Algonquin police try to slow speeders

Don't even think about speeding on Eineke Boulevard.

If you do, get ready to pony up $75 for the ticket you're likely to get.

That's the gist of the message on a flier Algonquin police will begin handing out to motorists traveling along the 25 mph road within two weeks.

Another flier with photographs of people killed in traffic accidents that involved excessive speed also will be passed out to residents and high school students, said Sgt. Wade Merritt, who is in charge of the village's traffic patrol.

As part of the public service, police also will pass the fliers out to driving-age students at Jacobs High School.

These measures are part of an ongoing campaign to curb traffic on Eineke Boulevard, home to the Grand Reserve age-restricted subdivision, Merritt said Tuesday.

Police will continue patrolling the street, this time using "phantom patrols," in which a police car is put out without an officer in it and "wolf packs," groups of four officers.

Last week, 10 residents from the 55 and older complex complained to board members for the second time in as many months about ongoing traffic issues in their community, presented a petition with 32 signatures and called on trustees to take their concerns seriously, pointing to a traffic study that showed about 3,119 vehicles used the road during a 71-hour time period between July 19 and 21.

The residents, who have dubbed Eineke Boulevard "Randall Road 2," are calling on officials to close the road off to truck traffic, make it a one-way street, close it off or put a stop sign there.

But Merritt said traffic studies done on the road don't suggest that any of those things are necessary. Most vehicles are within the 25 mph speed limit and less than 1 percent of the total volume includes trucks, Merritt said. Police, instead, are committed to trying a variety of different things, including the public service announcements, to reduce speeding and traffic, he said.

As part of the strategy, village attorney Kelly Cahill promised to look into additional weight restrictions on the street that would translate into less truck traffic.

Trustees and Village Manager William Ganek will also make sure that no more than five to 10 school buses daily from Community Unit District 300 use the boulevard as a cut-through.

"We've got to show them we're serious," Trustee Robert Smith said.

The traffic should subside once Frontage Road between J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart is completed in September and when construction on Harnish Road concludes in November, Ganek said.

No one from Grand Reserve was in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.

Marilyn Teresi, one of the residents who addressed the board last week, could not be reached Tuesday night for comment.

Merritt expects to release another traffic study on the road within the next six weeks.