Hospital's request to open Kirchoff Road exits stirs controversy

Arlington Heights leaders postponed at least until April 30 a decision on Northwest Community Hospital's controversial request to open two exits from its property to Kirchoff Road.

The issue has been simmering for at least a decade when it was decided that only emergency vehicles could use the two driveways on the north side of the hospital campus to exit. Two exits to Central Road on the south are the only legal ways to leave the campus.

About 200 people attended Monday night's village board meeting, many of them hospital employees, when trustees were scheduled to discuss the request. After about 10 spoke on each side of the issue, trustees decided village staff should create a list of options with pros and cons, possibly as soon as the April 30 committee-of-the-whole meeting.

Village President Arlene Mulder said she would contact the Illinois Department of Transportation to see what is possible as far as “traffic calming” on Kirchhoff. For example, planters in the middle of the street might keep drivers from using the middle turning lane to pass other vehicles, she said.

The issue has pitted neighborhoods against each other as residents fear added traffic on their streets or hope opening the exits would decrease cars in their area. Mulder said she is looking for a way to satisfy the needs of all parties.

But Bruce Crowther, president and chief executive officer of the hospital, said he does not think consensus is possible.

“I would never have consented to closing two of the four exits for a hospital of this size if I thought there was any risk of it being permanent,” said Crowther.

Comments from village trustees were split, with some saying they do not think the hospital has made a compelling case for opening the exits, and others saying a strong hospital — the village's largest employer — is important for the whole community.

Although village staff has not taken a position, Charles Witherington-Perkins, director of Planning & Community Development, said there is concern that the east driveway is so short that traffic could back up on Kirchoff Road or the campus if an exit were allowed there.

Pushed for an opinion by Trustee Carol Blackwood, who was chairman of the Plan Commission in 2001 when a hospital five-year plan was approved, Perkins said staff would like to consider opening the west exit for six or nine months to study the effects on traffic.

The hospital argues the current setup leads to problems when vehicles back up at the west Central Road exit at shift change. That can disrupt ambulances and others trying to reach the emergency room, officials said. The restriction is leading to a decline in lease renewals in the Busse Center for Specialty Medicine.

The hospital also contends that opening the Kirchoff Road exits would not put additional traffic on nearby residential streets such as Ridge Avenue because cars already go there after traveling east or west on Central.

The hospital agreed to the closure on a temporary basis while gaining approval for campus expansions, including the eight-story Busse office building, new patient care pavilion and two parking garages, said Nicholas S. Peppers, a Rosemont attorney representing the hospital. Studies show the fears of greatly increased traffic have not materialized, he added.

Hospital employee Cathleen Freels told the board that driving to her Arlington Heights home north of the hospital after work takes 10 extra minutes because she must go south to Central Road.

“It's so illogical to me to have to travel south when I have to travel north,” she said.

Peppers said the hospital would pay for such things as traffic signals or personnel to direct traffic if necessary.

Wayne Zahorski, who lives on Kirchoff Road, said the volume of traffic is not the issue. Rather, residents worry about safety issues caused by hospital employees driving out too fast and elderly patients who may be confused when exiting onto the busy street.

Other opponents said opening the exits would put additional traffic on Ridge, sending it past three schools and Pioneer Park.

Residents in the “triangle area” just east of the hospital hope that opening the exits would reduce “cut through” traffic in their neighborhood.

Trustee Norm Breyer noted a report from staff that showed most suburban hospitals have at least four or five entrances and exits, compared with Northwest's two.