Mount Prospect looking at possible improvements for pedestrians, diners on Prospect Avenue

Mount Prospect village board members this week approved a $114,000 contract with Civiltech Engineering of Itasca to look at ways to enhance the look and feel of Prospect Avenue between Main Street and Elmhurst Avenue.

Downtown Mount Prospect south of the tracks is no longer a sleeping giant. Restaurants are popping up along Prospect Avenue, a phenomenon that led the village to put up barricades to create an alfresco dining area in front of the Patina Wine Bar and Lady Dahlia.

Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said the study will explore such ideas as alfresco dining, pedestrian access, public gathering space, bicyclists’ needs, train station connections and business development. It will also look at parking needs.

“I think we're in a new, exciting phase of downtown redevelopment in that we're really focusing on the experience and drawing our residents and other people from surrounding towns, making Mount Prospect a destination,” Trustee Colleen Saccotelli said at Tuesday’s village board meeting.

Trustee Beth DiPrima said she initially balked at the cost of the study. But she heard it could save costs on other studies down the road.

Dorsey said it could help the village expedite the process of identifying a preferred alternative and estimating costs.

“Alternatives with less parking and less vehicle access are not really going to go over well with me or the public,” DiPrima warned. “I absolutely think that we need to expand the pedestrian space if we’re going to do this.”

DiPrima also said residents, especially those who live nearby on Pine Street, should be part of stakeholder meetings.

Civiltech has completed similar projects in such communities as Schaumburg, Glen Ellyn, Naperville and Joliet. It is also conducting a transit study for the village’s human services department.

Funding will come from the Prospect and Main Tax Increment Financing District fund.