WILMETTE – Thanks to advocacy by Bike Walk Wilmette it will be much easier to create new sidewalks in the Village. In the past one-third of residents living adjacent to a proposed new sidewalk could stop its construction. Over the summer the Village amended the policy by creating so-called ‘Priority Sidewalks’ that can’t be vetoed anymore by a handful of residents. Priority Locations for new sidewalks include areas around Harper School, Thornwood and West Parks, Glenview Road (east of Skokie Blvd), Frontage Road and the east side of Green Bay Road between Linden and Wilmette Avenues.
Residents will still be informed about and able to comment on a proposed new sidewalk for these priority locations, but don’t have the power anymore to stop its construction with a minority of property owners opposed. The Village’s Transportation Commission can update the list of Priority Locations on an annual basis.
Another change the Village implemented is the moratorium on putting a proposed sidewalk back in the spotlight. In the past initiators needed to wait four years before a new request for the same new sidewalk could be made. The Village reduced the time to two years.
Bike Walk Wilmette believes that the updated Sidewalks Policy will lead to safer SRTS (Safe Routes To School) so more kids can walk or bike to and from school. The new sidewalk policy is less restrictive and more adequately considers and protects all users of our roadways.
Our neighbors in Glenview (with a similar sidewalk policy) know all about it. A couple of years ago Glenview did a reconstruction project on Sherwood Road near the Avoca West Elementary School. In order to put sidewalks into the reconstruction, the Village had to ask the residents for a vote. Of the thirteen respondents eight said ‘yes’ to a new sidewalk but five voted ‘no’. Since the result (38% opposed) was above the one-third threshold Glenview could not install a sidewalk, despite a count displaying that 1,900 vehicles use Sherwood Road on a daily basis.
Bike Walk Wilmette 