May is Building Safety Month, a time to raise awareness and understanding of what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures. Established by the International Code Council, the month aims to educate the public about the need for regularly-updated building codes and the officials trusted to oversee and enforce those codes. The Village’s Development Services Department manages the divisions responsible for building permits and inspections, economic vitality, planning, historic preservation and zoning. The Permits & Development Division is hosting a Building Safety Month Open House from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 15 at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. Department tours, information about upcoming construction projects, free refreshments and Q&A’s with Village officials responsible for permitting, planning, zoning and building fire safety are just some of the activities planned. More information is at www.oak-park.us/buildingsafety24. 

Community members are invited to hop on their bikes and ride to Village Hall for Oak Park’s second annual Move with the Mayor event. Village President Vicki Scaman will join Village staff in giving away free bicycle helmets during the family-friendly celebration from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tues., May 14 in the parking lot at Village Hall. Bicycle safety is the primary focus of this year’s Move with the Mayor event in Oak Park. In addition to the bike helmet giveaway, attendees will be able to participate in a mini bike safety rodeo facilitated by a certified instructor from the League of American Bicyclists. The free helmets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Free stickers will also be available so participants can customize and decorate their helmets. More information is available at www.oak-park.us/mwtm24.

Excitement is building for the 50th A Day in Our Village festival on Sun., June 2 in Scoville Park. Exhibitor registration closed this week more than a month before the premier community event as organizers say capacity has been reached with more than 125 groups signed up to host activity booths representing ways to get involved with Oak Park civic, cultural, social service, educational and religious organizations. Live music, food and extensive activities for kids are a few of the highlights in store. The Park District of Oak Park is bringing its foam machine in a nod to A Day in Our Village tradition from previous decades. This week, the Village debuted a promotional video highlighting the return of foam at this year’s A Day in Our Village – click here to view. More information about A Day in Our Village is available at www.oak-park.us/dayinourvillage.

The Suburban Cook County cohort participating in the 100 Day Challenge hosted two Accelerated Moves events in April to help reach its goal of housing 88 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in safe and stable housing. Those events, one of which was held at the Oak Park Public Library, helped arrange housing for 72 people. Another 139 individuals have been connected to shelter through transitional housing, nursing homes, etc. As the cohort, which includes the Village, continues to work on the 100 Day Challenge through May 21, members are identifying opportunities to continue to reduce barriers to affordable housing and ensure unhoused people have access to transitional housing and shelter. The challenge is to successfully house 88 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in safe and stable housing, with 30% of those individuals being adults who are age 55 or older. The group also aims to connect 167 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to shelter such as transitional housing, nursing homes, etc.

The Village is partnering with the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA) to host a Home Ownership Education Workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sat., May 18 at the Community Recreation Center, 229 Madison St. The free workshop is open to all individuals and families interested in homeownership. Topics that will be discussed include budgeting and financing options for homebuyers, current real estate market trends in Oak Park and tips for maintaining your home. Space is limited, so anyone interested in attending is asked to register in advance – click here to RSVP. After the workshop, attendees will be able to schedule a one-on-one appointment with a CEDA Housing Counselor for continued assistance.

The Fire Department is joining fire stations across the country in honoring fallen firefighters who have died in the line of duty during the year. Throughout this past week the Fire Department has been lighting the main fire headquarters at 100 N. Euclid Ave. in red as part of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial event, “Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters.” More information about the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is available at www.firehero.org.

Alyssa Frystak, Director of Research and Data Analytics at PlaceEconomics, is the guest speaker for the next installment of the Historic Preservation Commission’s Speaker Series from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., May 11 in the Council Chambers at Village Hall. Frystak will host a discussion about PlaceEconomics and data-driven arguments to address some misconceptions about historic preservation, including issues such as affordable housing, neighborhood diversity, density, property values and other topics. The discussion will be held prior to the HPC’s regular monthly meeting. More information is available on the Village website – click here to view.

Café Cubano is now open for business at 113 N. Oak Park Ave. Village and Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce representatives joined the Fernandez family that owns Oak Park’s newest restaurant for a ribbon-cutting event Friday. Café Cubano moved to its new Hemingway Business District location after a long and successful run on North Avenue in Elmwood Park. For more information about Café Cubano, including its live music schedule, visit www.cafecubanochicago.com. Additionally, Village and Chamber officials joined owner Blake Brown for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of his new business, BTB Kicks, at 250½ Chicago Ave. BTB Kicks is dedicated to bringing shoes back to life through a restoration process Brown has perfected since high school, helping his peers keeping their shoes sharp. For more information, check out the BTB Kicks Facebook page.  

Lake Street traffic signals from Marion Street to Euclid Avenue are being retimed this week. The work includes the implementation of an all pedestrian phase at the intersections of Lake and Marion and Lake and Forest Avenue. Additionally, northbound and southbound traffic at the intersection of Lake and Forest will be given the green light at the same time rather than during separate or split phases.

The Police Department welcomed Mekhi Moss as the newest Parking Enforcement Officer this week. Mekhi attended high school at DePaul College Prep.

Physical construction of the new Oak Park Commons co-housing development began this week at the southeast corner of Madison Street and Carpenter Avenue. Co-housing is still a rather new housing concept in the Chicagoland area, and Oak Park is excited to welcome this development to the community. Co-housing is often described as a residential community of adjoining private homes that share common space. This new 24-unit, five-story residential building will have the address of 839 Madison St. The building will be designed so that its common spaces encourage social interaction among residents and will also include energy conservation and other sustainable features. More information about the Oak Park Commons development is available at www.oakparkcommons.com.  

Visit Oak Park, a Village-funded partner agency that promotes tourism in the Oak Park area, has assisted in securing media opportunities for multiple Oak Park businesses. This Sun., May 5, Oak Park restaurant Amerikas (734 Lake St.) will be featured in studio on WGN’s Weekend Brunch at approximately 7:55 a.m. The Happy Apple Pie Shop (226 Harrison St.) will be featured on WGN on Fri., May 10 during the 11 a.m. hour and then again on Sun., May 12 in studio at Fox News Chicago at approximately 8:20 a.m. Additionally, the Oak Park Arts District business will be featured on WGN in studio during the 11 a.m. hour on Wed., May 8 to promote its What’s Blooming on Harrison Street Festival taking place Sat., May 18. More information about Visit Oak Park is available at www.visitoakpark.com.

Sidewalk repairs – The first sidewalk replacement contract is in full swing in the south half of the Village. Contractors have removed and replaced about half of the sidewalk replacement locations. Weather permitting, they will continue to work on removing and pouring back concrete into next week. Landscaping work will occur after the concrete replacements.

Lot 10 streetscape project – Construction for the Lot 10 streetscape project is expected to start the week of May 13. The work will occur in three phases starting with sidewalk replacement in front of the businesses on the north side of Lot 10. The stalls on the north side of Lot 10 will be closed off for pedestrian traffic and access to businesses for the duration of the first phase. The project will also include installing water permeable brick pavers in the parking lot as part of green infrastructure upgrades and the resurfacing of North Boulevard between Marion Street and Forest Avenue. When work is complete, Lot 10 will feature a new traffic pattern with cars entering from Forest and traveling west toward Marion. New angled parking will allow more sidewalk space along the business frontage to better accommodate outdoor dining, sidewalk sales and other special events that occur in Lot 10 throughout the year. The entire project is expected to wrap up by the end of September. 

Euclid Avenue water improvements – Crews spent the week pressure testing and chlorinating the new water main on Euclid Avenue. Once the chlorination sampling results are ready, the contractor will begin connecting residential services to the new main. This work will tentatively begin on Monday.

Austin Boulevard sewer improvements – The contractor continued to remove existing storm structures and repaired sewer spot locations north of Fillmore Street this week. Construction will continue to progress north towards Garfield Street. No parking signs are posted in this area while construction is taking place. Beginning next week, Garfield will be closed from Austin to Lombard Avenue for water main work at the intersection of Austin and Garfield.

Forest & Ontario update – The contractor is working on concrete removals at the crosswalks at Forest Avenue and Ontario Street and in front of the Nineteenth Century Club. The traffic detour around the site was installed last week and will remain in place while work is ongoing.

Alley improvement project – Earth excavation and pavement removal is complete for the first four alleys under the first alley contract. The contractor is preparing to place the concrete ribbons in the fourth alley located between the 500 blocks of Harvey Ave. and Cuyler Ave. next Wednesday. Earth Excavation is expected to start in the fifth alley the same day. The first alley for the second contract has been fully reopened. Earth excavation started in the alley between the 400 blocks of Grove Ave. and Kenilworth Ave. and will be complete Wednesday morning.

Marion Street resurfacing – The contractor completed curb and sidewalk replacement this week on Marion Street. Milling of the roadway started between Randolph Street and Pleasant Place. Asphalt placement and pavement striping will occur next week. No parking signs are posted on Marion and Pleasant Place within the construction work zone.

Madison Street Improvements – The contractor finished installing all water service casings on Madison Street. The focus now turns to connecting the existing water main on Clarence Avenue to the new main. The contractor will finish installing water services and new storm sewer, followed by sidewalk removals next week.

Focus Development update – The contractor installed brick pavers along Marion Street and blue stone sidewalk along the site of the new Focus Development at Marion and Pleasant Street. In the next two weeks, the contractor will complete exterior caulking, install transformer bollards in the alley and continue with landscaping.