Round Lake Park wants a better Main Street

Round Lake Park Mayor Jean McCue said people driving on Main Street are not stopping to visit its small shops, and she wants to change that.

McCue said the village plans to study downtown revitalization options and form a committee of residents and business leaders to discuss how improvements can be made.

"It is not going to be 'here it is and we can do it all,' " she said of the project. "We're trying now to start something that has long been discussed."

Potential improvements could include more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, new decorative street lights, new trees and landscaping, and improved street signs.

The target area is a quarter-mile downtown stretch of Main Street -- also known as Route 134 -- between Greenwood and Fairlawn.

Village officials have applied for a $10,000 ComEd grant to fund the study. Officials say the village does not yet have money to implement the ideas.

Ray McCarty, who has operated R&M Body Shop for 25 years on Main Street, said bad sidewalks and lack of good lighting and parking make downtown less inviting.

"They do not scream, 'Come here, come shop.' It screams, 'Take a chance. We are cheap,'" he said.

McCarty believes downtown revitalization would do more than just attract shoppers. He says it would spur residents and business owners to take pride in the community and continue to make further improvements.

That's important to the town of 6,200 people, where Main Street has been a focal point during the town's 61-year history, McCue said.

She said she grew up in the village and recalls walking along Main Street to shop. She owns a pizza shop on another stretch of Main Street not involved in the revitalization project.

In recent years, McCue said, she has seen neighboring communities do wonderful things with their downtown areas. While Round Lake Park has put in benches and some flower boxes, it has not kept up.

The revitalization study would be done by the village planner, Joe Duffy of Rolf Campbell and Associates.

McCue will form a Main Street Renovation Committee to review the study and suggest a plan of action. Residents and business community members are invited to join the committee. Its first meeting will be in April. Anyone who wishes to join should call McCue at (847) 875-2089.

"There is nothing to attract them (drivers) to small businesses in town," she said of Main Street. "We have nice little shops. We'd like to make people aware what's down here."