Buffalo Grove eases traffic restrictions near Lake-Cook Road
Buffalo Grove officials hope that the widening of Lake-Cook Road, scheduled to begin in 2016, will relieve traffic congestion through the village, especially during the evening rush hour.
Until the widening occurs, however, the village has enacted a number of stopgap remedies to address traffic in the area, including turning restrictions on nearby roads to discourage their use as cut-throughs by drivers.
The village board has eased some of those measures this year, most recently Monday night when trustees voted to lift restrictions that previously prevented eastbound traffic on Armstrong Drive to turn left onto Lexington Drive, and southbound traffic on Lexington to turn right onto Armstrong.
The changes are in part the result of requests by business owners and workers in that part of the village.
“I don't believe we're going to satisfy everyone, no matter what we do,” said Village Manager Dane Bragg, adding that Monday's solution seems to be “the happiest medium we can achieve at this point.”
Some drivers headed westbound into Buffalo Grove on Lake-Cook Road try to avoid congestion by turning right onto Hastings Lane and then left onto westbound Armstrong as a cut-through to reach Weiland Road. The village board has been attacking the problem for years by restricting turning movements at Armstrong and Lexington.
In January, the village board eased those restrictions by limiting them to weekdays between 4 and 7 p.m., the main problem period.
The village's actions generated extensive comments from commuters, businesses and residents, said Village Engineer Darren Monico.
Monico said staff has been working with a few of the owners in the nearby business park and employees, who asked that the restrictions be removed for the right turn from Lexington onto Armstrong and the left turn from Armstrong onto Lexington.
“This is not an easy topic,” Monico said. “There doesn't seem to be a real good solution on all sides.”
Police Chief Steven Casstevens said officers have engaged in a variety of education and enforcement campaigns in the area, including using a message board trailer for several weeks explaining the turning restrictions, and issuing close to 1,000 warning tickets. One week, he said, officers handed out 500 informational pamphlets during the 4-7 p.m. period.
“We have seen just from our perspective a reduction of the violations,” he said.
The village board approved the changes unanimously.
“I'm not a big fan of traffic restrictions,” Trustee Michael Terson said. “There are plenty of other streets in the village where we have the same issue but we don't restrict the traffic.”