One of Skokie’s busiest corridors is slated for an upgrade, as village trustees at their April 6 Board meeting gave the final sign-off on a Cook County-backed roadway improvement project from Skokie Boulevard to McCormick Boulevard.
The Oakton Street roadway project, which is estimated to cost the village upwards of $95,000, includes a major resurfacing and roadway reconfiguration from two travel lanes in each direction to one, an installation of buffered and separated on-street bicycle lanes, additional pedestrian safety improvements and streetscape and greenscape landscaping enhancements.
The joint partnership with Cook County, which has jurisdiction over sections of Oakton Street, will allow the village to take more of a back seat in the overall project design, bidding and construction efforts, but at the same time shoulder a smaller share of the cost.
According to a memorandum prepared by the Village’s Public Works Director Patrick Hastings, the total estimated cost of the project is about $4.16 million, only a fraction of which the village will be responsible for.
The $95,000 bill Skokie will be expected to foot includes costs relating to resurfacing portions of Knox and Kilbourn Avenues, streetscape elements, greenspace enhancements, decorative paving and additional engineering fees.
Because costs are based on estimates and not final bid prices, Hastings said in the memorandum that the village will reimburse Cook County for unexpected costs, not to exceed $150,000.
When the roadway project is completed, Cook County will be responsible for maintaining the entirety of Oakton Street, with the village responsible for routine maintenance of the bicycle lanes and general upkeep for the road, landscaping and sidewalks.
Before the Village Board moved to unanimously approve the roadway upgrades, Mayor Ann Tennes acknowledged the community’s fears regarding more downtown construction.
“I don’t know that we can rely on the county to be as attentive to our businesses along Oakton Street as we need,” Tennes said. “Construction is messy and it can be very inconvenient for commuters and pedestrians, and it can be really hard for businesses.”
Those fears were voiced publicly on Monday, with some residents urging the Board to reconsider its intergovernmental agreement with Cook County over concerns that a decreased roadway will negatively impact local businesses.
“I’ve been at [these] meetings for a year and a half now and every meeting I hear you guys claim you want to rebuild downtown and have more traffic there,” said David Dalka, a Skokie resident and frequent speaker at Village Board meetings.
“If you change the feeder to this area to one lane each way, you’re going to get rid of tens of thousands of cars per day that will not be coming through the center of this Village.”
“There’s already a number of vacant storefronts on that street; this will make this worse,” Dalka added. “This is bad for Skokie. It’s bad for business. It’s bad for taxes. It’s just plain bad.”
Mayor Tennes followed Dalka’s comments by reiterating that the Oakton Street construction project is “Cook County’s plan, not the Village’s.”
“But I believe to Mr. Dalka’s point, I share his concern with the businesses along Oakton Street, especially during construction,” she added.
Skokie resident Lauren Grodnicki said that while she was “really happy” to hear the project was moving forward with added bike infrastructure plans, her concern was that pedestrians who are crossing may unexpectedly be hit by a vehicle that’s changing lanes to get around cars that have stopped for people crossing the street.
“That is a terrifying situation and I really hate when there is more than one lane where [cars] can go around,” Grodnicki said.
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Village Manager John Lockerby seconded Grodnicki’s unease over a lack of pedestrian protections.
“It is absolutely not the mindset that we want pedestrians to have,” Lockerby responded.
“As a car is approaching a car with their brake lights on, there is a tendency for some people to swerve to go around it, and so it is absolutely essential for pedestrians to maintain a sense of awareness and proceed with caution…I do think you’re raising a very good point.”
Lockerby said he has shared these concerns “over and over again” with Skokie’s traffic engineers and will be working with their team to make improvements to the design plan’s safety mechanisms.
“I don’t want to say yes or no at this moment,” Lockerby responded to the suggestion of a cross walk flag for pedestrians to hold while crossing the street, because, he continued, “if somebody becomes dependent on a flag and then it’s not there one morning, I don’t want to overpromise, but I want you all to know that all of these safety mechanisms are being discussed.”
While there is no construction start date set for the roadway project, Hastings said he is in “close communication” with Cook County officials and they have assured the village they want the Oakton Street project to be the first one out the door for the new construction season.
A clause in the joint agreement specifies that Cook County will need to provide the village with at least two weeks’ written notice before a pre-construction meeting for Oakton Street and at least a seven calendar days’ notice before construction can commence.