Tribute to Bristol woman killed on Kennedy Road part of trail event

An event marking the completion of the Kennedy Road trail in Yorkville May 12 will include a dedication to the Bristol woman killed on the road while riding her bicycle in 2009.

Darlene McCue was riding her bike on Kennedy Road on July 5, 2009 when she was fatally struck by a pickup truck driving on the road.

While the city had received a grant to complete a bike trail along the road, city officials were hesitant to spend the money necessary as part of the grant's required local match.

That's when friends of family of McCue stepped in. Then-alderman Diane Teeling and Lynn Dubajic, an economic development consultant for the city and a personal friend of McCue, started the Push for the Path organization and the McCue family joined on as well. The goal: to raise $357,000 so the path could be completed.

Those in favor of the trail had argued that Kennedy Road was unsafe for walkers and bike riders to use, and was getting busier as subdivisions popped up along the road during the housing boom.

After five years of organizing fundraisers and accepting individual donations, trail supporters met their $357,000 goal. The city also received $80,000 in Kendall County Transportation Alternatives Program, or KC-TAP, funds from the county to help fill in the funding gap.

Crews have been putting finishing touches on the trail since asphalt was laid last fall.

The May 12 event, called Party for the Path, will be held directly after and in conjunction with the PeppeRUNI 5K Run/Walk organized by the Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department.

As part of the Party for the Path event, an archway will be unveiled on the path at the corner of Bristol Ridge and Kennedy roads. The archway was crafted and designed by Mark O'Malley of Yorkville.

Kari McCue, Darlene McCue's niece, said she was pleased to see the vision of a trail on Kennedy Road become a reality.

"We get to drive past that path all the time and know that it's there because of everything that we did and what we believed in, and that we got the community together to do what was right," she said. "And it's an honor to my aunt, who is very missed every single day."

Dubajic said she "never had a doubt" that the community would meet the funding goal.

"I know that there are some people that may have doubted our group, but I never had a doubt because I knew that there was a very strong passion by the McCue family and close friends and people that understood the importance," she said. "I knew that we would get there."

Registration for the city's run/walk starts at 7 a.m. and the race begins at 8 a.m. More information on the race can be found at yorkville.il.us/560/PeppeRUNi-5K-RunWalk.

Following that event will be the Party for the Path.

Participants for that event are encouraged to meet at Steven G. Bridge Park, at the corner of Kennedy and Galena roads, at 10 a.m. to bike, walk or run down the Kennedy Road path starting at around 10:15 a.m.

Participants will then stop at the Darlene McCue Path Entrance at the corner of Bristol Ridge and Kennedy roads for a short ceremony dedicated to McCue at around 10:30 a.m.

As part of the Party for the Path event, Rosati's Pizza and Pub at 1985 Marketview Drive in Yorkville will have live music and a buffet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.