Lake Arlington path safety meeting set for Oct. 23
Months after an accidental collision between a walker and bicyclist killed a woman at Lake Arlington, the Arlington Heights Park District will hold a public meeting to discuss interim changes to the path and what can be done to increase trail safety.
The public meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Park District Administration Center, 410 N. Arlington Heights Road, to give an overview of the path changes made in August and hear the input the district has received from users since then.
The changes came in response to a June 18 crash that occurred when Barbara Pagano, 74, was walking on the path around Lake Arlington at the same time young riders on a sponsored outing from the Buffalo Grove Park District were bicycling. Pagano was hit by an 11-year-old who didn’t see her, causing her to fall and strike her head on the pavement. She died a few weeks later.
After her death, residents began speaking out about safety on the path, which is shared by walkers, runners and bicyclists.
Starting in August, the park district implemented an interim plan that restricts bicyclists and other wheeled users to the outside lane of the path and requires them to travel counterclockwise. The inside lane of the path has been designated for walkers, including those using strollers and wheelchairs, who must travel clockwise.
The meeting Oct. 23 will discuss how those changes have gone and if they should be permanent.
Arlington Heights Park District voters rejected two tax increases in 2012 — one for $48 million and one for $39 million -- and included in the plans for that money was a second path at Lake Arlington. Building a separate path alone would cost $875,000, said Executive Director Steve Scholten.
According to a survey done before the referendums, Lake Arlington was the most used facility in the park district.
Park sistrict officials are still taking comments from residents through an online survey at www.ahpd.org/parks/lakearlingtonpathsurvey1013/.