There was a large turnout Tuesday at the Community Recreation Center for the first in a series of public information sessions the Village is hosting about the proposed changes to Oak Park’s zoning code. Oak Park residents are invited to ask questions and submit their feedback at any of four Shape Oak Park public information sessions taking place this weekend. The project team will be out this Saturday, Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Oak Park Farmers’ Market and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Village Hall, which is an updated location intended to better accommodate a bigger crowd. On Sunday, Sept. 20 the project team will be at the Oak Park Conservatory from 10 a.m. to noon and Brookdale Oak Park from 1 to 3 p.m. Anyone who is unable to attend an in-person event can take part in a virtual public engagement session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 – click here to register. Residents can also submit questions and feedback using the Village’s Zoning Comparison Tool. 

The Oak Park Farmers' Market’s annual Pie Bake-Off will be held from about 9:30 to 11 a.m. this Saturday, Sept. 19 in the Pilgrim Church parking lot at 460 Lake St. A panel of judges will choose a first, second and third-place winner from this year’s entrants. To top it off, samples of pie will be given away to Market visitors after the contest on a first-come, first-served basis. The Farmers’ Market takes place from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Nov. 14. For more information about the Market, visit www.oak-park.us/farmersmarket.

The Public Health Department returned to BarrieFest this year along with several other Village departments and Oak Park organizations to enjoy late-summer sunshine, food and community. Health Department staff this year focused on bike and e-ride safety. The Nursing and Health Education divisions distributed more than 100 free bike helmets to attendees, along with information for parents about new e-ride regulations at the local and state level. The Public Health Department partnered with Bike Walk Oak Park to talk with adults and kids alike about riding bikes safely in Oak Park and quizzed participants on the rules of the road. The Public Health Nurse also provided blood pressure and glucose screenings for adults, along with take-home COVID and flu tests to prepare for respiratory virus season. Click here for more photos from BarrieFest taken by Media Production Manager Joe Kreml. 

The Public Health Department, in collaboration with the American Red Cross, hosted a successful blood drive this past Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Village Hall. A total of 51 people donated blood at the drive, providing the potential to provide more than 150 patients lifesaving care. Health officials extend a thank you to everyone who volunteered and donated to make this blood drive a success! The Fire Department is hosting a blood drive in conjunction with its annual open house from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the main fire station – click here to register to donate.

The Village's Parking & Mobility Services team joined communities around the globe in participating in Park(ing) Day on Friday by transforming on-street spaces into temporary green spaces while advocating for safer, greener, more equitable streets. Space on the 1100 block of Westgate St. just west of Marion Street in Downtown Oak Park was repurposed into a temporary, park-like community gathering spot for children and families with this year's theme of “Art and Play.” Members of the community who stopped by were able to enjoy refreshments, music, activities, giveaways and more throughout the day. 

The Village issued a film permit for commercial production activities at 224 N. Elmwood Ave. for Home Run Inn Pizza. Filming took place this Thursday, Sept. 17. There was minimal impact to surrounding businesses and traffic while production staff was on site.

The Police Department welcomed two new employees to fill key positions this week. Rodney Hill was sworn in as a Commander during a ceremony Monday in Council Chambers. He is a seasoned law enforcement professional with 34 years of experience dedicated to strengthening community trust and public safety. He rose through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department to retire as Commander of Area Detective Division. He also previously served as the Commander of Chicago’s Englewood District. His career has been defined by building meaningful relationships with residents, faith‑based organizations, civic partners and political leaders, ensuring collaborative problem‑solving and responsive policing. Meanwhile, Nia Lackland joined the Police Department as its new Community Engagement Manager. Throughout her career, Nia has worked in communications, digital media, photography, videography, public relations and community engagement, developing public-facing content and using storytelling to inform and connect with diverse communities. She graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a degree in Mass Communication.

Oak Parkers are invited to safely dispose of sensitive documents and foam products with the No. 6 symbol at a free paper shredding and foam recycling event scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd. Residents will be able to drop off foam products with the No. 6 symbol, which are not accepted as part of the Village's single-stream recycling program. Please collect foam products in a clear, translucent bag. For paper shredding, each household can bring two bags or small boxes of paper items with personal information such as canceled checks and documents containing credit card numbers, social security numbers and medical information. The Village also now offers paper shredding drop-off bins at the Public Works Center at Village Hall. More information is at www.oak-park.us/shredding426.

The community is invited to join the Village and Oak Park Public Library for Kitchen to Compost: A Food Waste Awareness Forum from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in the Veterans Room at the Oak Park Public Library. Hear from local experts about the impact of food waste, what our community is doing to combat these issues and find out more about what you can do to help. Light vegan refreshments will be available. Anyone planning to attend is encouraged to register via the Library website – click here to register.

With Hispanic Heritage Month underway, the Village is counting down to Oak Park’s ¡Viva! Festival planned for Saturday, Oct. 10. The outdoor event features fun for the while family and will take from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the south lawn at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. The festivities include food, entertainment, activities for kids and much more. Visit www.oak-park.us/VivaFest for the latest information about the Village’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

As part of the Village’s commitment to enhancing traffic safety in Oak Park, 25 rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) have been installed at select locations throughout the community. This includes several RRFBs installed this summer along with other traffic calming treatments such as traffic diverters and speed cushions. Assistant Village Engineer Chris Welch recently worked with Media Production Manager Joe Kreml to produce a video with information about RRFBs, which are signs with flashing lights activated by pedestrians pressing a button. Click here to view the video.

Resurfacing project – The first layer of asphalt pavement will be placed within the next few days on Forest Avenue between Le Moyne Parkway and North Avenue, Lombard Avenue between Iowa Street and Division Street, both Iowa locations, Scoville Avenue between Washington Boulevard and South Boulevard and on Randolph Street between East Avenue and Scoville. The contractor also plans to pave the final layer of asphalt surface on Erie Street between Elmwood Avenue and Taylor Avenue and at Van Buren Street between East Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue within the next week. Other project updates include:

• The underground contractor will be continuing to work on the sewer point repairs on Euclid Avenue between Division and Greenfield Street and along Augusta Street between Harlem Avenue and Oak Park Avenue.
• Concrete removals will begin on Wesley Avenue between Roosevelt Road and Fillmore Street, Harvard Street between Taylor and Austin Boulevard and at Humphrey Avenue between Roosevelt and Harvard. The removals contractor will also be finishing up work at Carpenter Avenue between Harrison Street and Madison Street and Monroe Street near Harlem, with framing and new concrete placement following shortly behind.
• Rectangular rapid flashing beacons will be installed at the Augusta/Marion Street intersection and the Augusta/Kenilworth Avenue intersections within the next week.

Renew the Avenue project – The roadway excavation crew will finish excavation and placement of the new aggregate base on the north block of Oak Park Avenue between North Boulevard and Lake Street this week. The crew will be back later next week to start structural soil excavation and placement along the north block. The concrete crew was also onsite this week to frame the concrete roadway base on the north block. The crew will pour the new concrete base next week weather permitting. Other Renew the Avenue project updates include:

• The electrical conduit and mast arm foundation installation continued along South Boulevard this week. The electrical crew will head to the north block to install conduit and light pole foundations next week once the concrete roadway base is installed.
• Brick paver installation will continue on the south block between Pleasant Street and South Boulevard for the next two weeks. The crews are focusing on the sidewalks first and then will move to the roadway bricks.
• AT&T has completed installation of its last communication manhole at the corner of North Boulevard and Oak Park Avenue and has demobilized from the site. Nicor’s restoration contractor will be onsite the next few weeks along North Boulevard and the alley west of Oak Park Avenue restoring concrete alley pavement and sidewalks that were damaged during new gas main installation earlier this year.

Water and sewer project – All underground utility work on the 1000 and 1100 blocks of S. Scoville Ave. is complete. The contractor will now begin removing sidewalks, curb and the existing roadway surface this week in preparation for concrete placement. The contractor also completed all water service replacements on the 1100 and 1200 blocks of N. Euclid Ave. this week. The new water main on Euclid was connected to the water main on North Avenue late this week and a new valve was installed. Next Tuesday, all water main work on the project will be completed following the installation of a fire hydrant and valve on Greenfield Street. Afterwards, the contractor will begin on sidewalk, curb and roadway work along Euclid.

Sidewalk project – The sidewalk angle cutting contractor started its work this past week. This will continue for 3-4 weeks as the crew has about 1,700 public sidewalk angle cuts to complete.

Pavement preservation project – The contractor anticipates starting pavement patching early next week. Crews will start at the north end of town at predetermined locations and progress south. Patches on Austin Boulevard will tentatively start late next week. No Parking signs will be posted 48 hours in advance of work with minor traffic delays expected.

Bike boulevards project – Pavement marking installations continued Friday on Van Buren Street and Harvard Street, with the installation of bike symbols on the roadway. Beginning next week, crews are expected to start installing the thermoplastic pavement markings for the lane and edge striping associated with the bike lanes. Weather and field conditions permitting, all thermoplastic pavement markings are expected to be completed by next week, with the green and beige pavement markings to follow. Motorists should remain alert for crews and temporary traffic impacts while work is underway.

Oak Park residents are invited to Day in Our Data, a one-day civic hackathon sponsored by the Village’s Civic Information Systems Commission. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 in the meeting room at the Dole Branch Library, 255 Augusta St. Participants will explore Village data, working in teams to create useful tools, websites, maps and visualizations. Potential projects include mapping safe biking routes to schools, finding patterns in crime data or visualizing changes in Oak Park housing affordability. The day will begin with project pitches and team formation, followed by collaborative work sessions and brief demonstrations. Pizza and snacks will be provided. All residents interested in local government, technology, data or community problem solving are encouraged to participate – click here to register.

Blackberry Market celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, Sept. 15 at its new location at 905 S. Lombard Ave. in the Oak Park Arts District. Patrons were able to get free drip coffee and mini bakery treats while supplies lasted as Oak Park celebrated this new addition to the local business community.