Minutes - 05/13/1999 - Safety Pathway Committee•
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Committee Members Present
Steve McShane
John Hartmann
Torn Richardson
OAK BROOK
SAFETY PATHWAY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF !!MEETING, MAY 13, 1999
Tom Doyle
Ron Gullurn
Also in attendance- Al Savino (Village Board), Howard Trier (Village Park District)
1. Minutes of January 14, 1999, meeting approved unanimously
2 Minutes of March 11, 1999, meeting approved unanimously
3. Project Updates
A. 22nd Street --- Due to go to bid. Possible Fall construction.
B. York Road, South of 31 st Street -- Village will proceed South of Robin Hood Ranch.
North of Robin Hood Ranch, some trees will be moved because they are under power
lines. At north end of new pathway, dip in pathway has not been corrected. Also, pine
trees are too close to pathway. Where pathway south of Robin Hood Ranch will overlap
on east & west sides of York Road, the Committee requests that appropriate crossover
markings be installed_
C Midwest Road -- Waiting on approvals.
D. Hargar Road -- Village preparing ordinance to transfer jurisdiction over bridges to
allow development of trail. This segment is important to the regional trail
E. Spring Road — No news.
F. 31st Street — Village has voted to spend additional money to build separate bridge
and seek additional grant money to complete bridge over Route 83
G Regional Trail — Some objections from Timber Trails residents regarding the pathway
along the frontage road at the entry to the subdivision Some work done, with construction
planned for 2002
4. Discussion of lack of information flow from Village to Committee regarding Village initiatives.
5 Old Business
A. Forest Gate. Village response (see attachment).
B. 35th near Saddle Brook. Village response (see attachment).
C. Pathway map. Any response? Hotel use?
p. Tunnel under Route 83 Cleaned by Millage. Painted by Park District. Both done
promptly
6. New Business
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A Discussion of Boub vs Wayne Township ruling (see attachment)
B. New 35th Street pathway west of Covington covered with stones from winter plowing.
Village to be contacted.
7 Next meeting -- Committee approved cancellation of July meeting, with the next meeting
scheduled for September 9. 1999
8. There being no additional business, the meeting was adjourned at 9.00 p.m.
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10.117, 99
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March 17, 1999
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VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
1200 OAK BROOK ROAD
OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS 60523 -2255
Oak Brook Safety Pathway Committee
c/o Mr. Steve McShane, Co- Chairman
3521 Madison
Oak Brook, IL. 60523
1
Dear Steve and Co �ttee Members:
lijr►n5 -►►►►8
PH'ONTE 630 990 -3000
FAX 630 990 -0876
Thank you for your recent letters, dated March 6 and 7, dealing with various pathway system
matters. With your permission, I will respond to all three letters here.
• perimeter of the Forest
(fin March_6; you wrote to suggest that's pathway be included arownd the penrri e
Gate development on the "Village Green" property. The development will include extension of the
path on the south side of Forest Gate Road from the west end to Jone Boulevard. From there, users
can cross to the east side of Jorie, protected by a traffic signal, and go south to 31" Street There
they can cross to the south side of 31" Street, again with bigiial protection, and access the 31" Street
path which, as you know, will eventually go west across Route 83 and connect to the path at Tnruty
Lakes_
Also on March 6, you wrote to regdest inclusion in the 1999 maintenance program of a short
extension of the 35' Street path near Saddle Brook. Mr. Tappin also made us aware of his concern
last Fall. Upon reviewing it in the field, the Engineering staff thought, and Tony agreed, that
extending the path all the way to the west side of the Saddle Brook entrance created an even worse
sight distance problem for traffic on 35`' Street and that the safest situation would result from
extending the path about 30 feet, to the east side of the entrance. The pathway extension was
constructed very late last year and the crosswalk relocation will be accomplished with the
resurfacing of 35`h Street this Spring.
On March 7, you wrote to ask whether a would be possible to install smaller bikeway signs along
the on -road segment of the system within Robin Hood Ranch The signs installed were per the
State- approved plans and they will have to remain until the project is "finalled out" by the State
Thereafter, I think we can look into alternatives.
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Oak Brook Safety Pathway Committee
March 17, 1999
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I hope this information is responsive and I thank you for your conthnwng efforts on behalf of
Village residents.
Sincerely,
a
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Stephen B. Veitch
Village Manager
/Sv
cc: Village President and Board of Trustees
Dale L. Durfey, Jr., RE,, Village Engineer
Michael J. Meranda, Director of Public Works
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1n n7;.' 99 118: 111 'a847 439 11111 NS1;d Z(117 (1118
Chicag4land
C I I L! i Bicydr
tio n
c-
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CBI✓' staff asks. Is this the future
for bicyclists in Illinois?
... given the
mad orlty's rulinb,
the only safe
bicycle in llliinois
is a stationary
exercise bike ..."
Supreme Court Justice
Heiple
4[7 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1000
Chicago Illinois GOG05 -1120
PhonE 312/427 -3325 Fax. 312/427 -4907
December 3, 1998
Dear "Permitted" but not "Intended" Bicyclist,
Your legal status as a bicyclist took a hard blow in the recent
Illinois Supreme Court ruling of Boub vs Wavne Township
The ruling states that bicyclists are not "intended" users of
roadways unless the roadway is signed as a bike route or
marked with bike lanes So, while bicyclists remain
"permitted" users of roadways, this ruling sends a strong
message to those bicycling on Illinois roads Ride at Your
Own Risk!
`Besides depriving injured bicyclists of just compensation for
their injuries, the principal effect of the majority decision will
be to discourage municipalities from taking any measures to
make roads safer and more hospitable for bicyclists," said
Justice Heiple in a dissenting opinion in this case, ", given
the majority's ruling, the only safe bicycle in Illinois is a
stationary exercise bicycle located in one's home or the gym "
Take this example say a city crew spills a big puddle of oil
on the street and fails to clean it up, and a kid on a bike slips
and breaks his arm The city isn't responsible and the parents
end up paying the bills If a car skids and crashes on that some
oil slick, the city will pay the damages And it gets worse
Since the Boub vs Wayne decision, the only way government
has liability for bikes is by signing a bike route or striping a
bike lane In all those places where officials and citizens are
trying to decide whether to improve their streets for bikes,
thrown into the deliberations is the additional risk a town
takes when they do something good for bikes. Do nothing and
you have no liability This has already stopped a bike route in
Des Plaines Some existing bike lanes and bike routes may be
removed Towns that don't care about bikes are rewarded
Towns that do care face hurdles to doing the right thing
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10,117 99 (18, it) $847 439 0111 NSGA ( M18 1108
Illinois is now the only state in the union where local governments do not have a responsibility to
bicyclists on the strget Because state law is at issue, we can't take this to the U.S. Supreme
Court As the judges said in the ruling, this is a policy decision for the legislature
CBF is launching an aggressive legislative campaign in 1999 to get the language in the fllinois
Vehicle Code amended to reflect the fact that bicyclists are "intended" users of roads We need
your help as we move ahead We'll be writing letters, making phone calls, mailing action alerts
and traveling to Springfield to attend legislative sessions As you might guess, all this takes time
and money from an organization that already has plenty to do.
Today, we're asking you to enlist in our legislative battle by becoming a Century Club member
A donation of $ 100 — or however generous you can be — will give us the resources to move
ahead — not only in Springfield but in communities all over the city and suburbs
Finally, your dollars will ensure that bicycling is a safe option for people who ride everywhere in
Minois — not dust on stationary bikes Thank you for your strong year -end support of CBF
Sincerely,
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Randy Neufeld
Executive Director
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P S_ This legislative battle is critical but we can't let it stop our ongoing mission There are trails
to get funded, bridges to be built over barriers, parking racks to be installed, Metra to be dealt
with, maps to be distributed, ride calendars to be assembled, Shop by Bike to be promoted, safety
books to be handed out, neighborhood bike routes to be planned the list goes on and on. We're
committed to doing a good job on all of it. The CBF staff and volunteers are dedicated to making
bimang sare ana enjoyable everywhere Thanks for doing your part