixtures with LED fixtures, ADA improvements to sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic signals, transit stops and landscaping, Oakton Avenue and Barton Avenue crosswalk enhancements and bike route markings and signage on Mulford Avenue between Asbury Avenue and Dodge Avenue.
According to the city as many as 16,000 vehicles a day travel that section of Oakton Avenue which is also home to Chute School, Dawes School, Oakton School and James Park, generating considerable child pedestrian activity on Oakton Street. There are also multiple transit bus stops, retail areas and recreational facilities along the corridor, all generating traffic.
“Over the years residents along that stretch of Oakton the corridor have raised concerns about safety issues,” Dahal said. “That conversation has been ongoing for years.”
He also said the city held a public meeting and put a community engagement survey on its website to get feedback from residents on the project.
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“All our major projects we go through similar efforts,” Dahal explained. “It’s community engagement so we can understand what the community’s concerns are, what their desires are and to have a discussion with them about what we can do what we can’t do.”
More than 150 people filled out the survey and some of the online comments include:
There needs to be sidewalk the entire length of this stretch of Oakton. Speed limit needs to be reduced and enforced
Unobservant drivers on Oakton scare me the most, both for myself and my children.
When you have tried to calm traffic in other areas it seems to have led to greater driver anger and impatience. I’m worried that making everything slower for cars means angrier drivers on the road. Adding a second way out of James to Oakton would improve traffic around Dodge a lot and make many people less frustrated.
The contractor for the improvement project is Huntley based Landmark Contractors and Evanston has retained Christopher B. Burke Engineering to monitor it.
In a May 23, 2023 newsletter the city said the work is expected to start the week of June 5, and be substantially completed by the end of November 2023 if weather permits. It also said that during construction, traffic lanes in each direction will be maintained on Oakton Street and that portions of the existing sidewalks and crosswalks will be closed as needed until the work is completed.
At areas where parking needs to be removed for construction, “No Parking” signs will be posted 48 hours prior to the start of work, the newsletter said. It also said construction activities will create some inconveniences for the abutting residents and businesses, but “every effort will be made to minimize these issues.”
The newsletter also said any irrigation sprinkler system in the parkway should be marked with a flag by the property owner prior to the start of construction to prevent damages to the private system.
“My advice to drivers is to drive carefully,” said Dahal. “There’s no need to speed. Watch out for pedestrians and bikes using the street. There may be some delays now and then. If they chose to, they can use alternative routes and avoid Oakton.”
He also said Evanston is getting $500,000 from Cook County to help pay for the $4.1 million project.
“It makes a lot of difference,” said Dahal. “The city is not burdened with all the costs. Any funding from other sources helps us achieve what we’re trying to implement.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.