Villa Park approves stop signs near school

Willowbrook High School students and other drivers along Ardmore Avenue in Villa Park will find something new on their Monday morning commute.

The Villa Park village board unanimously voted this week to place stop signs on Ardmore Avenue at both High Ridge and Riordon roads near the high school to help reduce rush-hour congestion.

Village Manager Robert Niemann said the ordinance follows a recommendation by the village's traffic and safety commission. Drivers will now face a three-way stop at Ardmore and High Ridge and a four-way stop at Ardmore and Riordon.

The signs can remain in place until a stoplight is placed at Ardmore and High Ridge as a more permanent solution.

"The (DuPage) Mayors and Managers (Conference) said they can start engineering for a stoplight, but it's probably a year out," Niemann said.

Police will be stationed in the area Monday to help enforce the changes.

Deputy Police Chief Mark Johnson, who is also president of the District 88 school board, said the stop signs are a worthwhile experiment until the stoplight arrives,

"There are people who are very confident that this will temporarily solve the situation," Johnson said. "We will let it run its course and see how it goes. It would be foolish not to try it."

Johnson said delays along Ardmore are not caused strictly by school traffic. He noted a study that found congestion is worst around 5 p.m., long after school is out.

Still, Johnson said the school board will consider ways to ease traffic when construction work begins at Willowbrook. The work will be funded by a tax increase approved by voters last spring.

Johnson said these funds cannot be used to improve the roads or install stoplights and are strictly regulated to building improvements. But they might help once a traffic signal is installed at Ardmore and High Ridge.

"We will also be looking at ways to, if possible, restructure the traffic flow to take advantage of the stoplight," he said.