As Lake Forest prepares for a renovation of one section of Bank Lane, officials are receiving suggestions for the possibility of a much larger project in the future.
While the ongoing overhaul of the heavily-traveled Deerpath Road downtown is drawing a lot of attention, the city is also preparing for a facelift of Bank Lane in the central business district, running from Deerpath north to Southgate.
On March 12, the city’s plan commission received a formal update on the estimated $1.7 million project that is set to begin in July and will run through the end of October.
The envisioned changes will allow some businesses on the narrow street to have outdoor seating on nights and weekends. To that end, the city will also be installing removable bollards (vertical posts) at both ends of Bank Lane prohibiting vehicular traffic, thus allowing for summer outdoor festivals and gatherings.
Using feedback received at public engagement sessions last year, the city also plans to add new paver bricks on the streets and sidewalk, low brick walls to separate vehicles and pedestrians, and a formalized seating area outside of an ice cream shop at Deerpath and Bank Lane.
The changes will permit some immediate differences and could serve as a template for future projects, Community Development Director Catherine Czerniak noted.
“The one block of Bank Lane and the improvements on Deerpath will really be used to inform us on how does the hardscape material work, how do the tree grades work, what do the bollards look like,” she said.
Kevin Clark, a representative of a landscape architect group retained by the city to assist with the planning, not only detailed the forthcoming work to plan commissioners, but also made a series of proposals for other parts of Bank Lane.
“You want to enhance something that is special,” Clark said.
Clark offered new looks in terms of landscaping, lighting, traffic controls, and streetscape.
“The aesthetics are kind of bland and there are some areas that need a lot more attention,” he said.
Commissioners responded with their own design recommendations including John Dixon, the plan commission chairman, advocating for use a certain type of brick that would not stain.
Commission member Paul Thomas offered up an idea of a much larger plan and called for the construction of a small park between Wisconsin and Vine.
“We are different and distinctive and we have an opportunity to double down on that distinctiveness,” Thomas said.
However, it was not clear when the other sections of Bank Lane would be renovated.
“This project will continue to evolve,” Czerniak cautioned. “There is no timeline to doing the other blocks of Bank Lane. It will depend on how the community tolerates the months of construction and whether we need a break and certainly budget issues as well.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
