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Algonquin subdivision fighting village’s roadwork plans

Julie Richter has been living in Algonquin’s Indian Grove subdivision for 20 years, and she loathes the idea of losing any of the neighborhood’s tall, imposing trees to make way for wider roads with modern sidewalks.

The majority of Richter’s neighbors agree. Algonquin officials, however, say the subdivision’s roads need to be reconstructed and widened to meet village standards, and — most importantly — to replace a faulty water main and add storm sewers to comply with upcoming EPA regulations for drainage into the Fox River.

The nearly $2.5 million project was slated to go out for bids in mid-May, but whether it will move forward this year is in question after village board members postponed a decision for at least two weeks after residents voiced their displeasure at a recent meeting.

“I think we all agree we need our road fixed, but we don’t need it widened. We don’t need sidewalks,” Richter said.

As much as residents might want to hold on to the character of the neighborhood — which sits just east of the Fox River and south of Algonquin Road — the reality is the work has to be done, Public Works Director Bob Mitchard said.

“I have to bring forward to you a project that provides a quality infrastructure improvement, plus safety,” he said.

The project would result in the loss of 70 trees, but the village would plant 75 new ones, Mitchard said. The replacement trees wouldn’t be of same caliber as the removed ones, many of them oaks and sycamores, he acknowledged.

Mike Amster, president of the Indian Grove homeowners association, said a survey showed most of the neighborhood’s 63 households oppose sidewalks. “Everybody is very concerned about tree loss,” he said.

However, eliminating sidewalks from the project would only spare only about a quarter of the trees slated for removal, Mitchard said.

Resident Tina Nelson is among a few who are in favor of sidewalks. “I raised one son ... and he almost got hit by cars. With the little one, I’m afraid of the same thing.”

Mitchard said that postponing the project won’t make the issue go away.

“It’s a crapshoot” how long the water main will hold, and the village eventually will be obligated to meet the new EPA regulations, he said.

Having a two-week reprieve will give residents a chance to closely examine the plans and perhaps offer alternate solutions, resident Richard Flynn said.

But some just don’t want the village to alter their surroundings. “We appreciate you trying to help us, but we really don’t want the neighborhood changed,” resident Wayne Kirkpatrick said.

The issue could be discussed as early as the May 8 committee of the whole meeting, officials said.

  Like the majority of residents of the Indian Grove subdivision in Algonquin, Julie Richter doesn’t want sidewalks in her neighborhood, and hopes the village will find a way to make needed road improvements without taking down too many trees. Here she is pictured with her son, Daniel. Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com
  Like the majority of residents of the Indian Grove subdivision in Algonquin, Julie Richter doesn’t want sidewalks in her neighborhood, and hopes the village will find a way to make needed road improvements without taking down too many trees. Here she is pictured with her son, Daniel. Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com
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