Grassroots Club Wants Safer Streets

Last September, a grassroots effort to install sidewalks in the Oakbrook neighborhood of Lakewood began.

The Make Oakbrook Walkable group has been trying to develop a united front among residents in order to fix the area's roads, install sidewalks and lighting, and benefit pedestrians in general.

Vehicles make upwards of 6,000 trips in and out of the Onyx Drive Southwest and 87th Avenue junction per day in Oakbrook, according to traffic statistics. Furthermore, there are 12 separate school buses that travel the neighborhood each weekday.

For many in the community, this amount of traffic causes concern for pedestrians, whether it is kids waiting for bus or residents walking their dogs.

Lisa Klinkhammer, MOW project manager, has lived in Oakbrook for two years. Upon moving to the area, she and her husband were excited to sign their kids up for the community pool since they were old enough to ride their bikes back.

"The first day they went, my daughter almost got hit by a car," Klinkhammer said. "That's when I became concerned and started talking to neighbors about the dangers of having no sidewalks."

Lina Hampson, Oakbrook resident for nearly 20 years, had her dog hit on Coral Drive three years ago.

“A car came around the corner going way too fast and I jumped out of the way and fell into the bushes,” Hampson said. “But I didn’t pull the dog fast enough and he got hit.”

The driver didn't stop, but luckily her dog only suffered minor injuries, she added. Hampson believes having sidewalks would be of value to the neighborhood since a good number of residents take walks through Oakbrook.

And that number is going to rise soon when the weather begins to change.

“If there were sidewalks I would have been on it and the situation wouldn’t have occurred,” Hampson said. 

Klinkhammer and her entire family decided to take action. They began gathering neighbors, making flyers and pulling together information to begin an awareness plan. In order to start this project and have the city's official backing, the MOW attempted to form a Local Improvement District.

The first step was to receive a 40 percent backing from the Oakbrook residents in the targeted area, which covered 1,255 property parcels, so 502 of the parcels would be needed to vote yes to move MOW forward.

The group received 45 signatures.

Klinkhammer speculates that the weak support could've been due to the economy or bad timing with the November elections and holidays.

But MOW is undeterred. The group applied for another grant this past November from the Transportation Improvement Board and it plans to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant in May and continue searching for viable funding options.

In addition to increasing safety, MOW is promoting better security with increase lighting, improved health with easier, accessible walkways and an increase in the neighborhood's appearance and, most interestingly, the overall property values. A 2009 study conducted by the CEOs for Cities organization states property values rise when sidewalks are installed and the community becomes walkable.

If no grants are awarded, however, the full cost for the work would fall to the owners who have a property line along either Onyx or Zircon. The full, worst-case-scenario financial breakdown can be found on MOW's blog site. Billing would be conducted through the city, which would send an annual bill that could be paid in full at any time or a property owner could elect to pay the principal back over 20 years, with interest.

Currently, Oakbrook's walk score is 20 (out of a 100) and according to Klinkhammer, 78 percent of Lakewood has a higher walk score. Increase in walk points can raise property values anywhere from $500 to $3,000, on average, the study reported.

Resident Michael Hampson’s front lawn would be affected by the sidewalk and is weary of the plan.

“I am not sure if I want my property tax raised or the assessments of my property in order to have these sidewalks put in,” Hampson said.

Eliminating space in his front lawn would cause landscaping issues for him and other property owners, he added. 

Hampson believes that high-traffic streets should be the targets for the sidewalks, not low-traffic streets like the one he lives on. 

Desiree Winkler, the Transportation Division Manager for the City of Lakewood, said that the city has never had plans to put sidewalks in Oakbrook—though that doesn't mean it cannot happen one day.

"I think the MOW group fully understands the city's position and challenges when it comes to this, so they've taken the bull by the horns, literally," Winkler said. "They are working hard."

The project is not a city initiative, though they are supportive the group's goals and have helped to put together drawings, estimates and grant applications. If an LID were created, the city would take on the project management.

Should MOW manage to get a 40 percent positive response, city staff would then present the petition to the council, which would in turn make the final decision to create an LID.

"If that were the case, everyone in the Oakbrook area who would be impacted will be officially notified and then invited to a public meeting so that they may provide their input," Winkler said.

Following that, the item would go through the Hearing Examiner before a final decision is made. Construction is estimated to take five months and would accommodate traffic in the area.

"This might take longer than we thought, but we aren't giving up," Klinkhammer said. "We just need more people to fight for it. I want to show my kids that you can make a difference—or at least try really hard to."

The overall project would include the following improvements in the West Oakbrook area, along Onyx Drive Southwest and Zircon Drive Southwest from 87th Avenue down to Amber Drive:

• Sidewalks on both sides for 2.6 miles down Onyx/Zircon
• New paved road
• Curbs / gutters
• Tie ins with impacted driveways
• Lights every 75 feet on alternating sides
• Bike line (not lane) for buffered bicycle passage
• Two traffic circles

For more information, commentary and to vote for the establishment of an LID, visit http://walkoakbrook.wordpress.com.