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‘Healthy Roads’ Spring Up Around DuPage County

By David Callahan

Complete Streets policies can originate at all levels of government, including municipal and county. Two years ago this month, DuPage County became the first government agency in Illinois to adopt a Complete Streets policy.

The result is 13 major bicycle/pedestrian projects are now complete.
The DuPage Healthy Roads program mandates that the county build sidewalks or bicycle paths with all new road construction. The county pays 100 percent of the cost for Healthy Roads improvements.

Deb Fagan, the trail system coordinator for DuPage County’s Department of DuPage County Department of Economic Development and Planning, said that so far the county has been able to add pedestrian and bicycle improvements to each construction project it has undertaken.

Fagan said it’s too soon to measure results, but “the hope is to increase walking and bicycling.”

Among the Healthy Road projects completed are:

• Ferry Road – sidepath/sidewalk and Illinois Prairie Path trail bridge;
• Hobson Road – sidepath for Southern DuPage County Regional Trail and sidewalk;
• Madison Street – sidepath for Southern DuPage County Regional Trail and sidewalk;
• Route 34/75th Street West – sidepath for Southern DuPage County Regional Trail;
• 55th Street/Route 83 Bridge – sidewalks;
• Meyers Road Bridge – sidewalks;
• Bloomingdale Road – sidewalk connection to the existing system north of North Avenue;
• Medinah Road – sidewalks and bicycle-friendly roadway design;
• Gary Avenue – sidewalk connection to Great Western Trail.

The policy applies only to new construction, which include expansions of existing roads or major projects such as redesigning intersections. Fagan pointed out that maintenance projects do not qualify for the improvements.
“We’re not going back and retrofitting,” she explained. “Adding something later is much more expensive than undertaking a major project and including bikeway or pedestrian accommodation.”

Fagan said that public input is important for the success of the Healthy Roads program, and that the county is expanding efforts to canvass public opinion early in the design process. Those who want to weigh in on projects can begin by going to the DuPage bikeways and trails home page at www.dupageco.org/bikeways/.

David Callahan is managing editor of Bike Traffic