Bartlett gets new streetlights, banner arms, flower baskets

After six years, a streetscape project on West Bartlett Road between Route 59 and Western Avenue in Bartlett is just about complete, according to village officials.

The new streetlights, banner arms and hanging flower baskets along West Bartlett Road are meant to create an inviting entrance to the village’s downtown area, said Village Planner Sonya Abt.

But the improvements are receiving mixed reviews from residents.

There have been concerns, Abt said, that too many trees were planted near ComEd wires and that the village shouldn’t be spending money on the project. There have also been compliments, she said.

About $570,000 of the project’s cost was paid for with grants from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the federal government. More than $300,000 has come from the village’s general fund since 2008, Abt said.

“We had developed a corridor plan back in 2007 and saw this as our big western approach into downtown,” she said. “We were looking at trying to create a nice streetscape coming in from Route 59.”

The improvements included 36 new LED streetlights, tripling the number of streetlights that were in the area before. The project also included more than 200 new trees and two bike path nodes with benches and trash receptacles that were installed more than a year ago.

A suggestion by the village board to possibly let nonprofits pay for banners with their information on them will be further discussed at a future board meeting, Abt said. Businesses won’t be allowed to put banners up, the village attorney said.