The village has retained a transportation advocacy group to deliver ideas on how to get around town.
At the Sept. 19 village board meeting, trustees unanimously moved to enter into a professional services agreement with the Chicago-based Active Transportation Alliance to develop a walking and biking plan, a goal of the village’s Sustainability Task Force.
“Communities that are friendly for walking, biking and public transportation tend to also be economically vibrant, healthier, more environmentally friendly places to live,” said Ron Burke, the Alliance’s executive director.
The plan is not to exceed $20,300, with costs to be split between the village, Glencoe School District 35 and the Glencoe Park District, according to village officials.
Its goal is to create ideas for enhanced sidewalk networks, path and trail growth, and enhancements for children to get between parks and schools, according to village documents.
“There are a lot of crosswalks, intersections and streets in Glencoe,” Burke said. “We may not be able to get to every single one, but chances are we going to hear from the community, hey, this is a real problem spot. We will try to reflect those sentiments from the public in the planning process.”
Burke said his organization has worked in more than 100 suburbs. He added that a steering committee will be formed of village residents, and a series of public meetings will be held before the plan is delivered to the board.
Village management analyst Adam Hall said the report is expected to be delivered in 18 months.
Meanwhile, the village will have approximately $1 million remaining from the proceeds of a 2015 bond sale, according to Public Works Director David Mau. That means the village board must choose other infrastructure improvements to proceed with in the near future, he said.
Glencoe voters in 2015 approved two bond sale referendums totaling $10 million. The funds from the smaller $2.5 million sale have been spent mainly for HVAC needs at Village Hall, according to Mau.
However, proceeds of the $7.5 million sale, which were used primarily to correct flooding issues in the village, are expected to have roughly $1 million left, even after $200,000 worth of sanitary sewer projects in the works for next year are completed.
Mau said the unspent funds were partly due to a “competitive bidding environment” in the area.
To spend the additional money, Mau said the board needs to consider a series of potential sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and sidewalk work, and a Tudor Court resurfacing next year. He said the funds need to be spent by February 2019, the three-year anniversary of the bond sale, according to bond sale rules.
That means decisions must be made within the next year, he said.
“Obviously it is a process that we will be talking about for several months moving forward as we get into the budget process in earnest in October,” Village Manager Phil Kiraly said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
