The Oak Park Fire Department's annual open house is taking place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 4 at the main fire station located at 100 N. Euclid Ave. Residents of all ages are invited to get up close to the Fire Department’s equipment and talk to the firefighter/paramedics who keep the community safe. The event also will include tours of the fire house and presentations about safety. To help supply local community blood centers, a Vitalant blood drive is being held onsite from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Click here to register to donate blood.

The sixth annual Tour de Proviso bike ride is coming up this Saturday, Oct. 4. The ride begins and ends at Village Hall, 123 Madison St., and includes a 20-mile ride and a 7-mile family ride. Click here to view the routes. Check-in starts at 7 a.m. with rides scheduled to start around 8 a.m. A community fair featuring food vendors and music will be held in conjunction with Tour de Proviso on the south lawn at Village Hall from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants can find complete details on the rider information page, including information about t-shirt pickup, parking and what to wear. Motorists traveling in the vicinity of the Tour de Proviso route on Saturday morning are encouraged to allow extra time should they encounter temporary traffic delays as riders move through the area. This year’s ride is co-hosted by the Village of Oak Park, Village of Forest Park and Village of River Forest.

The Oak Park Office of Economic Vitality is now open at 1010 Lake St., Suite 100.  This past week, Economic Vitality staff moved into new office space in Downtown Oak Park. This location will allow staff to have greater access to brick-and-mortar businesses, and work closely in tandem with the Downtown Oak Park Business Alliance as well as Explore Oak Park and Beyond.

The West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force held a harm reduction resource fair and press conference on Tuesday to celebrate the placement of a Narcan dispensing machine inside the CTA’s Harlem/Lake Green Line station. The new machine is one of five installed at stations across the CTA. Village President Vicki Scaman was among a group of elected officials in attendance. Public Health Director Greg Olsen, Health Education Manager Sara Semelka and Community Health Advisor Chelly Richards represented the Public Health Department at the resource fair. They shared information about Public Health Department’s seven opioid overdose prevention boxes in easily accessible, public-facing locations throughout Oak Park stocked with pouches filled with doses of Narcan and instructions on how to provide overdose first aid. Narcan is a safe medication that works to reverse the effects of an overdose from opioids such as heroin, prescription painkillers and fentanyl. More information is at www.oak-park.us/overdoseprevention.

Keywane Woolford, a Property Maintenance Community Development Inspector within the Neighborhood Services Department, recently earned his International Code Council (ICC) Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector certification. In doing so he passed an exam on the International Residential Code, international Property Maintenance Code and Legal Aspects of code administration. As a result of this achievement, Keywane will soon be officially sworn-in as an inspector by the Village Clerk.

The Police Department welcomed two new Police Officers as Erik Perez and Demetrius Survillion were sworn in during a ceremony Monday at Village Hall. Both come to the organization as lateral hires from other police departments.

The Village’s Aging in Communities Commission is observing Ageism Awareness Day by hosting author Dr. Becca Levy of Yale University for a discussion on aging from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 9 at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St. Refreshments will be provided. In her book “Breaking the Age Code,” Dr. Levy draws on groundbreaking research that shows that people with positive age beliefs live an average of 7.5 years longer than people who fear and deny aging. Dr. Levy is also leading a research project on how to make Oak Park a town without ageism. More information is at www.oak-park.us/AgeismAwareness25.

The Village’s Environment & Energy Commission is seeking feedback about the Village’s single-use bag initiative. Community members can weigh in on the future of retail bags in Oak Park by taking an online survey at www.engageoakpark.com/bag-fee. Customers pay a fee of 10 cents for each single-use paper or plastic bag provided at the checkout counter at large retail stores in the Village. The initiative, which began in 2018, is intended to encourage customers to bring their own shopping bags and avoid taking single-use, disposable bags that may end up as litter. Free reusable bags are always available in the lobby at Village Hall, 123 Madison St., during regular business hours.

With respiratory illness season approaching, Oak Park public health officials are reminding residents that consistent handwashing, staying home when sick and annual immunizations can help keep the community as healthy as possible. In addition to local health care providers, the flu and COVID-19 vaccine are offered at numerous commercial pharmacies, grocery stores and other retail sites in the Oak Park area. Residents can email the Oak Park Public Health Department at health@oak-park.us or call 708.358.5480 with questions about respiratory illness prevention and vaccines.

Congratulations to the Park District of Oak Park, which has been awarded the 2025 Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA). The Gold Medal Award is the most prestigious award in the park and recreation industry and designates the Park District of Oak Park as one of the nation’s leading agencies. This distinction recognizes excellence in long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition. Click here for more information.

Housing Forward is hosting a conversation with legal advocate and author Maria Foscarinis, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center and a leading voice on housing justice. The event is taking place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23 at Unity Temple. In her new book, “And Housing For All,” she argues that only by recognizing housing as a fundamental human right can we end homelessness in America. Drawing on more than three decades of personal stories and advocacy work, Foscarinis offers insight into why past efforts have failed and what will change as we enter a new era of federal leadership. Following her conversation with WBEZ Communities Reporter Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Foscarinis will be available for an audience Q&A and post-event reception and book signing hosted in collaboration with Dandelion Bookshop. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Street resurfacing – Scoville Avenue, Linden Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue had the first layer of asphalt placed this Wednesday as this year’s street resurfacing project continues to move along. Manhole adjustments are ongoing. The contractor is resetting stone sidewalk panels on Linden. Sidewalk and curb repairs at Harlem Avenue and Lake Street are expected to start Oct. 6. The stretch of roadway slated for resurfacing along East Avenue and LeMoyne Parkway will be milled Oct 14. Asphalt will be placed the following day for both streets. Thomas Street near Whittier School will be milled on Oct. 13 when District 97 schools are not in session. Sewer and curb improvements are ongoing on various streets.

Water and sewer improvements – This week on Forest Avenue the contractor prepared the roadway and placed the first layer of asphalt. Next the contractor will mill the intersections and pour concrete over the utility trenches. Parkway restoration and sprinkler repairs are in progress on Columbian Avenue. The contractor poured the remaining patches at the intersection of Columbian Avenue and Augusta Street earlier this week. All concrete work is complete on Iowa Street. The contractor returned Friday to mill the roadway in preparation for the final asphalt surface.

Bike boulevards – The contractor will be installing signs along the Lombard Avenue and Le Moyne Parkway corridors this week for the bike boulevard network. Work will follow with sign and signpost installations.

Bridge repairs – The contractor began the planned repairs on the Oak Park Avenue bridge on Wednesday. Crews started with sidewalk repairs and will continue with joint repairs. At least one side of the sidewalk and the CTA station will always remain accessible during this project. The repairs are planned to be completed no later than Oct. 15, weather permitting. The Oak Park Avenue bridge is the last bridge undergoing repairs as part of this project.

ComEd fiber installation – ComEd continues to progress on the installation of a fiber optic cable on Randolph Street between Oak Park Avenue and Chestnut Lane. Crews have completed the installation from Chestnut to Grove Avenue. All underground installation will be completed by the end of next week. Once the cable installation is complete the roadway will be resurfaced. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.

Sidewalk improvements – The contractor finalized all landscaping restoration and clean-up work this week at sidewalk improvement locations. Punch list work will follow, with a schedule still to be determined.