Elmhurst Mulls Big Change To Sidewalk Policy

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst aldermen are considering a proposal to have the city pay a greater share of the costs of new sidewalks.

The intention is to replace the old cost-share policy, which hasn't been used in 15 years.

The City Council is prepared to take up the proposal at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

Under the proposal, the city would pay for 75 percent of the costs of new sidewalks for neighborhoods where more than half of residents petition for them.

That is up from the current policy in which the city covers half the costs. Now, at least 60 percent of residents in a neighborhood must support the petition.

Also, residents who do not respond to the city's survey are considered no votes. Under the new policy, only yes and no votes would be counted.

Recently, a petition for a sidewalk on Glade Avenue from Second to Third streets failed. Most residents did not respond.

The city's public works committee recently voted for the proposal to change the sidewalk policy. The members are Ward 3's Michael Bram, Ward 2's Karen Sienko, Ward 4's Brian Cahill and Ward 6's Emily Bastedo.

Large parts of Bram's Ward 3 are without sidewalks. And Sienko's Ward 2 also has areas without them.

Much of the rest of Elmhurst has sidewalks.

Last September, the City Council voted 12-2 to impose a $5,500 sidewalk fee on homebuilders in neighborhoods without sidewalks. This was after aldermen initially required builders to install sidewalks in front of new homes.

The fee income goes into a sidewalk account. It is earmarked to be spent in areas where the city sees the greatest need for sidewalks, such as routes to schools.

In its recent memo, the public works committee said it found that few nearby towns have cost-share programs for sidewalks. Instead, most follow a plan to install sidewalks over time, at no direct cost to residents on those blocks.