Rosemont blocking some traffic north of stadium

Rosemont will install two access control gates on a street that borders the Allstate Arena to prevent traffic on major streets from cutting through the neighborhood.

The plan also includes paving over two grassy parcels of village-owned land to create more parking north of the stadium.

The village board this week approved contracts worth $1.8 million for the projects, which are expected to commence in April and be complete by June.

Village officials say they have tried to prevent motorists on Mannheim Road, Touhy Avenue and Lee Street from traversing local streets in hopes of creating a safer neighborhood. Late last year, a cul-de-sac was installed on Barry Street, preventing the street from being used as a route between Touhy and Lunt avenues.

Now, officials plan to install two gates on Lunt, making it a limited access street, though public safety vehicles would have control of the gates and be able to get through.

The new 400-space parking lot will be north of Lunt, from Barry to Chestnut Street, and will be used for general or valet parking, depending on events at the stadium, according to Mark Wrzeszcz, an engineer with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, the village's engineering consultant.

The new lot paves over a portion of Lyndon Avenue, which will now connect to Chestnut via a new street north of the parking lot, Wrzeszcz said. Lyndon, meanwhile, will be repaved north to Touhy as part of the project, he said.