Can't stop traffic; rather, control it

In March 2008, after hearing news about the Towne Center project in St. Charles, I wrote to City Administrator Brian Townsend to express concerns about traffic. I heard back immediately and received a generous offer to meet with two of the city's civil engineers.

In that meeting, the data we reviewed confirmed estimates reported in the Daily Herald Jan. 7 projecting increased congestion along Prairie Street. The city planners also shared information about St. Charles' Traffic Calming Policy, which allows residents to petition the city to study vehicle speeds within a designated area and, if necessary, install traffic calming measures.

As a parent and homeowner living near Prairie and 13th Streets, I share the concerns recently voiced by my neighbors. Now that the plan commissioners have sent proposals back to the drawing board, I think it's important for people in the community to think clearly about our expectations.

The city's official policy is not to deter traffic on public streets but rather to ensure vehicles are traveling at a safe speed. If the Towne Center project goes forward, increased traffic will be unavoidable. Traffic lights, turning lanes, and medians may help deter congestion but no solution will keep cars off the roads.

Therefore, our challenge is to envision and bring about an urban landscape that is pedestrian and family-friendly. A development plan focused on this objective should include broad use of traffic calming measures on local streets, installation or improvements of sidewalks and crosswalks where necessary, and strict enforcement of speed limits.

The only other solution is to leave the old mall site vacant. I would not support that, but I do believe that homeowners should press the city to be aggressive in instituting reasonable measures to redress the quality-of-life issues that will necessarily accompany growth and development.

Brian Doyle

St. Charles