Wheeling plan would celebrate its neighborhoods

Neighborhoods can often bring residents together and instill a sense of pride.

In an effort to strengthen Wheeling residents' connections to their neighbors and to the village as a whole, village staff members have proposed a plan that would identify by name several distinct neighborhoods in the village.

"Wheeling developed at a time when the interconnectivity of neighborhoods was not emphasized," said Wheeling Director of Community Development Andrew Jennings. "The goal really is to connect neighborhoods physically and socially."

The idea comes from an initiative in the village's strategic plan to strengthen neighborhood identity and get residents more involved in the community.

The village staff briefed the village board Monday on what's happened so far.

The first version of the map, with more than 20 defined neighborhood areas, had far too many divisions, staffers said.

The current, more modest version outlines five Wheeling neighborhoods, most named after prominent subdivisions in the area and easily recognizable - Dunhurst, Meadowbrook, Hollywood Ridge and East and West Strong. The map also highlights an area called Crossroads - named for a tax increment financing district - and one called Old Town. (To see the Neighborhood Identification Map, search YouTube for the Village of Wheeling 1-4-2016 board meeting and fast forward to about the middle.)

Whether other areas in town get named later depends on what residents have to say. Wheeling residents are being asked if other areas have the same natural cohesiveness and should be designated.

But the village already seems to be moving past the notion that every area in town should get a name.

Trustee Joe Vito, who on the earlier map found his home in a neighborhood labeled Wildcat Ridge - a name he said has no connection whatsoever to the area - said names may not be appropriate for every area of Wheeling.

"It works well for the places that are identifiable like Dunhurst and Hollywood Ridge," Vito said. "It gets a little trickier when you start making stuff up."

The staff would like to see street sign toppers or signs on existing street poles to identify the different neighborhoods.

Jennings said the current outlines are preliminary, and the village will also ask residents for their expertise on boundaries.

"Some residents view where they live differently than we do," he said.

Some trustees expressed concern about the Crossroads name as it relates to a tax district set to expire in the next few years.

Trustee Bill Hein, president of the Wheeling Historical Society, said he thinks the name "Crossroads" is superfluous.

"Crossroads and Old Town - most of that area in its entirety is part of the original, for lack of a better word, Old Town," he said. Old Town and Crossroads are on the east side of Wheeling bordering the Des Plaines River.

Village President Dean Argiris advised the staff to add Wheeling's Restaurant Row, along Milwaukee Avenue, as a designated neighborhood.

"Other communities have always piggybacked on Restaurant Row, but we are the restaurant row and we should wholeheartedly do something with signage, identification, beautification efforts along Milwaukee Avenue," Argiris said.

Trustees took turns critiquing the proposed map, but most voiced approval for the overall idea.

Trustee Ken Brady noted there is an East Strong and a West Strong, but only one Dunhurst. Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said the staff found more historical references to two Strongs than there were for a divided Dunhurst.

Trustee David Vogel added that if the staff and residents continually refer to the neighborhoods by their names, "it might create a little competition in the village to get things moving and clean up areas."