Which La Grange Streets Need Fixes?

LA GRANGE, IL — A cluster of residential streets just north of the hospital in La Grange are rated among the worst in town, so officials are recommending they be next on the list for improvements. During a village board discussion Monday, a village trustee lamented the pace of street upgrades and suggested the village spend more. This could mean a voter-approved property tax increase.

Village staffers put together a color-coded map showing the ratings of street conditions around town. The biggest cluster of the worst roads — marked in red and rated "failed" or "very poor" — are just north of the hospital and west of the La Grange Country Club in the southwestern part of town. Some of the best streets — rated "very good" or "excellent" — are in the northeastern corner. They include Hayes, Sawyer and Washington avenues.

The village staff is recommending projects that do not require extra work such as replacing mains because of the high costs. This way, officials said, the village can get to more streets.

Village Trustee Bill Holder said village streets are deteriorating so rapidly because the village has historically put "Band Aids over a base that's not solid." He said he would like to increase the number of street projects.

"I'd like to explore doing a lot more streets a lot sooner. Doing three streets a year when you see all these red areas in the map, I would like to talk about perhaps turning up the heat on this, being more responsive to what the voters want," Holder said, noting that improving streets is a lot more visible to residents than fixing water mains.

Village President Tom Livingston agreed that an "accelerated" pace of road work is needed. As bonds expire, he said, the village should determine the voters' appetite for a tax referendum. Livingston is planning to resign in the first quarter of the year, though he has not given an exact date.

The village board did not make a decision Monday on which streets to improve. Trustees are expected to vote on the issue before the new budget year, which starts May 1.