After loss, Carol Stream family wants path safety

The family of a Carol Stream bicyclist who was killed last week is hoping to convince county officials to make the area where the fatal accident occurred safer for bicycle riders and pedestrians.

Lori DeMarke has gathered more than 200 signatures on a petition requesting that significant improvements be made to the Pleasant Hill Road and Armbrust Avenue intersection near Wheaton.

DeMarke is planning to present the request to the DuPage County Board in the coming weeks.

John Rigdon, DeMarke's brother, died on June 12 after his bicycle was struck by a car along Pleasant Hill.

The 53-year-old man was riding his bike toward the Illinois Prairie Path -- a direct route to his job in Glen Ellyn -- when the accident happened.

"There's nothing I can do for my brother at this point," DeMarke said. "But maybe through this effort we can save somebody else."

DeMarke said the family members started collecting signatures during her brother's services on Monday. She has since received e-mails of support from residents living near the site of the accident.

"They say it's a dangerous area where the speed limit is rarely enforced because it's an unincorporated area," she said.

Jim Sperl, the Wheaton Park District's director of planning, also has pledged his support to the family.

Sperl pitched a plan to create a bicycle path along that very same stretch of road, but the idea fell flat after it received scant public support.

"It's a shame that it takes a tragedy like this to be a catalyst for people to come out and get involved," Sperl said Friday. "I think it'd be great to create some sort of connection to the Prairie Path."

The stretch of road where Rigdon was killed has no sidewalks. The gravel shoulder in the unincorporated area outside Wheaton is narrow -- 18 inches at best in some spots -- and neighbors have said walkers and cyclists frequently go against the flow of traffic to access the Prairie Path.

DuPage County Trail System Coordinator Deborah Fagan has said a proposed path along Pleasant Hill Road is in the county's long-range plan. However, the project would require action from Milton Township, the agency that owns the road.

Highway officials in Milton Township didn't return calls Friday.

DeMarke said the family has set up a fund for Rigdon's children -- Lauren, 19, and Kevin, 12 -- at the Fifth Third Bank located at 1500 N. Main St. in Wheaton.

Residents interested in being added to DeMarke's petition could contact the family at ldemarke@tx.rr.com.