The Aurora City Council is looking at spending about $200,000 on a safety railing along a section of the Fox River downtown.
The railing would be about 168 feet on a lawn-type area on the north side of Benton Street, just behind the Swimming Stones monument and The Mayan apartment building.
It is an area where there has never been a safety railing before. While it is not readily accessed by the public, the area has been used more for downtown events such as parades, said Jason Bauer, of the city’s Public Works Department.
It is a potential safety hazard, he said.
The City Council Finance Committee recently recommended a $219,179 contract with Yorkville-based Tatisco Inc. for the project, which was the lower of two bids, Bauer said.
Money for the new railing was not budgeted in this year’s budget, but Bauer said city officials decided for safety reasons not to wait until the 2024 budget.
Officials would use $50,000 budgeted for railing replacement, and the rest would come from risk funds included every year in the budget.
While officials are doing the 168 feet of railing, they could do as much as 250 feet if more money can be found, Bauer said.
“If we can find more money, we’ll do more,” he said.
Not all the contract will go toward the safety railing; it also will include some repair of crumbling railings downtown, too.
