What's on Your Elmhurst Wish List? Residents Speak Out

Elmhurst is a great place to live.

The parks are ranked among the best in the western suburbs. This city is one of the best Chicago suburbs for families, and the schools offer top value for housing dollars.

But no city is perfect, and even in Elmhurst, there is room for improvement.

So we took to the Elmhurst Patch Facebook page to figure out what you’d most like to see changed in Elmhurst. People asked for fewer empty retail spaces, more sidewalks and flood improvements.

Vicki Bunnell wants a bagel shop, a tea store and fewer downtown retail spaces.

“Widen York at york and Seminole, so people don’t have to worry about getting hit turning onto Seminole, also a stop light at the Prarie path crossing, too many close calls with pedestrians trying to cross,” suggested Keith Whistler.

Alexandra King Gomez wrote, “Sidewalks everywhere please it’s dangerous to have kids ride bikes in the street! Plus, full day kindergarten. We lag behind all other villages around us on both issues!”

Anne Zimmer got eight likes on her request for more dining options, such as a brew pub, tapas and good Mexican restaurants.

Patty Knicker-Ilg asked the city to stop “putting bandaids on a huge wound.”

“Cap out the amount of new construction and encourage rehabbing older homes instead!” she wrote. “We need green space to prevent additional flooding in the years to come. Enough with putting bandaids on a huge wound, fix the infrastructure system already!”

View the full list of comments and suggestions in the recent Elmhurst Patch Facebook poll.