Auto traffic coming from River Forest on Lake Street will be rerouted for two months starting July 30 to build left-turn lanes at Marion Street.
The street will be widened 10 feet at the intersection but sidewalks will not be shrunk, said Jim Budrick, engineer for the Village of Oak Park.
“It’s primarily going to affect where the bump-outs are,” Budrick said.
One turn lane will allow eastbound drivers to go north on Marion, while the other will allow westbound drivers to go south, eventually, on the new Marion Street. Construction there is expected to finish by Thanksgiving.
Eastbound traffic from River Forest will be rerouted south to North Boulevard before returning to Lake at Forest Avenue.
Westbound traffic will continue on Lake through the duration of the project, which should be completed by the end of September, Budrick said.
“August is [businesses’] slowest month, which is why we scheduled it for that period of time,” he said.
However, Pat Zubak, executive director of Downtown Oak Park, downplayed the effect of construction on commerce.
“It will affect traffic. But a lot of the traffic on Lake Street is passing through,” Zubak said, adding that DTOP has “destination” businesses that will continue to draw people, regardless of the construction. Those draws help lessen the impact of construction on other merchants.
Zubak said her concern with timing was that the detour construction not disrupt sidewalk sales at the end of July.
“We’re blazing ahead with our events as planned,” Zubak said. The Thursday Night Out Shop ‘N Dine program continues through the end of August, the Cat and Dog Day Afternoon program is scheduled for September, and the Bob the Builder program will go until the Marion Street renovation is complete.
Zubak is excited that work on Lake Street will remove bump-outs and add 10 new parking spaces.
“Ten new parking spaces in downtown is very significant to our businesses,” Zubak said.