Sycamore Drive Residents OK with Improvements, Not Extension

Residents who live along Sycamore Drive expressed their opinions Tuesday about village plans for their street.

In short, they're okay with the planned improvement of repaving and the addition of curb and gutter, but they vehemently object to extending the street to connect with Elisa Drive in the City of Racine. Providing the through-way means heavy trucks like garbage and delivery vehicles and snow plows won't have to back up the street and can instead just keep going and then circle out to Kinzie or back to Washington Avenue.

Diane Grana lives at the dead end, and she said the extension is unwanted.

"I don't mind improving Sycamore, because it's needed," she said. "But we don't need the increased traffic that putting it through to Elisa is going to mean. We have kids playing out there all the time, and having more cars come through isn't safe."

Grana went a little further in her objection, asking the Public Works Committee to change the "No Outlet" sign to a flashing "Dead End," reducing the speed limit to 15 from 25 and putting up a "Children at Play" sign, too.

Ruth Ann Grayson lives in the City of Racine with the south side of her property at Elisa Drive. She is also against the extension because while Mount Pleasant's project doesn't cost city residents any money, increased heavy traffic will mean replacing Elisa's asphalt with concrete in the future.

"Eventually, Elisa will get paved with concrete and then the city will assess us, correct?" she asked.

Village Engineer Bill Sasse said that could happen, but the city would be required to hold a public meeting just like Mount Pleasant's before proceeding with any improvement plans.

"All roads eventually get rebuilt, but the city is statutorily required to hold a public meeting like this one," he said. "They will listen to the wishes of residents and if you all would choose to keep asphalt, they could decide to keep that way."

Other village residents like Charles Bendix want to know why Mount Pleasant wants to address extending Sycamore now when there's not been a single recorded accident involving a garbage truck or a snow plow.

"How many accidents have there been with garbage trucks? Not one," he pointed out.

Sasse agreed.

"We don't know of any problems or accidents," he said.

Bendix said he's not happy about the number of people who come down Sycamore and park to drink beer, then throw their cans and bottles on the lawns of neighbors.

But Trustee Karen Albeck who is a member of committee, said that putting the road through could actually alleviate that particular issue.

"For people who stop and drink, putting the road through could eliminate that problem," she pointed out. Albeck also asked if there was anyone present who supported the extension.

Chad Vetter lives in the house right next to where the new roadway is proposed. He said he understands his neighbors' concerns, but he would prefer the road go through.

"My driveway is the one drivers use to turn around so I would prefer that the road go through," he said. "I just want the street improved, but I understand the concerns."

The approximately 400 feet of Sycamore with addresses and the 600-foot extension are part of the village's 2012 roads plan. The improvement will turn Sycamore from essentially a lane to what Sasse said is a standard urban street that is about 36 feet from curb to curb. The extension will be about 24 feet wide from curb to curb.

The low bid came in at $156,982 from Willkomm Excavating and Grading in Union Grove, but that is just the construction cost.

"Design work and engineering adds another 25 percent so the total cost of the project is around $200,000," Sasse explained.

Paying for the improvement part of the plan will come from a special assessment of residents who live on Sycamore.

Sasse said current assessment rates are $13 per 100 feet of frontage so each property owner is looking at about $1,300 that can be paid for with their annual tax bill over a period of five or 10 years. Residents also have the option of their assessment up front and not incurring interest charges.

The issue goes back to the Public Works Committee for discussion and a decision. Committee members can either approve the project as its designed and send that recommendation to the Village Board, they can ask for a redesign or they can choose to drop the whole thing. Public Works meets next at 7:30 am Aug. 9 at Village Hall, 8811 Campus Drive.