For Lansing, the face-lift it wants to give its downtown district is like a dose of preventive medicine.
In an era of shopping centers and strip malls, the village hopes improvements planned for the one-mile stretch of Ridge Road will prevent the area from deteriorating the way downtowns in some other suburbs have done.
”We caught it before it went that far,” said Grace Bazylewski, director of planning and development for the village of 33,000. ”The village believes a strong downtown is the backbone of the community.”
Plans for Ridge Road include new sewers, curbs, lighting and sidewalks as well as aesthetic improvements such as trees and benches. Officials also want to add turn lanes to the two-lane street while preserving on-street parking.
Because Ridge is a state road, Lansing is awaiting approval of the plans by the Illinois Department of Transportation. That could come by next week, Bazylewski said.
Work on the project could start next month and take 60 to 90 days to complete, Bazylewski said.
