This Elmhurst Neighborhood Wants Sidewalks: Resident

ELMHURST, IL – Residents on Elmhurst's Glade Avenue want sidewalks, but the city's quote for the residents' portion is too high, a resident said Monday.

Last month, the city released a survey of the 17 homeowners on Glade from Second to Third streets. Three favored the project and one opposed it. The other 13 did not respond.

Under the city's current policy, non-responses are counted as no votes. At Monday's City Council meeting, the city changed that policy, with only yes and no votes to be tallied.

Also, under the new rules, the city will cover three-quarters of the costs of sidewalks on streets where residents petition for them. That's up from half.

During public comments at the council meeting, Glade resident Peter DeFilippis referred to a Patch story last month that reported that the city said residents did not show enough interest in having a sidewalk.

"That's totally false," DeFilippis said. "Residents didn't want to say no because they do want it."

At the same time, he said the residents didn't want to say yes because they didn't want to pay what the city estimated.

According to the city, the total estimated cost is $284,000, with residents and Elmhurst splitting the bill 50-50.

"I don't know where this number came from, to be honest with you," DeFilippis said. "I asked the people who were in charge where this number came from, and I still don't have a clear answer on that. The residents absolutely do want it."

In an interview late last month, DeFilippis told Patch that 100 percent of residents on his block want sidewalks. He called the city's number "ridiculous."

"They should have sidewalks on Glade from a safety perspective," he said, noting the children and those walking their dogs in the neighborhood.