Naperville condo owners want sidewalk to leave subdivision, lead to traffic signal

For Linda Saville of Naperville, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" isn't a book of children's poems by Shel Silverstein. It's a reality at both edges of her subdivision.

Saville didn't realize the sidewalks went nowhere when she moved into her condo in the Haverton neighborhood in south Naperville.

"We're 51 units and we're shut off from the world," Saville said.

She's calling for a sidewalk extension to connect to either of the closest traffic signals so residents can access nearby parks and shops by foot or bike. But the path would have to cross a wetland or travel three-quarters of a mile, making it unlikely to be built anytime soon, city officials say.

In Haverton, a condo development on Winners Cup Court off Plainfield/Naperville Road south of 95th Street, paths built by the developer line the subdivision. But they stop at the north and south edges of the property, ending at a wetland on the north and an area with prairie plants on the south. A walking and biking path exists on the west side of Plainfield/Naperville Road, but Saville said accessing it by foot is a challenge.

"The only way to get to it is to cross Plainfield/Naperville Road without the benefit of a crosswalk, sidewalk or stop light," Saville said.

She and her husband, Bob, say they're not the only Haverton residents who want an extension to connect their homes to 95th Street to the north or 104th Street to the south. They got responses from 70 percent of their neighbors to a survey they sent about the issue, and 90 percent of respondents said they wanted an extension.

"There is a strong interest in wanting a safe way to cross the street," Saville said.

An extension would be costly to the north - $650,000, residents estimate. Because of the wetland, a bridge would have to be built, said Bill Novack, Naperville's director of transportation, engineering and development.

An extension would cost roughly $150,000 to the south, but connecting the end of the Haverton sidewalk to the traffic signal at Plainfield/Naperville Road and 104th Street would take nearly three-quarters of a mile of concrete.

"It will be one of the more expensive ones to implement," Novack said. "We don't object to it but, priority-wise, when you look at the benefit to residents versus the cost, it's a ways down there."

There are sidewalk gaps at 329 locations in Naperville, Novack said, and they total slightly more than 60 miles. A gap might be a few squares without sidewalk between one house and the next, or it might be even longer than the spaces near Haverton.

The city has filled about 10 miles of gaps in the past decade, a distance Saville called "unacceptable." She wants the city to put more than the $300,000 it has designated this year toward filling gaps in sidewalks.

"To me, 10 miles, that's like nothing," Saville said.

Novack said the city has not been able to fill any sidewalk gaps this year. Naperville applied for state grant money but hasn't received any. And the staff member who would have run the sidewalk gap program left the city this summer, Novack said.

"We are committed to filling our gaps and that's a great thing," Novack said. "We will eventually get them all filled."

Even if a new path in the Haverton area ends up being three-quarters of a mile or through a nearby park or over a wetland, Saville said it will be an improvement. She said residents intend to present their request to the city's transportation advisory board Oct. 4.

"Something is certainly better than nothing, which is what we have," she said.

Steps to sidewalks

What does it take to build a new sidewalk to fill a gap? Naperville's Bill Novack, director of transportation, engineering and development, explains:

1. Identify the gaps. Naperville has gaps in 329 locations totaling slightly more than 60 miles.

2. Prioritize them. Naperville decides which gaps can be filled first based on how many people might use a new sidewalk, if it would help students get to schools, if there is an alternate sidewalk on the other side of the street, how easy or difficult it would be to build, how much it would cost and whether it is on a main road or a side street.

3. Decide how many gaps can be filled in one year and seek bids for the work.

4. Apply for grants and find money to build the sidewalks.

5. Obtain the property needed, through right-of-way or an easement. Sidewalks are usually 5 feet wide and require additional space on each side.

6. Make sure the land is flat so people in wheelchairs can use the sidewalk.

7. Hire a contractor who will dig down about 8 inches, level the ground, put down a layer of stone, then pour about 6 inches of concrete.

8. Allow the concrete to dry and restore the grass on each side of the new sidewalk.