Forest Park is advertising bids for a contractor to remove three islands in the middle of Roosevelt Road.
Along a 370-foot stretch — near 7239, 7410, 7623 and 7635 Roosevelt Road — the islands now consist of a decorative concrete wall atop a raised median. Inside the wall sit several trees, shrubs and landscaping elements.
“Anytime somebody hits the median, it’s costing the village approximately $20,000 to fix the decorative concrete, fix and replace any water mechanisms that are there, electrical boxes and any landscaping,” said Village Administrator Rachell Entler. “It’s happening more and more.”
In December, the village council approved an engineering study in preparation to remove the islands. The decision followed several occasions of drivers bumping into the median near Roosevelt Road and Hannah Avenue because it creates a visual obstruction, the Review previously reported.
“It always seems to be folks who don’t have insurance crashing into these things and causing extensive damage that we then have to cover,” said Jessica Voogd, commissioner of public property, during a June 24 village council meeting.
While expensive for the village, the decorative concrete is also discontinued, Entler said.
So, after the village chooses a contractor, workers will remove the decorative walls and landscaping on the Roosevelt Road islands and replace them with four-inch-thick concrete slabs under brick pavers.
“The median will still be there, it’s just going to be flattened,” Entler said.
Three commissioners and Mayor Rory Hoskins voted at the June 24 village council meeting to advertise bids for the project. Commissioner Ryan Nero was absent.
Michelle Melin-Rogovin, commissioner of streets and public improvements, said during the December village council meeting that she thought the island’s removal was “going to impact and improve safety, and reduce accidents for Forest Park drivers.”
Bids will be solicited by Village Clerk Vanessa Belmonte and the village’s engineer, Christopher B. Burke Engineering.
During the June 24 village council meeting, Voogd asked village staff to consider how to make the median as visible as possible after the islands are removed.
“I hope, moving forward while we’re exploring these bids, that we’re also considering future applications to make sure that they’re highly visible,” Voogd said of the medians that will be left in the middle of Roosevelt Road.
“We want to make sure that we’re not making rash decisions in this village and we’re actually doing research and trying to make a very long-form and safe decision for the community,” Voogd added.
The project is estimated to cost $310,695 and will be completed by Oct. 15.
Entler said that both Roosevelt Road and the adjacent sidewalk will be open during construction.