Rolling Meadows hopes to slow Owl Drive speeders

Slowing speeders on Owl Drive could prove costly, Rolling Meadows officials said Tuesday.

Police Chief Dave Scanlan told city aldermen speeding complaints in neighborhoods are “the biggest thorn in our side... we don’t have enough officers to cover it.”

Most of the people who speed through the neighborhood around Owl Drive are residents themselves — sometimes even the very people who have complained, he said.

In hopes of slowing speeders, aldermen Tuesday discussed purchasing speed display boards — flashing signs that warn drivers how fast they are going — for the roadway. But at a cost of $4,000 to $5,000, officials say they also will consider less expensive options such as speed humps and speed tables.

The speed display boards would ideally be semi-permanent, located northbound and southbound on Owl Drive. They would most likely have to be turned off at night to ward off resident complaints and discourage young drivers from speeding past them for fun, Scanlan said.

Speed control measures for Owl Drive are not currently in the city’s 2011 budget. The council will revisit the issue at its July committee of the whole meeting.