City planning new safety improvements for crossing around Reagan Middle School in Dixon

DIXON – The city is planning to do nearly $2 million of improvements near Reagan Middle School to make walking routes safer for students and pedestrians.

In 2019, the city received a $200,000 Safe Routes to School grant to make safety upgrades in that area following traffic concerns, especially where South Galena Avenue meets Division Street.

The federal Safe Routes to School program reimburses projects that aim to make areas more walk- or bike-friendly for students going to and from school, and funds are administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

[ City receives Safe Routes to School grant ]

The project has grown to include nearby streets and will be coordinated with some road resurfacing. The city also did water main work along Division Street last year in anticipation of the project.

“It made sense not to put brand new road over a water main that we actively knew was failing in some areas,” Public Works Director Matt Heckman said during a recent information session on the safe routes project.

Galena Avenue will see sidewalk extensions from Division to West 10th streets, as well as new ramps, curbs, street markings and signage. There will be lighted signage at Patrick’s Court and Division.

Division Street and Fargo Avenue will get new sidewalks, curbs and repaved road with hot-mix asphalt. Street markings will also be improved to be more visible when Division Street becomes a one-way in front of Reagan Middle School where front parking is located.

“These improvements would improve pedestrian and motorist safety in the school area,” Heckman said.

Work will also be done to fill in patches of sidewalk on the east side of Hemlock Avenue and west side of Chestnut Avenue, both from Pine to Division streets. Walnut will have new sidewalk on the east side from Division to Ash Court.

“We’re filling in those gaps as part of this project trying to create one long continuous route to get people north to south down to Division Street,” said project engineer Jason Stoll of Fehr Graham Engineering and Environmental.

Three residents in the project footprint asked questions and voiced concerns, with Deb Dickinson saying the improvements don’t go far enough to address the many near-misses at Galena and Division.

“My concern is I’ve been there 20 years, and I have seen so many crossing guards and kids almost killed, and I don’t think the changes are addressing the main issue,” she said.

There’s no turn lane, and the inside lane is very narrow, she said, adding that parents dropping off their kids at a high rate of speed don’t see the crossing guards.

“I’ve heard kids scream,” Dickinson said. “It’s a very dangerous intersection.”

She recommended constructing an elevated crosswalk or installing a better stop light, preferably one that could be controlled by a crossing guard.

Galena Avenue, also known as state Route 26, is the responsibility of IDOT, which has a maintenance agreement with the city.

Heckman said they share the same concerns about the intersection, but there would be design and ADA accessibility challenges with an elevated crosswalk.

“That area is extraordinarily busy; the area does see a ton of oversized and overweight traffic,” he said.

Galena is also deteriorating in that stretch of road, and Heckman said they plan to speak with IDOT about the concerns.

Dickinson and resident Stan Aurand also brought up issues with the mid-road switch to a one-way on Division. Aurand said the school needs to move parking off the street and revert to a two-way.

The one-way was established years ago as a safety precaution, and there are no current plans to change it, Heckman said.

Resident Randy Newcomer asked if further infrastructure improvements would be made, as the water and sewer mains tend to back up during heavy rain on Fargo Avenue.

Heckman said there will be a short piece of stormwater improvement, and they will be inspecting the lines prior to construction.

The project will go out to bid in November, and preliminary work is slated to begin in March. Division and Fargo upgrades would start in May with Galena and the other streets in August. The goal is to be mostly done before school starts and have work completed by October 2023.

Of the $1.95 million project, about $250,000 will go toward Galena and the smaller street improvements, $1.1 million will be for Division Street, and $600,000 for Fargo Avenue.