Blue Island is considering spending about $6.5 million on a redevelopment plan for the southern section of Western Avenue from 127th Street to Grove Street that residents say will address concerns regarding pedestrian and driver safety.
“Western Avenue is at the heart of Blue Island, and the upcoming streetscape project is an opportunity to strengthen this important corridor for our residents, businesses and visitors,” Mayor Fred Bilotto said in a statement.
The city held a public information meeting Tuesday, following a July 1 meeting that discussed improvements to the northern corridor from 119th Street to 127th Street.
Michael Gratzke, from Christopher B. Burke Engineering, said the city’s main goals are to enhance driver and pedestrian safety, enhance compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and increase pedestrian accessibility.
The first two construction phases in the spring will focus on the east and west sidewalks of Western Avenue and improve parking, turning and bus lanes, according to the proposed timeline.
All sidewalks will increase by 3 feet. Sidewalks with larger bump outs, a kind of traffic calming device, will increase from 10 feet to between 13 and 17 feet. The number of parking stalls would decrease from 149 to 110 in order to make room for seven ADA-compliant stalls, according a preliminary design proposal.
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Phase 3 will shift to improving central drive lanes, turning lanes and planting trees, according to the timeline.
Transportation planner Kathleen Ebling said a portion of funding for phase I comes from Invest in Cook, a grant program through the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced in July an investment of $8.3 million through the program, which awarded funding for 36 transportation-related projects, according to a news release.
Ebling said additional funding will come from the Surface Transportation Program, funds distributed through a council of mayors and the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program.
Residents said they hope these improvements will address their concerns.
Brian Meadows, who has lived in Blue Island for six years and is the executive director of CFI Robotics, said one of the biggest issues he sees on Western Avenue are collisions he believes result primarily from a lack of signage. He said he has noticed this at the Western and York Street intersection.
“People are not stopping to look both ways, and I’ve seen it multiple times,” Meadows said.
Between 2021 and 2025, there were 17 crashes at the Western Avenue and York Street intersection, with 29% involving sideswipes same direction and 18% involving turning collisions, according to a crash summary provided in the preliminary project proposal. The Western Avenue and 127th Street intersection had the most collisions.
Gratzke said they want to add rapid flashing beacons with push buttons all across Western Avenue. The new signage would alert more drivers to let pedestrians cross the road.
Meadows said these improvements would make Western more accessible to pedestrians.
Additional safety-related improvements include added curbs and gutters, resurfacing of roadways and replacements of driveways, corner crossing and lighting.
The proposal also includes ways the city can improve its attractiveness and green spaces by planting more trees.
Longtime resident and Blue Island Forestry Board Chairperson Val Kehoe said she is excited for the potential of having more trees on Western Avenue.
“I’d be thrilled to have this happen, and I’m excited to have some trees on Western,” Kehoe said.
The next phase of the project, that will focus on design engineering, is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2027, Gratzke said.