Planned improvements on East New York Street in Aurora – many focusing on safety – were in the spotlight as the city held an open house to give residents a chance to review and ask questions about the project.
The proposed work would impact the street from Commons Drive to Entrance 6 for Fox Valley Mall.
According to a press release from the city, the plan “proposes adding left-turn lanes at intersections, modernizing traffic signals, enhancing pedestrian crossings, updating sidewalks and multi-use paths and other work.”
During the two-hour open house Wednesday evening, visitors were able to view exhibits of the project as well as speak with city staff members and consultants who were on hand to provide feedback and additional information.
Clayton Muhammad, chief communications and equity officer for the city of Aurora, said the planned work “is a continuation of the New York Street Improvement Project that included Farnsworth towards Route 59.”
“The open house allows residents and commuters to come in and talk with city staff and consultants about the project to give their feedback. We are offering open houses regularly with our projects and making certain that the community has the opportunity to have a voice,” Muhammad said. “We want to make sure there is a personal opportunity to see the proposed projects first hand.”
The planned work on East New York Street comes as Fox Valley Mall is in the midst of a period of redevelopment. Along with offering shopping and entertainment options, there are several apartment complexes either opened or planned at the mall.
“We know that there is a lot happening at the Fox Valley Mall,” Muhammad said. “There is residential, there is senior living, there are new businesses, so all the more important we make sure this strip is modernized and ready for the traffic that is to come.”
Officials and consultants were on hand at the open house to talk about the project, which has a cost of around $1.7 million with construction seen as starting in late 2025 or in 2026, according to Alex Nugent, an engineer working on the project.
“We did receive federal funding on this,” he said. “It’s an HSIP grant – a Highway Safety Improvement Project – that’s funded at a 90-10 split with 90% federal money and the other 10% a local match.”
Ryan Sikes of WBK Engineering of St. Charles, a company serving as consultants for the project, said it would include improvements at the East New York Street intersections at Commons Drive, Station Boulevard and Fox Valley Mall Entrance 6.
“We’re improving safety by adding an additional left-turn lane at all three places,” he said.
He said traffic signals at the intersections would be changed to allow drivers to make a left turn only on a left-turn arrow.
“There’s been a large number of crashes over the past five years” in that area, Sikes said about the proposed project’s focus on safety.
Many of the visitors to the open house Wednesday live near Fox Valley Mall and were familiar with the configurations of the intersections. Several spoke about the need for more safety, for motorists as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.
Cheryl Richards of Aurora spoke with consultants at the open house and said the proposed plans “all sound good.”
“It’s like they have some good ideas but there is one particular project that I think would be of benefit,” she said. “They need to get rid of the merge lane between Commons Drive and Frontenac Road on New York going westbound because of the near misses with people merging. It goes from three to two lanes pretty rapidly and there is also a hill.”
Richards said given the growth in the area, “improvements in the infrastructure are needed.”
“It looks like they have more sidewalks which I think is a very good thing,” she said.
Joan Jackson, also of Aurora, said safety is important along that stretch of East New York Street.
“It just seems like they are narrowing the median there and adding a turn lane which will be good because a lot of crashes do happen …” she said. “To alleviate the accidents there would be really good and they’re not tearing up the whole of New York Street to make it inconvenient while they are doing this. I know there will be some disruption, but we have other ways we can go.
“I wanted to make sure this was an improvement but not a hinderance,” she said, noting she lives “just four minutes away.”
City officials said those unable to attend Wednesday’s open house can still be heard by emailing questions and feedback to WeidnerT@aurora.il.us.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
