As part of their on-going street reconstruction program, the
Village of Glen Ellyn will rebuild Lenox Road between Hawthorne and
Oak this summer. This is a Village project, but the Glen Ellyn Park
District has made recommendations to the Village since we are the largest
landowner in the project area. Our recommendation includes constructing
the first green street in Glen Ellyn. We believe that Lake Ellyn Park and the
surrounding streets could serve as an example of best practices for water
management and environmental quality.
Our first priority is to protect the trees along Lenox Road. The
Park District strongly encourages the Village to employ leading edge, high
performance strategies and techniques regarding tree protection and sustainable
storm water management. Our proposal calls for permeable unit pavement systems
for the street and sidewalk and bioswales along the east edge of the
street.
After residents approached the Park District with concerns about
safety and speeding on Lenox Road we focused on calming traffic. Most importantly,
our plan calls for narrowing the driving lanes on Lenox Road and providing
parallel and diagonal parking mixed with greenspace along the east side of the
road. A narrowed road will slow traffic down and move pavement further from our
mature trees. Further safety measures include speed tables, differentiated
pavement surfaces, marked crosswalks and a sidewalk along the east side. This
plan will make Lenox Road a safer, more beautiful street while benefiting the
environment.
We have seen evidence of the success of these strategies
elsewhere, and are eager for Glen Ellyn to capitalize upon them. Attached
are a set of priorities and concepts related to the Lenox Road reconstruction
that we believe are essential to the long-term improvement of the park and the
neighborhood. They include better accessibility, safety, tree preservation,
environmental quality and beauty along the Park’s western, more active edge.
Additional information is available at our website http://gepark.org/boa_LE-Park-Plan.html.
The Park District is grateful and appreciative to have the chance
to provide input to the design process. We have encouraged the Village to
recognize the unique opportunity this presents and to give strong consideration
to the ideas and concepts presented. The Village’s Capital Improvement
Committee will discuss Lenox Road at their next meeting on February 12, 2013 at
7:30 p.m. at Room 301 at the Civic Center. At this meeting they intend to finalize
their recommendations on Lenox Road for the Village Board of Trustees. This
meeting is open to the public.
