Roundabout back at center of conversation in Northfield

Northfield residents opposed to a planned roundabout as part of the long-awaited Happ Road improvements took their grievances to the Village Board Tuesday evening in the hopes of getting trustees to reconsider.

About 25 residents were in the audience of the Northfield Village Board’s regular meeting on Aug. 20, with 10 of them sharing their thoughts on the roundabout and how, they say, it will negatively impact neighboring businesses.

As previously reported by The Record, the second phase of Happ Road improvements will focus on the portion of the road through downtown Northfield – from Winnetka Avenue to Willow Road.

The biggest planned addition to Happ Road, which is a county road, is a roundabout located at the Orchard Lane intersection. To build the roadway feature, some nearby parking spaces used by local businesses must be removed.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Village President Greg Lungmus announced that the Village Board will be holding a special Committee of the Whole meeting, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11, that will be dedicated to the Happ Road project. He invited all Northfield residents to attend and to bring their questions.

The meeting is set to be held at Village Hall, but Lungmus said it may move to a larger location to accommodate a large crowd.

Opponents speak out

The public comment sections of both the regular Village Board meeting and the Committee of the Whole meeting were filled with opposition to the proposed roundabout.

Lisa Kelly, the owner of Peachtree Place, 303 N. Happ Road, said she and other business owners have struggled over the past few years with both the COVID-19 pandemic and now-completed construction on Willow Road.

She said, while there was federal assistance during the pandemic, she’s concerned that yet another road project will harm businesses further.

“We know you’ll make arrangements for different entrances (for parking) and all that, but it’s not the same,” Kelly said, adding that, when Willow Road was under construction, “I’ve had customers say to me, ‘I’m not coming back over there until that mess is straightened out.’”

Happ Road resident Fred Steinemann said the road gets busy when the Edens Expressway gets backed up and when New Trier High School is in session. He believes widening Happ will only make it worse.

Steinemann also suggested, if the Village does install a roundabout, they should do more to make the area safer for pedestrians.

“If you continue and proceed with the roundabout, I believe you’re going to need a footbridge to go from the east side to the west side…because of the flow of the traffic at certain hours of the day,” he said.

Alicia Bellar said a roundabout would hurt, not help, Northfield.

“(It will) turn Northfield into a grid of busy roads with too much traffic, too much asphalt, too few trees and not at all true to what Northfield’s community feel and personality has been for decades,” she said.

Other residents complained that they were visited by county officials who said they are going to take some of their land for the project.

Trustee Dinges: ‘We need to pump the brakes‘

The opponents may have found an ally in Trustee Barnaby Dinges, who was the only trustee to share his thoughts on the roundabout Tuesday.

Dinges said he has reviewed the project through the village-run website Happroad.com and was concerned that most Northfield residents have not had their voices heard. He noted that, in minutes from public meetings in 2016, that only about 40 residents attended.

He also questioned the safety reasoning behind the roundabout, as he said there are streets in Northfield that have more frequent accidents.

“People have reasonable questions about a big project that could change the look, feel and iteration of our downtown,” Dinges said, while also saying he feels the Village could have done a better job of outreach in 2016.

“I see us trustees as doctors about to perform a surgery, and it’s a significant activity and I guess I’m guided by the idea of do no harm,” he said. “And if you’re going to do something risky, is it worth the reward?”

Dinges said he believes the Village needs to slow down.

“I feel like we need to pump the brakes, learn more, listen more, and that’s where we’re at,” he said.

Why a roundabout?

In response to one resident’s question about why it was decided to pursue a roundabout, Village Manager Patrick Brennan gave a brief history.

Brennan said the proposed change was based on a committee’s recommendation. That committee included engineers and traffic experts, and Brennan said they reportedly concluded they would not design a road today that was designed the way Happ is.

“They had concerns over safety, pedestrian crossing, driver confusion as people are trying to merge into traffic,” he said. “And they worked around a consensus to what was the best approach to that. And it’s my understanding it was a joint recommendation from that group that started us down this path of a roundabout.”

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