Algonquin trustees will hold off before considering a request to build a sidewalk on Illinois Highway 31 north of the downtown area after learning the project’s price tag.
A group of teens, most of whom live in the Scenic Ridge subdivision north of Algonquin Road near the Arrowhead Apartments, requested the sidewalk last month so they could use it to walk downtown. They gave officials a petition signed by 102 residents in favor of the project.
They said they and scores of neighbors had been using a path through wooded property on Illinois 31, but the owner of a home being constructed on the site no longer allows access.
The teens said they now must walk along Illinois 31 and dodge vehicles.
Village Manager Bill Ganek said that because the sidewalk would require a retaining wall, the project would cost roughly $150,000.
Trustee Bob Smith suggested asking the state, which will resurface Illinois 31 in the spring, to pick up part of the tab. “Being that it is a state road and there is an established safety issue, they should be able to do a 50-50 split,” Smith said.
Ganek said he will explore alternatives, such as a trail through the subdivision.
