The corner of Harlem and Roosevelt is, of course, a very busy intersection for auto traffic. Has been for decades. Will be long into the future. Not pedestrian-friendly or bike-welcoming, it is built to move cars and does so fairly efficiently. There are accidents. According to traffic data collected by the village of Forest Park, 5% of auto accidents in the village last year took place at that corner. Mostly minor collisions, which do inevitably cause good-sized backups.
Two gas stations, a not-very-busy Walgreens, and currently a currency exchange are the commercial anchors of the four corners.
Now, Forest Park’s village council has approved a conditional-use permit that will allow a marijuana dispensary to replace the currency exchange. As we’ve said previously, this is a notable upgrade. A dispensary is a superior revenue generator for a cash-starved village. It is a more modern and sought-after service than a check-cashing service. And the traffic it generates will be comparable to the current uses.
The new permit, vetted by the Planning and Zoning Commission, already restricts exits from the parking lot to right turns onto either Roosevelt or Harlem. As it should.
Village council members say they will be attentive to traffic issues and there may be a consensus developing that, with three dispensaries about to be in place in the village, at least an informal moratorium on such additional uses should be put in place. That makes sense, as the village lets this still-evolving market shake out some.
Meanwhile, this a good outcome.
Removing unhealthy things
Forest Park in recent years has become much more focused on trees. That is a very good thing. They have moved from being an afterthought to being seen as a central part of the experience of living in this small urban village.
We’ve watched as the village government has aligned itself with outside resources, some from Morton Arboretum, to inventory its tree stock — there were 3,335 trees in the public way in 2022. The village has also rethought its replanting program to diversify tree species to protect from any specific type of tree disease. The Public Works Department, led by Sal Stella, has become tree-centric and has actively sought outside support for the village’s urban forest.
This fall, that effort led to a grant from Trees Forever to actively remove 26 trees on the public way, determined through the tree inventory and arborists to be unhealthy and unsafe. The grant was just over $22,000 and the removals are well underway.
This is good management of a precious resource.
Speaking of removal, so long to the rusty, ugly water tower that has loomed over the north side of town for years. Last weekend, the CTA finally made good on its promise to take the unused tower down. It took too long, but we’re glad it is gone.