Elmhurst council approves engineering contract for Route 83 pedestrian bridge amid resident opposition to Fay Avenue path

Elmhurst City Council on Sept. 2 approved an engineering services agreement for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Illinois Route 83, a step staff said is needed to advance design and secure federal funding — even as dozens of Fay Avenue residents urged the council to rework the street-level connection that would bring an eight-foot shared path through private driveways. The resolution to authorize the city to execute the local public agency engineering services agreement passed in roll call after discussion; the final tally recorded in the meeting transcript was 10 ayes, 1 nay and 3 absent.

The bridge project has been under study since a 2018 referral and has gone through multiple open houses, staff and aldermen said. Alderman (Bostido) moved the resolution and said the project responds to resident requests going back to 2018 and that plan changes — including a secondary access point and pavement markings — were added after neighborhood comment. “This is a resolution that pertains to the Route 83 pedestrian, bike bridge,” the alderman said during the presentation to the council.

Nut graf: The council approved engineering work to keep the project moving toward construction and to position the city to use federal funds, but several Fay Avenue residents and some aldermen said the street-level alignment that funnels bridge users down Fay would create safety risks on a narrow, heavily used block near Emerson School and asked the council to pause or revise plans.

Residents who spoke during public forum said the proposed eight-foot path would pass within roughly 30 feet of multiple front doors and cross about 15 driveways, creating conflicts between driveway users, pedestrians, bicyclists and e-bikes. Frank Catanzaro, a Fay Avenue resident, said the plan would “funnel all of them through 15 home driveways, 30 feet from their doorways, putting everyone in harm’s way.” Olivia Levine, another resident, said the street already carries heavy school and commuter traffic and that new housing and redevelopment on the street mean current traffic counts may not reflect future conditions.

Several aldermen acknowledged those concerns. Alderman Irby said he was “flabbergasted” to see an alternate-route diagram on the dais for the first time that evening and asked why the alternate access remained in the plan; staff and other aldermen replied the alternate access and pavement markings were added after public comment and posted to the project page in June. Alderman Hill said staff and aldermen had investigated alternate routings and incorporated neighborhood feedback where feasible.

Council members also discussed project cost and city priorities. Alderman Bridal said the city’s capital contribution increased from about $714,000 to “a little bit over $1,400,000” and noted prior expenditures; she said the bridge is a “nice to have” relative to other capital priorities and voted against the resolution. The project includes intergovernmental coordination with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and requires an Illinois Department of Transportation local public agency agreement for federal participation, items that the consent agenda also listed earlier in the meeting.

The formal action taken that evening authorized city staff and the city attorney to finalize the engineering services agreement and continue project design. Staff and multiple aldermen told the council the changes made after earlier open houses were intended to reduce driveway conflicts by adding a secondary access and pavement markings; residents at a Ward 5 town hall and other meetings said they want the city to reconsider placing the shared path on Fay and to explore alternatives, including routing away from driveways or buying additional right-of-way from adjacent property owners.

Ending: The council’s vote keeps the bridge moving into design and federal-funding phases; residents and several aldermen said they expect additional neighborhood outreach and asked the council and staff to continue evaluating the Fay Avenue alignment before construction documents are finalized.