Lenox Road Reconstruction

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.