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Fay Avenue residents urge council to halt bike/ped path through driveways
Summary
At the Sept. 2 public forum, multiple Fay Avenue residents opposed an eight-foot shared path that would run down Fay Avenue and cross numerous driveways, citing safety concerns for children, parents and driveway users.
Dozens of Fay Avenue residents told the Elmhurst City Council on Sept. 2 they oppose a planned eight-foot shared pedestrian and bicycle path that would connect to a proposed Route 83 bridge and run down Fay Avenue, crossing about 15 driveways and passing near Emerson School.
Nut graf: Residents said the alignment poses safety risks for children, parents, pedestrians and drivers accessing homes; they asked the council to pause the project or explore alternative routings and additional traffic-calming measures before final design.
Speakers described repeated neighborhood contact with staff and aldermen and said the project was moving forward too quickly. Frank Catanzaro, who lives on Fay Avenue, said the path would “funnel all of them through 15 home driveways, 30 feet from their doorways, putting everyone in harm’s way.” Olivia Levine said the street already experiences heavy school pick-up and commuter traffic and that new home construction and redevelopment on the street make current traffic counts unreliable for future conditions.
Other residents cited specific safety scenarios: e-bikes and scooters traveling at speed across driveways, parents backing into traffic while dropping off children, and mail and trash activity that increases driveway crossings. Several speakers asked the council to delay final decisions and hold on-street visits; Tony de Blasio said a town-hall meeting was scheduled for the following Thursday and invited council members to attend, saying, “I think that dialogue is critically important here.”
Several residents and an alderman suggested alternative approaches, including routing the path to streets with four-way stops, considering Armitage as an alternative crossing, using existing Prairie Path connections, or buying additional right-of-way from neighboring property owners such as Mary Queen of Heaven to move the path behind homes. Joanne Garcia suggested acquiring 10 feet from Mary Queen of Heaven and placing the path behind houses as a possible alternative.
Ending: Residents said they want more study and direct observation before construction documents are finalized. Several aldermen and staff said they had incorporated neighborhood comments into recent plan revisions and that the project would continue through engineering with additional outreach.
