Park Ridge considers signs, warning lights for risky intersection; staff says stoplight not warranted
Park Ridge aldermen again confronted the issue of speeding traffic and pedestrian safety at Glenview Avenue and Northwest Highway after residents requested the city address their concerns about possible accidents and uncooperative motorists at the intersection.
Aldermen heard a number of possible ways to improve pedestrian safety at the crosswalk at a Committee of the Whole meeting July 10. The crosswalk is in front of Northwest Park and close to Park Ridge-Niles School District 64′s Franklin Elementary School.
A memo from Public Works Director Sarah Mitchell to council members included options to relocate the crosswalk, restrict turning or through movements, install additional signage or warning lights, removing the crosswalk and increasing law enforcement in that area.
Of those options, Mitchell said staff would recommend that aldermen consider removing the crosswalk, boosting law enforcement and installing pedestrian warning signage at the intersection.
Mitchell said the intersection does not meet the criteria that would prompt the city to install a stoplight.
After almost an hour of discussion, aldermen said city staff should proceed with increasing signage at the crosswalk. Several also said they would support increasing police presence in the area to ensure that drivers comply with state law and allow pedestrians to cross the road.
Some were dissatisfied with the options or questioned how effective they would be once implemented.
“My concern is that we’re going to put signs up that people aren’t obeying to begin with,” 6th Ward Alderman Rick Biagi said.
1st Ward Alderman John Moran said he saw putting up more signs as a first step and gestured at the idea of increasing traffic enforcement overall around the city.
“If this is something that’s (happening) around town then maybe at budget time we need to talk about having another traffic officer,” he said.
Tom and Elana Cepa, the residents who have organized much of the public comment meant to push the city to make changes in the area, were also skeptical of how effective the changes would be.
“I don’t know what sign you’re presenting that’s going to be any different than what’s out there already,” Elana Cepa said.
The intersection has an unusual shape because Glenview Avenue jogs at that point, and motorists on Glenview Avenue do not have a straight shot across Northwest Highway if they want to continue on Glenview Avenue. They have to make a slight turn in addition to crossing a busy road.
Aldermen also suggested a few more out-of-the-box options for improving traffic safety at the crosswalk. 3rd Ward Alderman Kelly Lawrence brought up increasing the visibility of the crosswalk by painting it a different color, saying she’d seen neighboring Niles paint some of its crosswalks turquoise.
2nd Ward Alderman Fred Sanchez said he wanted to see more consideration for some of the options staff hadn’t recommended like moving the crossing.
“I think we have to look at some of the things we can control and one of those things is the location of the crosswalk, changing traffic flows,” he said.
Northwest Highway is a state-owned road, meaning that the city would need to get approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation to make a number of the changes aldermen discussed.
The report for aldermen stated that public works staff had observed gaps in traffic at the intersection. The memo states that pedestrians should wait for traffic to be clear in both directions on the road before crossing.
