Batavia to talk about crosswalk safety worries
Flashing yellow lights and painted crosswalks were supposed to help Batavians cross four-lane Batavia Avenue (Route 31) more safely, after the state installed them in 2015.
City officials are now questioning that, saying drivers are ignoring the pedestrian-activated lights, and that pedestrians may be falsely assuming drivers are going to stop for them.
They are to discuss the issue at their committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 100 N. Island Ave., and have urged the public to weigh in.
Before the meeting aldermen are expected to take a walking tour of downtown.
The flashing beacons and striped crosswalks were installed at crossings at McKee Street, Union Avenue and Millview Drive. Others were installed along Route 25, but there have been few concerns, because Route 25 is a two-lane road.
The issue came to a head June 6 when two youths were hit at the McKee crossing. The driver was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
One option is to press the Illinois Department of Transportation to allow a pedestrian-activated flashing red signal, since drivers have to stop for flashing reds.
Mayor Jeff Schielke said he has discussed those signals with the state's transportation secretary. He was told the state is concerned that if there isn't a yellow transition signal, drivers will slam on their brakes for the red, which could cause rear-end crashes.
When Mount Prospect officials asked for such a signal, in the wake of a woman being killed at a similar crosswalk last year, the state said their intersection wasn't eligible because it was within 100 feet of an intersection controlled by a stop or yield sign.
The woman was crossing a four-lane road. The driver in the curbside lane stopped, but one in the inside lane did not.
Another option would be making the flashing yellow an overhead signal, according to a city staff memo on the issue.
Batavia has gone so far as to make a six-minute video, posted on YouTube and played on public-access television, teaching people how to cross at various crosswalks on Route 31 and on Wilson Street. The main point: It is up to pedestrians to make sure drivers are stopped before they start crossing any lane of traffic.