Loading...
Minutes - 12/14/1995 - Safety Pathway CommitteeT OAK BROOK SAFETY PATHWAY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING, DECEMBER 14, 1995 Committee Members Connie Craig, Co- Chairman* Tom Doyle* John Hartmann* Heidi Huizenga Rosetta Lombardi* Dale Durfey, Village of Oak Brook Tom Hawk, Village of Oak Brook Bruce Kapff, Village of Oak Brook Roy Cripe, Oak Brook Park District Steve McShane Tom Richardson, Co- Chairman* Ana Sisson Sue Walters *Present 1. Minutes of the October 14, 1995 meeting were approved- 2. Resident Survey- Results/report were mailed out with the Village Newsletter - Volume 10 - December, 1995 This item can now be dropped from our agenda 3 Pnonty Review Tom R. will ask Bruce to update status column on priority list 4 York Road Pathway York Road has not yet been brought back to the Village Board Tom R sent a letter to Karen Bushy to clarify the reasons the Safety Pathway Committee recommended the route down York Road from 31St St to RobinHood Ranch (see copy attached) Note was made of the Planning Commission's original plan to have a path on York Road that would easily connect with Hinsdale This per Tom Doyle, former member of the Plan Commission 5. 31St Street Pathway: Tom R wrote a letter to Village President, Karen Bushy, giving our recommendation to cantilever a bridge over Rt. 83 on 31St St. 6. Harger Rd./York Rd/Regional Trails No new updates. 7. Old Business: Recommendation to include an update on pathways and grants along with the pathway map to be done in the spring. Add "Map of Pathways" to agenda. Connie will contact Roy Cnpe to see what the status of the map is and whether it will be available in the spring. A more detailed map is also needed showing technical data, road widths, elevations, etc.. Computer Assisted Design (CAD) program would help. Tom R will call Dale Durfey regarding this map. It would be for use by the Village and the Safety Pathway Committee. Two or three locations have been suggested for bike racks at Oak Brook Center. One suggestion was near California Pizza Kitchen 8. New Business. _ 1. A letter was received from a resident regarding a safety concern if the pathway connects to Oak Brook Center 2 A letter was received from Jon Sommer, former Park District Director. 3. A letter was received from a resident regarding the need for a pedestrian button at 22 °d and Windsor Tom R will submit a project recommendation sheet to Mike Meranda . 4. A call was received from resident Howard Trier regarding a suggestion for the Rt. 83 underpass at Jorie Blvd. He suggested that industrial parabolic mirrors might increase safety in the underpass as they would enable bicyclists/pedestrians to see if someone is coming from the other direction It was recommended to explore the feasibility of this suggestion under both Rt. 83 and also under York Road 5 Regarding the Safety Pathway along 35th St. (Covington Court) - Tom R will ask Dale Durfey about Covington's commitment to have a path along their subdivision. Tom will also ask Bruce Kapff about the rest of 35th Street Next Meeting: The January meeting will be canceled The next scheduled meeting is February 8, 1996 Connie Craig for Steve McShane Secretary • r � ✓� � r �ir� — � P `-. � Y r r� I- ,w � i f l r r r c -� a �• r .- \ � , 1 .-� Karen Bushy. President Village of Oak Brook December 5, 1995 Y r Dear Karen, In order to help clarify the Safety Pathway Committees choice for the York Road path, I will_ list our reasons for choosing the path down York Road to the Robin Hood Ranch entrance over a path connecting with the Fullersburg Forest Preserve path across the south end of the Christ Church property. We did not consider the alternative of no path, since that would continue the isolation of Robin Hood Ranch and the York Road - residents. It also would not provide the continuity of paths desired by many Oak Brook residents, as indicated in the latest pathway survey. Additionally, it would leave a gap the proposed regional pathway. 1. A primary reason the York Road path has been pursued for so many years is to offer a safe way for Robin Hood Ranch residents to access other areas of Oak Brook, including Butler school. Children now use York Road • or its shoulders for walking or riding. With the roads heavy traffic, narrow lanes, and curves, this is a dangerous situation. If a path goes close to the Robin Hood Ranch entrance, but stops a hundred or so feet short, then we predict that the children will continue to use York Road to reach the path, rather than a longer, and in bad weather, more difficult route through the Forest Preserve and then back to the path. This would negate one of the main safety reasons for the path. 2. Parts of the Forest Preserve path adjacent to Robin Hood Ranch are subject to periodic flooding by Salt Creek. The area between where the proposed path on the south of the Christ Church property would meet the Forest Preserve path and where one would access the Path from Robin Hood Ranch includes the area most'subject to flooding. This section also takes the longest time to dry out, particularly the area behind #4 Robin Hood Ranch. This would reduce the utility of the path for all users. Solving this flooding situation is not easy. Since the area is in the flood plain, filling would pose significant legal and political problems. Bridging the area would be expensive, since the path is used by horses, and would either have to support their weight, or be wide enough to be a bridge on one side and a path for horses on the other. It is possible that the Forest Preserve would in the future add a gravel surface, which would help, but it would gradually be covered with mud in the low spots and require frequent maintenance. 0 3: Several parents have 'expressed concern about children using the Forest Preserve path because of its seclusion. Individuals using the York Road path will be visible to anyone driving along the road; those using the Forest Preserve- path will be visible only to other users or the adjacent neighbors, if they happen to be looking toward the path. This puts the parents in an awkward position of suggesting their children use the part of York Road that would have no path to access the rest of the path, in order to avoid the poor security of the Forest Preserve path. Path users continuing south from Robin Hood Ranch toward Hinsdale would need to use the Forest Preserve. There is no way to avoid this usage, short of condemning property along York Road to gain access to continue the path south, an option that does not appeal to the Village Board. The Village now has officers on bicycles, and perhaps they could occasionally patrol the Forest Preserve part of the path, but it is doubtful that it could be frequent, given their other duties. 4. The Civiltech engineers and Dale Durphey have been at several Safety Pathway meetings, and their information leads us to believe that it would be difficult to move the path closer to York Road, thereby avoiding some of the esthetic problems with the path. This is an option we had pursued early on, as a way to keep the paths impact on the residents to a minimum, and there has been some alteration from the, original path location to accommodate the neighbors. 5. The Village Police and Engineering Departments indicated that the intersection at York and Robin Hood Ranch was not significantly different from several other similar intersections in the Village, and posed no exceptional safety hazard. Both the Committee and the Village agree that signage will be necessary; with stop signs at this intersection, and at the Christ Church driveway entrance. 6. While the street through Robin Hood Ranch is narrow, it is through a small subdivision, with light traffic, much like the street in Yorkshire Woods. Although having the path on the street is not ideal, it is similar to others in the Village. Just as Yorkshire Woods is proposing that their street be widened, it would help the safety of Robin Hood Ranch to have a wider street, whether or not the Pathway uses it. 0 0 I hope this helps clarify the Safety `Pathways rationale 'on its path choice. ,r Please contact me or Connie Craig if you have any questions. r , Sincerely,. Tom Richardson Co -Chair Safety Pathway Committee cc: Bruce Kapff Connie Craig 1