Elmhurst Continues Downtown Stormwater Management Projects

Submitted by the City of Elmhurst

The City of Elmhurst is currently working on several projects in the downtown area that will help reduce storm water runoff and flooding. The goal of these projects is to create underground stormwater storage that will provide flood-reduction benefits.

In the most recent project, the City has temporarily closed the parking lot at the intersection of York Street and Robert Palmer Drive to allow for the installation of a StormTrap underground detention system. This concrete vault, measuring approximately 30’ x 69’ when complete, will provide approximately 0.21 acre-feet of stormwater detention. Following the installation of the stormwater detention system, the parking lot will be repaved with a new asphalt surface. Once opened, this parking lot will provide approximately forty-seven, 3-hour customer parking spaces available for shoppers to use when visiting the downtown stores.

Just north of this project, and west of York Road, is the Hahn Street project managed by Morningside Development. As part of the construction plans, Morningside Development recently completed the installation of a StormTrap stormwater detention system that will provide 0.17 acre-feet of stormwater detention.

On Addison Avenue, between First Street and Second Street, the City is nearing completion of the new Addison Street parking deck, which is providing 0.50 acre-feet of stormwater detention in an underground concrete vault below the first floor of the structure. In front of the parking deck, the City is reconstructing Addison Avenue and improving the streetscape features. As part of this project, the parking lanes on the east side of the street will be installed using permeable pavers. This will allow stormwater runoff to slowly infiltrate into the ground, slow the release into the stormwater system, and provide water quality benefits as well.

The City has done extensive studies on stormwater detention systems. The implementation of these systems will help to alleviate flooding conditions in the downtown area and downstream residential neighborhoods, by preventing overflow during heavy rain events.

For more information about the City of Elmhurst, please visit www.elmhurst.org.