I found myself needing to express my opinions after reading the column by Garret Eakin [ALDI is asking too much on Madison Street, WJ Homes, April 11] and the letter from Denise Wells [Viewpoints, April 11].
This goes to the proposals for Madison Street, specifically the Aldi’s grocery store and the spending of $17,000,000+ to narrow the street and put in bike lanes. I have lived a couple of blocks away from the building at Wesley and Madison for years. It has never looked great and the past several years have seen a big, empty space and parking lot that is not light and bright, but big and depressing. The building at Madison Street and Oak Park Avenue on the southeast corner has top-to-bottom windows all around and they have covered them up. You cannot control every aspect of a business.
The answer seems to me to push ahead with the Aldi’s, which would be a great addition to that area, not only for Oak Parkers and our dwindling tax base but also for our nearby neighboring towns. We need to move quickly before they look elsewhere. Remember the Colt building fiasco.
When Fenwick puts up their new entrance on Madison Street, a great international store such as Aldi’s and the renewal of the Comcast building hopefully will bring more development to the street. That might encourage a developer to look at the long-held village property at Oak Park and Madison. Just as on our residential blocks, one family improving their home often inspires others to join the crowd.
The money, which we don’t have, to alter Madison Street would be better spent to improve the efforts to attract new development all along the street, and also to renew some of our tired-looking businesses.
Bike lanes on that street would be very dangerous since there are cars parked all along the street. Car doors opening all the time is not a safe ride guarantee. There are better streets to put bike lanes, i.e. South and Washington boulevards. Just because you paint bikes on the street, does not make it safe.
And I agree with Ms. Wells that the bikers need to obey traffic signs.
Joan Filbin
Past president of the Oak Park Board of Realtors, former Plan Commission member