Some Lincolnwood seniors are concerned about sidewalks — or lack thereof — in the northern suburbs, using scheduled in-person community surveys with village leaders and business owners to air their frustrations.
“This village is facing sidewalk issues,” Howard Gillman, president of Congregation Yehuda Moshe, told a planner at a Nov. 13 town hall meeting at the village hall.
He explained that two condominium buildings on Touhy Avenue house elderly residents who rely on walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility aids, and they don’t have sidewalks near their buildings. Instead, they use valet parking for nearby restaurants, for example.
“We have 80- and 90-year-olds with walkers having to go through valet parking at restaurants, and I can’t believe people thought that was OK,” Gillman lamented.
Gillman spoke directly with Stephanie Nappa, senior planner at Epstein Architecture. She was present that Wednesday at two community town hall meetings – one during the day and one in the evening – where residents could suggest areas needing major improvements.
The Village of Lincolnwood is conducting a community survey to assess the condition of sidewalks, walkways, crosswalks and other public pedestrian amenities. Officials say the survey will be used to prioritize repairs on village-owned trails and to track compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Nappa said Gillman was the third person that day to mention the issue of seniors and sidewalk access.
In response to Gillman’s concerns, she explained that Touhy Avenue is a state highway – under the purview of the Illinois Department of Transportation – and that the land in question is private, which limits how the Village of Lincolnwood could solve the problem. She said that in her experience, villages can sometimes ask business owners to pay for sidewalks for pedestrians.
“I’ve seen it in other places where there’s enough demand and need, where the village can go to the owner and say ‘hey, there’s a lot of demand and need,’” said she declared.
However, she added, municipalities generally refer transportation complaints to the appropriate authorities who can handle them.
“Any information we get about state-owned or county-owned facilities, we can pass it on to those people,” she said, in this case referring to IDOT and Cook County.
Nappa said buildings built in certain periods were not required to have sidewalks and therefore were never built. Additionally, some other sidewalks may be too narrow and not ADA compliant.
“As I was driving today, I noticed that the sidewalks were maybe 3 feet wide and definitely did not meet current accessibility standards,” Nappa said.
But even village-owned sidewalks can take years, even decades, to repair. Officials say the goal of the study is not to suggest the city will become more walkable overnight, but should help prioritize areas that need it most and note which trails aren’t compliant.
The study is part of an ADA transition plan, which municipalities need to obtain financial assistance.
“Essentially, every public jurisdiction must have an ADA transition plan in order to be eligible for certain federal funding,” Nappa said.
The transition plan itself is funded by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which receives federal funds to help cities create transition plans.
Nappa said the village will host another town hall in a few months and residents can contact the village to email or call with their suggestions.
Jesse Wright is independent.
