Galusha Road Public Input Meeting

I attended the public information and input meeting for the plans to build a multi-use trail along Galusha Road (Download PDF), between Herrick and Winfield Roads. The meeting was well attended by many of the homeowners from along Galusha road and the nearby area.

The meeting was hosted by Community Development Director Ron Mentzer and public works Superintendant Mike Smith (who was recently honored at a city council meeting for 25 years of service to the city of Warrenville.) Also in attendance were city council members Matthew Wiesbrock (Ward 3, includes the affected area) and Clare Berry (Ward 4), along with Mayor Brummel.

As one resident pointed out, the fate of this project, and their properties, will be decided by the city council, and it would have been nice to see a better turnout by the city council members to hear the public input. (I may have just not seen them though)

The city has had the intent to build some form of pathway there since a comprehensive plan was drawn up in 1985. The project has remained high on the priority list of projects, but due to budget restraints hasn’t been a real possibility until now. There is a six million dollar general city fund that would finance the estimated one-million dollar pathway project.

With the new Hubble Middle school being built nearby, this pathway would give students walking to school a safe path. In fact, the city may be able to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant from the state to help offset construction costs if it meets certain requirements.

The proposed plan is to put am eight or ten foot wide concrete path on the South side of Galusha Road. An alternative is to put the path on the North side, which would require getting an easement from the DuPage Forest Preserve. This would also force people to cross Galusha, but would have less of an impact on the homeowners along Galusha Road.

A lot of concerns were addressed, such as new storms sewers that would need to be installed, the path crossing people’s driveways, the safety of walkers or bikers using the path, long term maintenance costs, the need to move utility poles, etc.

My impression was that the most favored option would be to put a 5 (ADA requirement) foot pathway/sidewalk along the North side of Galusha Road made of Limestone screenings, like the Prairie Path that runs through Warrenville. Also there was a positive response to the idea of making it a curvy road to discourage high speed biking and make it more scenic, as well as safer.

I was just mainly listening, but I almost spoke up when the issue of property values came up. In my opinion, it would be much easier to market a home having that has a flat pathway to the new Hubble Middle School and Herrick Lake, as opposed to having a drainage ditch along the side of the road, which is hard to maintain and landscape, and collects garbage.

It’ll be interesting to see if this project moves forward what the end result will actually be. I do commend the city planners for seeking the feedback of the public, and those whose properties will be affected, and to the citizens for turning out in force to raise their concerns. It’s just further proof that Warrenville is a great place to live!

Down the Husky Highway

Just a quick Follow-up... The students of Hubble Middle School chose "Husky Highway" as the name of the new street going into the new school building.

Ivory Billed Woodpecker Sighting in Glen Ellyn

Well, at least the skin & feathers of one that was taken as a specimen about 120 years ago!

The DuPage Birding Club welcomed Doug Stotz who gave a very entertaining and informative talk on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, and the controversy surrounding its recent sightings in Arkansas and Florida.

The club itself is not that different from the Kane County Audubon Society I blogged about prior to this. (It was a bit funny to have back-to-back birding cub meetings!) They meet at the IIT Rice Campus in Glen Ellyn, nearby Butterfield & Naperville Road. The club has about 200 members, mostly over 50 (but a wide age range) and there was probably around 60-75 people at the meeting.

If you don’t know the story, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was last seen in the wild in the U.S. in 1944, and was thought to be extinct as a result of massive logging and deforestation of their habitat.

Around the year 2000 there were some unconfirmed sighting reports, and some audio evidence was collected in 2002 in the Pearl River region in Louisiana. Then in 2004, a reported sighting was considered credible enough that a team from Cornell University conducted a more exhaustive search.

During this search there were more sightings, and even some video evidence. Not since the Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination has a piece of video been as closely scrutinized, and caused so much debate. What you see in the video is a large, blurry woodpecker flying away from the camera.



There is evidence that can be used for both sides of the argument, that this was an Ivory Billed Woodpecker, or just a Pileated Woodpecker, which is very similar, and definitely NOT extinct!

Doug, who is in the “It was an ivory-billed” camp, gave both sides of the argument, and had specimens of both Ivory-Billed and Pileated woodpeckers from the Field Museum for comparison. I have to admit, even though it was just a specimen, it was pretty cool to see this bird up close!

One for the Birds - Kane County Audubon Society

Growing up on the “East Side” of Chicago.. (103rd & Ewing) I didn’t see a lot of birds growing up. Well, I did see a lot of birds, but they were mostly sparrows. Little brown birds… and they all looked the same to me at the time anyway. We had a very small yard, and not much in the way of trees. In fact, between the sidewalk and the street was Chicago’s infamous “Green cement”.

When my family moved to the south suburbs, to a house with a big yard and trees, I started to notice a much wider variety of birds (They aren’t all just brown after all!). Once I put up my first feeder I was hooked!

I’d say for the last five years or so, I’d say I consider myself a “birdwatcher” or “birder”. I have a bunch of feeders up at my house, and in the summer I get up to around a dozen feeders. I do my best to keep them all full while, all while waging a (losing) battle against the squirrels.

My official life-list is at 51 birds. I’ve seen far more than that, but this list is strictly the birds I have positively identified.

Since I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not really seeing many new “back yard birds” I said this year I was going to get out looking more often. There’s a couple nature & birding clubs in the area I wanted to check out, and last night I went to my first meeting of the Kane County Audubon Society at Peck Farm Park in Geneva.

Joined by about forty or so other birders and nature enthusiasts, everyone reported on first sightings of spring birds they’ve seen, and where the action was at some local hotspots.

We also got an update on the Great Horned Owls at the Third Street Courthouse in Geneva. This is the fourth year they have nested there. Unfortunately, just over a week ago the one owlet in the nest fell into a window well at the courthouse.

Through great effort by members of the Kane County Audubon Society, they were able to get animal control and someone from the courthouse to help (no easy task on a Saturday!). The little guy (or gal, too young to tell) was rescued, and moved safely to the roof of the courthouse building by animal control.

The latest reports are that the owl has been spotted in nearby trees and appears to be doing just fine!

It’ll be nice to get out with some more experienced birders to see some new birdies this year. The club does official planned outings as well as some impromptu get-togethers to go out walking and watching.

Hubble Students Get Chance to Name Road

Interesting tidbit that came out of the Warrenville City Council meeting I attended last night at Warrenville City Hall…

Aside from the amusement of watching Mayor Brummel try to get a consensus on the name of the road that will lead into the new Hubble Middle School for District 200 students, an idea was raised to let the students themselves have a chance at coming up with the name.

Galaxy Drive, Hubble Lane, Edwin Hubble Lane, Husky Drive were all discussed, and the plan was to have students supply a short list of names to the city council so they could be OK'd with the police and fire departments, then let the students vote on the new name.

The details still need to be worked out by the school, but I thought this was a great idea. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for "Edwin Hubble Lane" because it honors the namesake of the school, and it'll stop people from asking why the school was named after a telescope!