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ST. Charles Rd. Project |
St. Charles Road Corridor Plan
for the
Village of Berkeley
Adopted by the Village Board
August 17, 1999
To celebrate the completion of the project,
THE VILLAGE HOSTED A
RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY
ON
SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 17, 2005
Berkeley officials, legislators, residents and
businesses celebrated a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and the Rededication of St.
Charles Road and Wolf Road on September 17, 2005. "I am so proud today to
dedicate the completion of this project to the residents of the Village of
Berkeley. Their letters of support, patience during construction, input and
trust has provided a result that we are very proud of" said President Esposito.
Congressman Danny K. Davis, Representative Bob Biggins, and Senator Dan Cronin
were also honored for their support of this important project.
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Updates On The St. Charles Rd. Project
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Berkeley Embarks On A New Era
St. Charles Road project to improve safety, traffic-flow and aesthetics
After five anxiously awaited years since we started the engineering process for St. Charles Road, I am happy to report that the project will be going out to bid for contractors on June 13. Until the contractor is selected we will not know exactly when the project will start, however, you will start to see utility work on St. Charles Road in early July.
I am sure everyone would agree that the road is in dire need of reconstruction. As a lifelong resident of Berkeley, I have only seen patching and other types of "quick-fix" projects that were not meant to withstand the test of time. I am thrilled to say the time has finally come for a long-term solution for a state-of-the-art road that will dramatically improve safety, traffic-flow, and aesthetics.
Of course, just like everything else, the project will cost money. The current estimated budget for this project is approximately $9 million, with $8 million of that allocated for the complete re-construction and widening of St. Charles Road (east from the toll way bridge to Wolf Road) and then north on Wolf Road to Proviso Drive.
This cost also includes new water main, storm sewers, traffic signals, sidewalks, light fixtures, crosswalks, trees and landscaping. The rest of the expenses include engineering costs, construction oversight and right-of-way acquisition. Actual costs will be known once the contract is awarded after the June 13 bid letting St. Charles Road will remain a state road.
The Village is extremely fortunate, with the help of our local legislators, Representative Bob Biggins, Senator Dan Cronin, and Congressman Davis, to have been able to raise over $6 million in federal, state and grant funds to help defray the costs of such a major project. In addition, we are extremely thankful to Cook County for providing the majority of the funding for Wolf Road and for agreeing to take over jurisdiction of the road after the construction is completed. The Village Board is currently reviewing ways to make up the financial difference in the most cost effective manner possible.
As with any major road project, some inconvenience is expected. Our goal is to minimize the impact on you, Sunny-side/MacArthur school, and our valued businesses as much as possible. One of the key ways to minimize the impact is to get timely information on the project to you as quickly as possible. The Village will do that in several ways:
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1. Website. 2. Weekly Reports. 3. Weekly Meetings. 4. Village Newsletter. 5. Call the Village Hall. |
During the construction, please remember that our businesses on St. Charles Road need your continued support! Many of our businesses can be accessed by side-streets. I want to thank the businesses in advance for their comments and suggestions on how to minimize the inconvenience for them and their customers.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to thank you, our residents, for all the phone calls and letters to our legislators pleading for funds to reconstruct the road. Your help and continued patience will help make the construction process go as smoothly as possible. This is a new and exciting era for our community, and the road project is only the beginning. I am glad to be sharing this time with you as we move into the future.
–Michael A. Esposito
Village President
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In August, 1998, the Village of Berkeley, with the assistance of a planning firm -Teska Associates, Inc., prepared an action-oriented strategy for addressing priority issues related to the future growth and development of the Village. As part of this program, six areas in need of improvement were identified. The Village Board achieved consensus that economic development is the primary issue currently facing the Village, with priority focus on the revitalization of the St. Charles Road corridor. The Village Board expressed three main concerns regarding the need for a St. Charles Road Corridor plan:
The St. Charles Road Corridor planning process included research regarding local, regional and national commercial development trends that will be considered in setting forth a strategy for pursuing the revitalization of the St. Charles Road Corridor. The development of the St. Charles Road Corridor Plan also included gathering community input from two primary sources; the responses to the 1998 Community Leader Survey (distributed to fifty community leaders including the School District, Park District, Library Board, Zoning Board and Plan Commission) and telephone interviews conducted with individuals representing a mix of Berkeley and St. Charles Road business owners, property owners and residents.
The consensus of those involved in the survey process was that the appearance and condition of St. Charles Road needed to be improved, including the enhancement of curbs, parkways and sidewalks. In addition, commercial revitalization and marketing is necessary in order to reduce frequent commercial turnover and to sustain a healthy commercial area.
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The St. Charles Road Corridor Plan
The plan includes three main goals with multiple strategies.
1) The first goal is to enhance the physical environment of the corridor through the reconstruction of the road. The construction project proposed would include safety improvements such as center turn lanes; curbs; sidewalks; new lighting; trees and landscaping; improvement of the radius turn at the intersection of Wolf and St. Charles Roads; and sewer and water main improvements. St. Charles is a State route with high traffic volume including heavy truck traffic. The absence of left-turn lanes, combined with the heavy traffic makes entry into business parking lots difficult. In addition, traffic next to narrow parkways is potentially dangerous to pedestrian traffic. The Village secured a $400,000 grant from the State of Illinois to fund an engineering study for St. Charles Road. It is estimated that the reconstruction and enhancement project could cost $3.5 million. Strategies include:
2) The second goal is to work with existing businesses to improve their properties. In some cases this may include expanding their existing business, relocation on St. Charles Road or improvements to their facade. Financial assistance from grants, loans or the Village may be available.
3) The third goal in the plan is to strengthen the St. Charles Road corridor as an element of the economic base of the community by identifying redevelopment sites, recruiting businesses and developers, and considering tax increment financing (TIF) if the area is eligible. The Village is considering a TIF eligibility study to determine whether existing property owners are interested in participating in the redevelopment of their property and if there is community interest in having the Village become financially involved with the redevelopment.
The plan encourages the location of businesses along the corridor that will meet the needs of the community and stimulate corridor development. The plan identifies five sites that were identified as "Development Opportunity Sites". These sites include 5544 St. Charles Road, 5447-5555 St. Charles Road, 5631-5701 St. Charles Road, 5800-5825 St. Charles Road, and 5730-5746 St. Charles Road
It is important to note that the plan is just a developmental concept at this point. Developers and businesses will need some room for creativity and flexibility in their redevelopment or enhancement efforts. The adoption of the St. Charles Road Corridor Plan by the Village Board only provides a framework for future development and most likely will occur slowly over time as opportunities become available.
If you have questions or comments about the Plan, or would like more information please contact the Berkeley Village Hall at (708)449-8840.
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