At its July 8 meeting, Forest Park’s village council authorized the execution of a proposal for the village’s next green alley in the 800 block of Thomas Avenue and Beloit Avenue.
The green alley will likely be the sixth in the village and is a part of a multi-year long process to reduce flooding in alleyways and their surrounding areas.
“With the way that the alleys are not pitched properly to drain, you’ll often get water that sits after a heavy storm,” Village Administrator Rachell Entler previously told the Review.
So, a contractor will remove the asphalt from the alley 800 block of Thomas Avenue and Beloit Avenue before pouring a base layer of concrete. Workers will then re-pitch the alley so that, after a big rain, water runs toward permeable pavers in the middle of the alley. This will allow water to seep into the ground beneath the pavers, rather than collecting in puddles.
“The benefits are that you’re conserving water. You’re allowing more water to infiltrate into the ground and waterways, which is a good thing for the environment,” Sal Stella, director of public works, previously told the Review.
To renovate the alley in the 800 block of Thomas and Beloit, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, the village’s usual engineering firm, will charge $50,350 for its services. These include taking a topographic survey of the alley and performing field reconnaissance to see if any surrounding structures need to be adjusted or reconstructed, including nearby curbs and sidewalks.
The firm will then prepare detailed engineering plans, specifications and estimated cost. They will develop a permit application to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ahead of sewer construction. Burke Engineering will also be a part of the bid review and recommendation process.
The project is estimated to cost over $676,000 to be paid out of Village Improvement Program funds. As it has for past green alley projects, the village is requesting funds, $300,785 worth, from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Green Infrastructure Partnership Program.
“It’s a good thing for MWRD because you’re getting less water going into their system to get treated,” Stella previously told the Review.
If the village receives funds from the MWRD, only then will the project be considered a “green alley.” If not, they will redo the alley another way.
“Design would change, as it is almost double to construct a green alley than a regular, non-green alley,” Entler said.
If the village receives funding, Forest Park’s sixth green alleyway will likely resemble those that came before it, which were the alleys that saw the worst flooding in the village.
The village began construction on its fourth and fifth green alleys last month in the 800 and 900 blocks of Marengo Avenue and Circle Avenue.
In 2019, the village redid the Elgin-Marengo alley between Lexington and Harvard. Before that, the 500 block Thomas-Beloit and 100 block of Harlem-Elgin both saw green alleys installed.
Stella said that nearly 90% of Forest Park’s alleyways have been redone, though they have mostly been on the village’s north side.
About half of the south-side alleys must be reconstructed, he said. Many of those will be redone with concrete, rather than becoming a green alley with permeable pavers.
“We can’t do every alley green,” Entler previously told the Review. “But we do try to get green alleys interspersed throughout the village as we get grant funding to do so.”
