Oswego officials hope traffic study will spur more development at Route 34, Ogden Falls Boulevard

Oswego village officials hope the results of a traffic study of the southeast corner of Route 34 and Ogden Falls Boulevard will help spur more development in that area.

At the Jan. 21 Oswego Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously approved a $37,000 professional services agreement with civil engineering company HR Green to conduct the study. The village will recapture the cost of the traffic study upon the sale or development of the property.

“This has been kind of a thorn in the village’s side for a while,” Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty said during the meeting. “As we’ve seen a lot of development occur across the street on the Montgomery side with Sam’s Club, Binny’s, Cooper’s Hawk and all that good stuff, this particular parcel has remain undeveloped. The sole reason, at least according to the owner, is site access.”

Leighty said that Louis Karlis and his partners who own the properties near the Shell gas station have been attempting to sell the properties for years but have expressed challenges with site access and dividing the land.

“Karlis informed staff that they have had development interest in the south parcel for residential and the Route 34 frontage for commercial,” Leighty said. “However, since the Illinois Department of Transportation will not grant them a full access to the sites on Route 34, any potential buyer would need assurances that they are able to at least have full access on Ogden Falls Boulevard.”

As part of the improvements, Karlis and his partners are asking for the current median on Ogden Falls Boulevard be removed and that the access drive to the properties be granted full access, Leighty said.

The traffic study should take about a month to complete, Leighty said. After the study is complete, staff will work with IDOT to make the case for full access to the property.

Village President Ryan Kauffman believes the traffic study will be a good step forward in helping solve the access problem.

“I think this is going to go a long way to getting some development in that area,” he said.

Village trustee Karen Novy wondered if there was the potential the traffic study could actually work against the village.

“There’s always that concern, right, when you do a study, that it’s going to come back with opposite results,” Leighty replied. “We’re very confident that this is going to make the case for an additional access point.”