Road extension plan riles Oakbrook Terrace neighbors

Several residents living near the site of a planned extension of Ardmore Avenue in Oakbrook Terrace are upset the road project will bring unwanted traffic through their neighborhood.

City officials will host a public hearing later this month on the extension, which would connect Ardmore with Butterfield Road through a three-lane road.

Ardmore currently dead-ends at 16th Street near a largely vacant parcel of land.

Mayor Thomas Mazaika said the extension is needed to improve traffic in and around the tiny suburb of about 2,400 people.

"The community has a daytime population that approaches 60,000 people," Mazaika said.

The mayor also referred to the never-completed Royce Renaissance development along Butterfield just east of where it breaks off from 22nd Street. The roughly 80-acre site is the largest remaining vacant tract in Oakbrook Terrace.

"One of these days that vacant property is going to be developed," Mazaika said. "Now is the time to make that sort of improvement."

David Spero, a neighbor who lives just north of the proposed extension, disagrees.

Spero and residents of his townhouse subdivision, Brandywine, are urging city and county leaders to find a way to stop the project, arguing the extension will greatly increase traffic in their community.

"Our concern is this is a residential area," Spero said. "We have a clubhouse and pool on one side of the street and a park on the other side" of Ardmore Avenue.

"There's over 1,100 homes in this subdivision," Spero added. "We're going to get more traffic than we can handle."

Mazaika said Friday the city doesn't know how many vehicles ultimately would use the new extension. More precise figures on the cost and potential traffic impact of the new roadway weren't available.

Philip Bilbro, the general manager for the subdivision's homeowner's association, said residents haven't seen any plans showing how the city will ensure the safety of residents living along the road.

"Oakbrook Terrace's plan ignores the concerns of Brandywine homeowners who worry that their neighborhood and property values will be destroyed," Bilbro said. "Where is the concern for quiet suburban living and our neighborhood safety?"

If you go

What: Public hearing on the proposed extension of Ardmore Avenue from 16th Street to Butterfield Road.

Where: Oakbrook Terrace Park District Heritage Center, 1S325 Ardmore Ave., Oakbrook Terrace

When: 4 to 7 p.m. May 28

For information: Call Oakbrook Terrace at (630) 941-8300.