Streator traffic lights soon will be synced

Traveling downtown Streator soon will have more flow.

Eleven new traffic light controllers are scheduled to be delivered the week of Oct. 16 and installed, City Engineer Jeremy Palm told the Streator City Council on Tuesday.

In May, the City Council appropriated about $90,000 in motor fuel tax funds for the new hardware expected to keep the lights synced for smoother traffic flow.

At this time, motorists may get a green light traveling on Park Street crossing Bridge Street, only to be stopped at a red light two blocks farther at Hickory Street. A similar situation occurs on Bloomington Street moving from Hickory to Bridge streets.

Sidewalk installation complete

Sidewalks have been completed in the Riverside neighborhood on the city’s west side near Kimes School.

The city received $240,000 in a Safe Routes To School federal grant in 2022, with a 20% local match. New sidewalks were installed on the east-west routes of Riverside Avenue, Sundown Street and Carroll Street connecting the Main and Bridge streets bridges, as well as the Hopalong Cassidy River Trail, with pathways to the north-and-south route Clark Street.

The idea of the project was to connect the Riverside neighborhood to the city’s downtown, allowing for safe, walkable routes in the neighborhood to Kimes School.

Streator was one of 57 projects chosen across Illinois last summer for the grant funds.

12th Street near completion

Palm said reconstruction of 12th Street from Bloomington Street to Smith Douglass Road will be wrapping up in the next two weeks.

The $3.3 million project began in summer of 2022 to reconstruct 1.22 miles of the 12th Street roadway, which serves as the county line between La Salle and Livingston counties. Federal and state funds paid $1.87 million of the project. Additionally, the city received $903,542 for a Rebuild Illinois Capital grant in 2019. The city pitched in roughly $590,000.

Marilla Park basket update

The Lions Club plans to install gabion baskets at the Marilla Park pond and pave the first 40 feet from the bridge by the end of the year, Palm said.

Along with the Lions Club’s effort, the city applied for a grant to install gabion baskets on the south side of the pond to reinforce the bank and create a paved area that will allow for disabled residents and ice skaters to have easy access to the water.