The Good And Bad About La Grange Sidewalks

LA GRANGE, IL – Unlike many towns, sidewalks are virtually everywhere in La Grange.

As an older town, most La Grange neighborhoods were built long before it became acceptable for developers and towns to skimp on sidewalks.

In nearby Elmhurst, a few areas have no sidewalks. Officials often debate how to fill in those gaps. And it's costlier to do so long after neighborhoods are established.

The issue in La Grange is not a lack of sidewalks, but those that are crumbling.

The village has a longstanding program to share half the costs of replacing damaged sidewalks with residents.

Last year, the village budgeted $73,000 for its share of sidewalk replacements, officials said.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Village President Mark Kuchler wondered whether that was enough money to meet residents' requests.

The staff told him that three residents were turned away, but they would be put on the list for this year.

"We want to get the sidewalks that residents want repaired," Kuchler said. "I'm more concerned about the residents who don't want their sidewalks repaired and they're crumbling. What can we do about getting them to actually repair their sidewalks?"

Tim O'Brien, La Grange's public works director, acknowledged that many village sidewalks were crumbling. He said his department planned to evaluate the program over the next year.

Kuchler said he would be willing to increase the budget for sidewalk replacements if demand calls for it.

"It's important we do (the work) as opposed to kicking it to the following year," he said.