Oak Park village trustees and residents have spent years discussing a proposed rebuilding of the Eisenhower Expressway. Most recently there has been controversy over the possible erection of concrete sound-damping noise walls that would run along the highway’s banks on Garfield, Harrison and Flournoy.
Oak Park Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb told Wednesday Journal Thursday that he opposes the installation of 17-foot noise walls that could be erected if residents living near I-290 vote in favor of them in a coming vote.
Over the next few weeks, people living within a block or so of sections of the north and south access roads running along I-290 will be mailed ballots by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Their votes will decide whether 13- to 17-foot noise walls should be built near their homes to reduce noise from the reconstructed highway.
Abu-Taleb said he believes the walls will create a division between the north and south sides of the village and be a visual eyesore. So he’s directed village staff to erect mock 17-foot-tall walls at the intersections of both Harrison and Wenonah and Garfield and Taylor early next week to give residents an idea of what the walls will look like.
“I want people to understand that this is not an abstract thing,” he said. “If these are built they are going to be there forever.”
The highway expansion project might not happen for up to another decade, but the vote taken this month will be legally binding on the installation of the noise walls. Since the expansion project is federally funded, the vote is required for the project to be funded, Peter Harmet, who heads the I-290 expansion management team for IDOT, has told Wednesday Journal.
The votes also will go from block to block along the access road, meaning that some blocks could decide to install the walls and others not, resulting in a patchwork effect.
Abu-Taleb said if residents vote in favor of the noise walls, he and other village officials will advocate for fences of lesser height and potentially built with transparent materials that are “visually pleasing.”
The walls, according to IDOT, would reduce noise from the highway by as much as five decibels. That’s not enough, according to Abu-Taleb.
“The goal of reducing noise by five decibels doesn’t justify the means,” he said.
Abu-Taleb said he’s heard from residents who both support and oppose the wall, but opponents have been more vocal.
He reminded residents that the walls will block the view of Oak Park from the highway, along with the signs of businesses along the access roads. He encouraged those who will be voting to visit the noise walls installed in the village of Hillside to see if that’s what they want in their neighborhood.
“I want people to understand what they’re voting for,” he said. “I want the community to think hard before they jump the gun and agree to a 17-foot wall that’s going to be with us forever.”
The village, Abu-Taleb said, also has formed a design committee to identify areas on the highway, particularly bridges connecting the north and south parts of town that could be used to promote Oak Park’s history and cultural allure.
He noted that a roughly 1.5 mile stretch of the highway runs through Oak Park and it’s reconstruction is a good opportunity to remind drivers that Oak Park was the home of Ernest Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright and other cultural attractions.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com
