Should 156th Street In Oak Forest Have Sidewalks?

OAK FOREST, IL — As Oak Forest residents gear up for the possibility of seeing more sidewalks in town as early as next year, there's been some debate and disagreement on where these new sidewalks should be. Earlier this year, Oak Forest was awarded a $1.17 million grant to construct more than 15,000 linear feet of new sidewalks in the neighborhood northwest of the Metra station at 159th and Cicero, according to the city.

But on which streets should the sidewalks be? The city held an open house to discuss which streets in the neighborhood will have sidewalks earlier this month.

After the open house, some took to the "Local Opinion" section of the neighborhood Oak Forest Patch page to voice their thoughts on the issue.

"We don't need sidewalks at 156th and Le Claire going west to Laramie," one woman wrote. "There are only a few people that would use them. Also, there are a lot of people who are (not?) physically able to keep them clear of snow."

The opinion was met with disagreement from one local man who said he thinks "more sidewalks would be a great thing for the city to make it more walkable and safe for kids and adults out in the neighborhood.

"I don't like the patchwork of sidewalks we currently have," he added. "I'm all for this project."

Currently, there's only one block of 156th Street between Cicero and Laramie that has a sidewalk and it's the one just west of Cicero.

According to the city, the sidewalk project is intended to increase access to the Oak Forest Metra station while also enhancing the neighborhoods and increasing pedestrian safety and accessibility.

"The focus of the project is the installation of new sidewalks to fill in the existing gaps in the project area northwest of the train station."