TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval of the revised selection process for the New Sidewalk Program
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Kelly Dunne, Project Manager
BACKGROUND:
Since its adoption in 2004, the Comprehensive Sidewalk Policy (CSP) has served as a guiding document that defines the policies and programs for implementation of the pedestrian component of Naperville's Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The CSP serves to enhance pedestrian mobility with facilities that are safe, accessible, and provide continuity throughout the community.
In order to enhance a pedestrian-friendly environment throughout the City, the CSP established the New Sidewalk Program. The New Sidewalk Program annually installs new public sidewalk in locations that are lacking sidewalk along the roadway (sidewalk gaps). To date, the program has installed 13 miles of sidewalk in 111 gap locations.
The program has successfully expanded the City's sidewalk network for fourteen years, providing residents and visitors with increased travel mode choice, social and recreational opportunities, and connections to community facilities such as schools and parks. The program was designed to systematically install new sidewalk by annually selecting the most suitable candidates from the sidewalk gap inventory. These top candidates were located along higher-speed, higher-volume roadways, near schools and school walk routes, and in locations which did not have sidewalk on either side of the roadway.
As the program has progressed, its success has started to become an obstacle. Nearly every top scoring gap location has been filled. In fact, with the exception of some locations which have especially challenging constructability or are located along dead end roadways, the program has achieved the CSP's goal of providing sidewalk on at least one side of every street. Of the remaining gap locations, the original scoring...
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