European-Style Woonerf Proposed For Downtown Arlington Heights

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Downtown Arlington Heights may look a little more European in the near future. The Arlington Heights Village Board approved a resolution earlier this week for the village to apply for a grant to enhance infrastructure in the area of Vail Avenue, Evergreen Avenue, Campbell Street and Harmony Park.

Staff and consultants are submitting the application for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program Funds for the Downtown Arlington Heights Streetscape pedestrian, bicycle, and accessibility infrastructure enhancement project. The ITEP grant allows for a maximum $2 million grant award and is now on a two-year application cycle. The deadline for the current application cycle is Nov. 2, according to an agenda item from Monday's Village Board meeting.

The enhancements the Village is hoping to make include:

• Improvements to Evergreen Avenue
• Mid-block crosswalks installed at Evergreen Avenue and Campbell Street
• Curbless street concept at Vail Avenue and Campbell Street intersections
• Expansion of Harmony Park with a permeable paver pedestrian-friendly "woonerf" type contract

"Woonerf" is a Dutch word for a living street with techniques that include shared space, traffic-calming and low speed limits. In the United States, these complete streets are a distinct concept where equal priority is given to all modes of transportation including automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians, usually with separate rather than shared right-of-way.

The Village stated that the reason for making these types of improvements and adding amenities downtown is keep the Arlington Heights downtown "on the cutting edge."