Indian Head Park trustees hear Wolf Road study update; residents, HOAs back baseline sidewalk alternative

Indian Head Park trustees received a presentation on Feb. 13 from Strand Engineering summarizing the Wolf Road corridor study and public feedback on three design alternatives, and trustees requested more time to review the materials before the village transmits a recommendation to Cook County.

The study, funded in part by a Cook County "Invest in Cook" grant, began as a 2019 feasibility study and expanded in 2020 to consider corridor-wide improvements including pavement, drainage and intersections. Strand Engineering project lead Matt Gaziak told trustees the three alternatives share a consistent roadway cross-section — one northbound lane, one southbound lane and a two-way left turn lane with dedicated intersection turn lanes — and differ primarily in pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.

Gaziak said the options are: a baseline sidewalk alternative with 5-foot sidewalks where gaps exist; a full sidewalk alternative that extends sidewalks on both sides for more continuous pedestrian access; and a shared-use path alternative (8-foot path with 5-foot buffer) that accommodates bicycles and pedestrians. "All of the alternatives reconstruct and update the roadway, structures, intersections, and drainage infrastructure along the corridor," Gaziak said.

Why it matters: the corridor carries traffic connecting 70 Ninth Street to Plainfield Road and passes several residential communities and schools. The study team said the alternatives were evaluated for operations, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, land acquisition needs and public support. Because the roadway cross-section is the same across alternatives, all three scored similarly for vehicle operations; the shared-use path scored best for bicyclists but requires a larger footprint and more property impacts.

Public feedback, petitions and support

The study team documented 114 separate public comments submitted after the December second public meeting — 92 emails, 17 comment cards and five voicemails — plus four collected petitions. The largest petition, labeled "Safe Accessible Routes for All," had 126 signatures, although the team noted some signers live outside Indian Head Park. Other petitions included 69 signatures from the Acacia Association townhomes, 51 from the Ashbrook Townhome Association and 22 from Ashbrook Estate homeowners.

Gaziak summarized comment tallies by bucket: 43% of commenters supported Alternative 1 (baseline sidewalk), about 11% supported Alternative 3 (shared-use path) and about 8% supported Alternative 2 (full sidewalk). He told trustees the shared-use path meets the study goals best in terms of multiuser connectivity but would require more permanent right-of-way or easements and therefore more property impacts.

Impacts, trees and property concerns

Gaziak said the study team estimated permanent property impacts at about 15 parcels for Alternatives 1 and 2 and about 25 parcels for Alternative 3. Temporary construction easements, used for grading and contractor access, were estimated at roughly 75 parcels for planning worst-case scenarios. He also said a preliminary tree assessment identified roughly 69 mature native trees that could be removed on parts of the corridor; the team emphasized final impacts will be determined only after a preferred alternative is selected and engineers complete detailed design.

Trustees and residents pressed for details about how much of homeowners' land would be affected. Gaziak said the typical effect, if a parcel is impacted, could be a strip about 5 feet wide along a frontage but that the design team will seek ways to minimize permanent acquisitions, for example by using retaining walls where feasible. He also noted Cook County currently owns a minimum 66-foot right-of-way in many parts of the corridor and up to 100 feet in others, which reduces but does not eliminate the potential need to acquire additional land.

Schedule and decision process

Trustees were told the village will collect board feedback and convey a recommendation to Strand and to Cook County; the county will then refine the concept with traffic, stormwater and other engineering work. Gaziak said the next stage of engineering and coordination with Cook County and federal agencies will take at least a year to produce detailed plans and a third public meeting with specific impacts: "Until we know where sidewalk is or is not or where shared use path is or is not, we can't move forward and actually get to those answers," he said. The study team estimated 18 to 24 months before a highly detailed plan could be returned to the public.

President Amy Jo Wittenberg asked trustees to provide their views to village staff. "Get your feedback into Gavin," she said, asking trustees to submit comments to the village administrator within the coming days so the village can form a recommendation for the county.

Public commenters representing homeowner associations strongly urged Alternative 1 (baseline sidewalk). Julie Wright, president of the Acacia Association, said she collected 69 signatures from Acacia residents in opposition to the larger-footprint options and described personal experience with disruptive construction at her property. Jackie Gallagher, representing Ash Brook Estate homeowners, said: "The estate homeowners accept and put forward alternative design 1." Joanne Tesmond, representing the Ashbrook Townhome Association, said the townhome board and 51 residents are "unanimously in favor of alternative number 1." Anthony Iyanaco, president of Indian Woods Townhomes, told trustees the community wants sidewalks and specifically asked that the team consider a pedestrian crossing closer to neighborhood endpoints.

Concerns about petition sourcing and construction impacts

Several speakers asked the village to note that some petition signers live outside Indian Head Park and to scrutinize petition lists for local support. Acacia residents described construction impacts on back yards, trees and utilities and urged the village and county to minimize damage and communicate mitigation and restoration plans. Gaziak said Cook County's tree-replacement policy would apply and indicated the county generally replaces removed trees at a 1:1 ratio; he also said the village has discussed adopting enhanced landscaping or tree-replacement practices beyond the county minimum.

Next steps

No formal vote on a preferred alternative was taken at the Feb. 13 meeting. The village will collect trustee feedback and submit a consolidated preference to Strand and Cook County, which has said it will support the local choice among the alternatives. Following that selection, Strand and county engineers will prepare detailed designs and impact assessments, expected to take at least a year and likely longer before final engineering and construction programming are completed.

Votes at a glance (other business)

During the meeting trustees approved routine consent and several contracts and task orders. Each item passed on a recorded voice/roll-call vote of 6-0. Outcomes listed below reflect the roll-call outcomes recorded in the meeting transcript and the documents presented to trustees.