River Forest officials took steps this week toward using a $100,000 Cook County grant to improve crosswalks and sidewalks not compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations by approving an intergovernmental agreement with the county.
The application that was submitted in March sought Invest in Cook funds for crosswalk improvements to improve accessibility requirements under the ADA. In a memo to village administrator Matt Walsh, Mike Reynolds, interim director of public works and Seth Jansen, management analyst said village engineering staff have identified several crosswalk locations throughout the village that are not compliant with ADA regulations.
Village officials were informed in July that grant funds had been approved for the project, but when the IGA was received in September, they requested that the agreement be amended “to ensure that the village is able to fully leverage the grant award while providing greater flexibility for the cost and scale of the project,” Reynolds and Jansen said in the memo.
The funds will be disbursed over three payments. After bidding and executing the construction contract, the county will make an advance payment in the amount of $50,000. Two additional payments of $25,000 will be made upon receipt of invoice by the county from the village, once at completion of 70% of the project construction and once at full completion of the project construction.
According to the tentative project schedule, the village will open bids in February with work expected to begin in March and conclude in August.
Walsh explained that the sidewalk project will be part of next year’s capital improvement budget, paid with capital improvement funds. Under terms of the grant, the county will pay 15% of the project’s total cost up to $100,000.
“We have not yet determined the exact scope of the project,” Walsh said. “The county will distribute funds after we bid out the project and award the contract.”
The Invest in Cook grant program seeks projects consistent with the five priorities of Connecting Cook County, the county’s long range transportation plan. The River Forest project aligns with two of those priorities, prioritizing transit and other transportation alternatives, specifically providing a complete and fully accessible cycling/pedestrian mobility system and maintaining and modernizing what already exists.
Jansen said previously that the project also aligns with other regional strategic plans, specifically the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning On to 2050 goal of supporting the development of walkable communities and the Cook County Policy Roadmap strategic plan’s Smart Communities objective of increasing accessibility and connectivity.
According to the Cook County website, the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways has administered the Invest in Cook grant program since 2017, providing funds to local nonprofit organizations and government agencies to advance transportation improvements throughout the region.
The annual $8.5 million program has provided local and regional governments transportation funds to cover the cost of planning and feasibility studies, engineering and construction associated with infrastructure improvements consistent with the county’s transportation and economic development policy priorities.
Jansen said village officials learned that River Forest’s application was one of nearly 80 received and that the total amount sought by all grant applicants was more than $30 million.