Lake Barrington commercial district to get first pedestrian pathway

In an effort to make the commercial area of Lake Barrington more walkable, the board of trustees voted Thursday night for a $150,000 pathway running along Pepper Road from the Canlan Sportsplex south almost to Northwest Highway.

"The area has always been dedicated to trucks and vehicles," Village Administrator Chris Martin said. "We wanted to make it more accessible to pedestrians as well."

Business owners applauded the plan Thursday afternoon when they first heard about it at a Lake Barrington Business Development Council meeting.

"The plan got a round of applause when they said it would be done by June 15," said Kathleen Scott, the director of business development for the Pepper Park strip mall. "It really energized the business owners."

Scott, also the general manager at Pepper Park Coffee, said she thinks the new project reflects just how much the area has changed since the strip mall first broke ground in 2013.

"It used to be mostly quiet during the day with the busy spots being from employees coming and going," Scott said. "It's busy all throughout the day now."

Businesses along the new pathway include The Onion Pub & Brewery, Wild Asparagus Catering and Pasquesi Home & Gardens, among others.

Scott, who was recently hired by the village as an economic development consultant, said she hopes the pathway will promote people walking from business to business on nice days.

The pathway, which Martine said can also be used by bicyclists, will run on the east side of Pepper Road and be just under three-quarters of a mile long. It will be built by Maneval Construction, who submitted the lowest bid to the village of $157,903.