Algonquin mayor said answer to heavy traffic not a stop sign

Algonquin officials say they're doing their best to ease traffic on Eineke Boulevard.

But some residents from the nearby Grand Reserve subdivision that borders the road say it's just not good enough and want results right now.

Through a petition, 32 residents of the 55-and-older development are demanding that officials make it a one-way street, exclude all but local traffic, ban trucks from crossing it, close the street or install stop signs - ideas Village President John Schmitt has already said are not an option, given Eineke Boulevard is a public road.

"The street doesn't belong to individuals, it belongs to the community," Schmitt said. "For that reason, we can't close the street."

For the second time in as many months, Grand Reserve residents - 10 in all - attended last week's village board meeting to make their case.

This time, they brought a 71-hour survey from the police department that detailed traffic activity along the boulevard.

The results, says resident Patricia Zelko, who obtained the documents through the Freedom of Information Act, proves the traffic situation in her words is "ridiculous," "outrageous" and "horrendous."

Police conducted the survey between July 19 and July 21. It says 3,119 vehicles traveled along Eineke Boulevard during that time.

During peak hours, vehicles were traveling between 25 and 31 mph, the study shows - the average speed is 27 mph.

In the end, police issued a total of 45 citations during the three-day period.

While an angry Zelko praised the police work going on in her community, she called on trustees to take residents' issues seriously.

"We are giving each of you a copy of the reports so that you can see for yourselves we need help," Zelko said from a prepared statement. "We need it quickly before there's a tragedy."

Resident Marilyn Teresi said her neighbors only want the same speedy response officials gave to people in the Willoughby Farms subdivision when they raised concerns about excessive noise and light coming from the Brunswick Zone XL. In that case, village officials met with the store's manager who readily agreed to solve the problem.

"What about our quality of life living on this highway?" Teresi asked.

Motorists have been using Eineke Boulevard as a cut through to avoid ongoing construction, primarily on Harnish Road.

That work is completed, but now an unfinished Frontage Road between the new JC Penney store and Wal-Mart is contributing to some of the development's traffic woes, Village Manager Bill Ganek said.

The street is expected to be finished by September and residents should see a decline in traffic volume, he said.

But residents complain school buses from Community Unit District 300 continue to use Eineke Boulevard as an alternate route - even after school officials promised Schmitt they wouldn't, once Harnish Road was complete.

"So I will follow up with that personally," Schmitt said.

District officials could not be reached for comment.

While there is no quick fix to the complicated traffic issues that are a symptom of regional transportation problems, Schmitt says he's not ignoring them.

Traffic hasn't reached dangerous levels on the boulevard or become a safety hazard, said Schmitt, pointing to residents on Bunker Hill Drive who see 3,000 vehicles daily.

Nonetheless, police will continue to patrol the boulevard and next week will install a speed monitor to let drivers know how fast they're going.

Volume and speed have already dropped on the boulevard and these measures, coupled with ongoing school district discussions, should keep those figures dropping, Schmitt said.

"We're on their side," Schmitt said after the meeting. "We're expending funds and we're expending resources. We really want to make things go away and the answer is not just a stop sign."