The City of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development (TED) Business Group held a public input session on Thursday to share preliminary design choices for the second phase of the Downtown Streetscape Improvements Project.
Second Phase
The second phase of the city’s project has the goal of rebuilding Washington St. between Chicago Ave. and Benton Ave. and the east side of Main St. just south of Van Buren Ave. The new construction will help improve accessibility, safety and pedestrian mobility in the downtown area.
Project consultant Civiltech Engineering Inc. and members of city staff shared three preliminary designs for the project. Attendees had the chance to give their thoughts on the size of the concrete walkways, plants and benches which occupy these downtown streets.
Washington St. and Chicago Ave. Intersection
Option one: Curb planters with benches and the widest concrete sidewalks
Option two and three: Seat wall planters with an expanded paver area.
Jackson Ave. to Jefferson Ave.
Option one: Includes an 8-foot (min.) concrete walking area, 2-foot paver carriage walk, and trees and planters on side streets.
Option two: includes a 6-foot (min.) concrete walking area, 2-foot paver amenity zone, 2-foot paver carriage walk and trees and planters on side streets.
Jefferson Ave. to Van Buren Ave.
Option one: Sidewalk as an 8-foot (min.) concrete walking area, with a 1-foot-4-inch paver amenity zone and a 2-foot paver carriage walk.
Option two: Sidewalk as a 6-foot (min.) concrete walking area, with a 3-foot-4-inch paver amenity zone and a 2-foot paver carriage walk.
Option three: The same dimensions as option two, but with narrow raised curb planters (3-foot-4-inch wide) in the amenity zone and annual-only shrubs and grasses.
Van Buren Ave. to Benton Ave.
Option one: The sidewalk as an 8-foot (min.) concrete walking area, with a 2-foot paver amenity zone and a 2-foot paver carriage walk.
Option two: The sidewalk as a 6-foot (min.) concrete walking area, with a 4-foot paver amenity zone and a 2-foot paver carriage walk.
Option three: Includes the same dimensions as option two, but with narrow raised curb planters (4-foot wide) in the amenity zone and annual only shrubs and grasses.
Van Buren Ave. and Main St.
On Van Buren Ave. and Main St., the three options include either planters in the buffer zone, planters in the amenity zone or to preserve the existing trees.
Future of the Streetscape Improvements Project
The phase is the second part of the multi-year Downtown: Progress in Progress initiative. The first phase consisted of improvements to the sections of Jefferson, Webster, Main and Jackson streets, which will be completed by the end of November pending weather or material delivery delays.
The second public information meeting will take place in December of 2022, and construction on downtown Naperville is expected to start in the summer of 2023.
Naperville News 17’s Will Payne reports.
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