Highland Park council endorses downtown redesign to improve walkability, outdoor dining
A new streetscape for Second Street in downtown Highland Park is on the horizon after the City Council showed a majority preference for a design concept.
In 2022, the council approved exploring ways to improve the pedestrian environment along Second Street. Currently, the west side of the street has brick-paved sidewalks that are five-feet wider than the seven-foot, concrete sidewalks on the east side.
The redesign is part of the city’s multifaceted approach to make several downtown spots focal points of activity to foster vibrancy, community and support local businesses, according to the city’s director of community development, Joel Fontane.
Five of the seven council members voiced preference for the $2.4 million design concept that included “bump outs,” or widened sidewalk areas with ornamental fencing to create outdoor dining space, at a committee meeting of the whole council Tuesday night.
The four different design concepts were in the range of $2.1 million to $2.4 million.
All potential design concepts decreased the number of parking spaces available on Second Street, which now has 67 spots. However, in focus groups, business owners said the loss of street parking was not an issue, according to Fontane.
The favored plan includes 58 parking spaces, most of which are angled spots.
The improvement plan also includes new light fixtures, brick paving to match existing downtown sidewalks and curbed planters with trees. The east sidewalk would be widened to 10 feet, 6 inches, including the tree parkway.
There are stormwater improvements to be made on the Second Street corridor. Designs for the drain improvements are contingent upon the street redesign selected, but the cost for these improvements is $690,000, Fontane said.
“The more changes we make in terms of the sidewalk width, the larger expanded sidewalks and things like that, that is going to necessitate the stormwater project,” Fontane said.
Costs for stormwater improvements are not included in the design concept price tags.
Other potential design plans included trees in tree grates rather than planters, and didn’t include the outdoor dining “bump outs.”
Decisions around the furniture for the bump outs, and whether it will be city-owned or restaurant-owned, will be conducted at a later date, according to Mayor Nancy Rotering.
Next steps for the project include starting on construction documents, permits, bidding out the project and communicating with business owners and other stakeholders about the impending construction — which is likely not to begin until spring or summer of 2024.
