Roughly two months after the start of the massive renovation of Deerpath Road, Lake Forest officials and local business owners continue to grapple with its impact inside the construction zone.
In January, after years of discussion, the city launched a two-phase facelift of Deerpath, the city’s main east-west thoroughfare into downtown. The construction has led to the closure of vehicular traffic on westbound Deerpath from Western Avenue on the east to Green Bay Road and related traffic issues.
In an unexpected development on March 3, crews found three unmarked gas lines in the project area.
“As crews excavate and install new infrastructure, they sometimes uncover these hidden lines despite taking all standard precautions,” city spokeswoman Dana Olson explained. “When an unmarked gas line has been discovered, it halts work until the gas line can be repaired.”
Olson stated the gas line revelation necessitated the evacuation of one downtown business building as Fire Department crews assessed gas levels. She added people were allowed to return inside in less than an hour and the overall project was stopped for only about two hours.
Work then quickly resumed on the water main aspect of the project. That phase has a budget of just over $1 million in Lake Forest funds, according to city officials.
With completion of the water main installation expected in April, the focus will then shift in May to a $4.4 million streetscape enhancement project, set to go through October. The city plans to spend approximately $2.4 million of its own money for the beautification with the balance of funds come from a State of Illinois grant.
As the work continues, the overhaul continues to effect some downtown business owners.
“It hinders a lot of people especially over the age of 60 from getting around because they may fall,” noted Mark Roberts, the owner of Mark David Designs, located on the 200 block of Deerpath.
Roberts reiterated the concerns he initially stated to Pioneer Press in January. Two months into the project, he said his business is still feeling the impact of the current phase and fears the streetscape work will only exacerbate customer reluctance to enter the area.
“It is what it is and it is not going to get any better and it is only going to get worse because of the next phase coming up,” he said. “That will be the nail in the coffin in terms of people not being able to get around.”
The Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce is aware of the issues and continues to monitor the situation. Executive Director Joanna Rolek mentioned in an e-mail to Pioneer Press that an initiative is underway to assist the business owners.
“We have pulled together a wonderful committee representing some of the businesses and have several things underway, including shopping specials, events, mailings and promotions to keep the businesses front-of-mind for the public and remind the community that all are open for business,” Rolek wrote.
Meanwhile, city officials maintain they are trying to provide assistance to the local businesses including in-person visits from city staffers and producing social media videos providing suggestions on how to navigate the construction areas.
The city issued a survey on its website and social media channels seeking input on what people would like the city to do regarding parking, traffic impacts, traffic signals and parking enforcement. Olson, the city spokeswoman, noted the survey generated 151 responses.
Based on the feedback the city added four new short-term parking spaces on Bank Lane along with additional police patrols of all short-term spots in the area to ensure drivers are moving in and out quickly. In addition to other actions, the city is also increasing traffic signage to an increasing familiarity of the current option to turn west on Green Bay Road at Deerpath on a red light. There are also plans to add a flashing message board when the streetscape enhancement starts.
Finally, all parties are waiting to see if pedestrian traffic will now increase with temperatures warming and the corresponding return of some area residents who may live in warmer climates during the winter.
Yet the work continues in the large-scale effort.
Lake Forest’s Public Works Director Michael Thomas delivered a progress report on the state of the project at the March 3 City Council meeting acknowledging March would be a “busy month.”
Thomas said water main-related work continues, set to followed by temporary patching on the areas excavated for the installations. The city will also replace some old fire hydrants between Green Bay and Western with Thomas predicting completion of that by the end of April.
During the week of March 17, Thomas said North Shore Gas plans to replace their two-inch main between Western and Oakwood. After the City Council meeting, he noted that is now anticipated to be a three to four week project, weather permitting.
Thomas also mentioned the intersection of the Western and Deerpath will be closed completely the week of March 24, when local schools will be on spring break as part of the water main installation work.
“That’s a big deal. It will take all week and we may have to work some extended hours,” Thomas said.
In another aspect, Thomas said the city would start replacing poorly-conditioned sidewalk panels on the north side of Deerpath between Green Bay Road and Oakwood Avenue starting the week of March 10. Similar work on the south side of Deerpath is set for the week of March 24.
As part of his presentation, Thomas also updated the City Council on the plans for the planned upgrade of the segment of Bank Lane from Deerpath north to the southern edge of the Market Square shopping complex.
Thomas said an urban planning group retained by the city continues to design the improvements and officials now believe utility work will not be necessary on Bank Lane to do the work.
Thomas said he hopes construction would start in June once the school year is finished, but adds the schedule has not determined yet as the project has yet to be put out for bid.
The city has allocated $1.7 million of its own money for the scheduled enhancements on Bank Lane, Thomas said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
