Ron Ariana is upset that his 9-year-old son can’t walk to school. Every morning, Ariana’s wife starts the car and drives him to the building only a few blocks from their home on Grand Avenue in Western Springs.
“I won’t let my kids walk or ride their bikes around here,” said Ariana, a father of three who has been petitioning village officials for two years to install sidewalks in his upper-middle-class neighborhood. “This is a safety issue that the village won’t address.”
Grand Avenue is one of the few blocks that offers an ingress and egress onto 55th Street, a major east and west throughway.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost seen children get hit by a car,” said Nick Giuliano, Ariana’s neighbor. “The traffic down this block is always heavy.”
Sidewalks are a hot topic in many suburbs, especially those that were once rural areas but are becoming more congested. Some people want sidewalks, others do not. In Northbrook, for instance, officials this week suspended their sidewalk plans after more than 150 opponents showed up at a Village Board meeting.
Some people opposed to sidewalks say they change the look of a neighborhood, disrupt landscaping or simply cost too much, even though most municipalities pay for parts of projects.
In Western Springs, Ariana and Giuliano look at it differently. Ariana has offered to pay the full out-of-pocket price for a walkway in front of his home.
But village officials have not given a clear yes or no since sidewalks were first proposed in early spring, the two men said. They received a letter from William Nelson, director of municipal services, in April saying codes, permit requirements and other issues were under review.
Thursday, Western Springs President John Lynch said it was the first he heard about Ariana’s offer to pay for the project.
“We never had a resident request something like this before,” said Lynch, who said he does not see why the village would oppose the idea. “But one problem is they will be building a sidewalk that goes nowhere.”
Ariana and Giuliano said they want to go ahead anyway, hoping to encourage their neighbors to extend the sidewalk. But Lynch said residents voted down a proposed sidewalk this winter.
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In November, the village set up a special service area and found that 60 percent of residents opposed the sidewalks on three streets that include Grand Avenue, Lynch said. The cost was estimated at about $300,000.
An earlier estimate was $150,000, Giuliano said, with the village paying 30 percent. A survey at that time showed most residents in support of sidewalks, Giuliano and Ariana said.
They said they contacted a concrete company and received an estimate this spring of $107,000 for three blocks of sidewalk paving. “It would be cheaper for residents to pay the full price [with our estimate] than if the village paid their [30 percent] part,” Ariana said.
After being told of the $107,000 estimate, Lynch said he did not think it included the cutting of driveways, engineering and other required installation. Ariana and Giuliano said it includes cutting driveways but not engineering and putting grass back.
Also, around the time of the special service area, news surfaced of a $3.5 million federal transportation grant to the village that some neighbors thought would pay for the sidewalks.
“People wanted it at first, but some changed their minds after the estimate doubled and rumors [started] that the grant money would pay for the full project,” Ariana said.
Lynch said the estimate increased after officials obtained the final costs. He said $1.5 million of the grant money will be used for sidewalks.
“The board members understand the problem on Grand Avenue, and I think they will consider the issue when the grant money arrives,” said Lynch, who pointed out that several other neighborhoods are also without sidewalks.
“This town is split on the sidewalk issue,” he said. “It’s the hottest issue at our board meetings. For example, some senior citizens and people on a fixed income are opposed to the project because of the cost. However, I’ve met many who are in favor of sidewalks, including elderly and people without children.
“I don’t like to see a pedestrian pushing a stroller in the street,” Lynch said. “I support sidewalks throughout the village. But it would cost $9 million to install sidewalks in the entire village. The village only operates on a $20 million annual budget.
“That’s why we will have to work on sidewalks slowly,” he said.
