Utility work to keep intersection closed for now

While driving near downtown Mount Prospect, don't forget that the intersection of Emerson Street and Busse Avenue is still closed. It will not open for about two more weeks because contractors are installing utilities and various streetscape features.

Emerson Street will remain open from Central Road to Busse Avenue and from Busse Avenue to Northwest Highway.

Busse Avenue will be open from Emerson Street to Route 83, also known as Main Street, and from Emerson Street west to Maple Street.

All parking areas remain accessible, including the village hall parking deck, parking lots behind the buildings on Emerson Street, Chase Bank entrances, as well as most on-street parking areas.

This spring, the village is continuing streetscape enhancements in the downtown area.

This downtown "facelift" includes: new, wider sidewalks with brick pavers, landscaping, pedestrian lighting and benches as well as infrastructure improvements.

The amenities will enhance the look and feel of our downtown and make it a friendlier place for pedestrians, village officials said.

The village wants to have the project wrapped up in time for the beginning of summer, so the area is ready for summer events, especially the Fine Arts Festival and its first Blues Fest on June 21.

For more information about this project, visit www.mountprospect.org. Updates will be posted weekly for the duration of the project.

Go Green: From 7 to 8:30 p.m. next Thursday, the Prospect Heights Library, 12 N. Elm St., is presenting interior designers Hillary Sopata and Michelle Banks Watt, who will teach you about green interior design.

The pair will talk about green options available in paint, fabric, furniture, bedding, flooring and cleaning products. They will teach you how to think green from the beginning of a project, where to look for green alternatives and how to incorporate these alternatives into a budget.

Four lucky patrons will win a complimentary hourlong green home evaluation by Sopata.

Register for programs by calling or visiting the information desk, (847) 259-3500, ext. 35, or register online at www.phpl.info.