Des Plaines residents have say in reducing speeding in neighborhoods
Des Plaines residents now have more of a say in reducing speeding in their neighborhoods through traffic calming measures such as widening curbs, narrowing streets, and adding speed humps, city officials said.
The city council recently voted 7-1 approving a Neighborhood Traffic Management policy that spells out a petition process for residents to get city staff to study speeding concerns in their neighborhood, and devise a plan to address it.
Ward 5 Alderman James Brookman, who cast the lone "no" vote, said he disagreed with most everything in the policy, especially the idea of allowing speed humps.
"I think this is a bad idea," Brookman said. "There are problems all through this policy, but I guess, fundamentally what I feel is streets should be smooth and flat, and as wide as they can be."
Brookman said narrowing streets would make it dangerous for people riding bicycles because they would be pushed closer to passing vehicles. He added that speed humps would severely impact the police and fire departments' ability to respond to emergencies quickly.
"You could end up permanently injuring a firefighter by putting in these speed humps," Brookman said. "I'd much rather see speed monitoring, stronger enforcement by the police department - spend our monies there rather than creating this incredible mess."
City officials stressed speed humps would only be used as a last resort because of concerns that they could slow down emergency vehicles and snow plows, and could divert traffic onto other streets.
"That's the most obtrusive installation we can do," said Tim Oakley, director of public works and engineering. "We would look at striping and signage first."
Speed humps would not be allowed on any arterial or collector streets, truck routes, next to hospitals, on CTA or PACE bus routes, or snow routes, according to the policy.
The policy was developed after a group of Ward 3 residents along Carol Lane petitioned to get speed humps to slow traffic on their street.
"Often residents will come to the city with requests for speed humps because that's the most familiar measure that they have seen," said Derek Peebles, chairman of the Staff Traffic Advisory Committee. "They need to be very carefully designed."
Des Plaines' policy is modeled after what other towns in the area and throughout the country have done, he added.
Under the new policy, 65 percent of residents on an affected block must petition the city manager's office to have a traffic study done. That would involve a site review by the engineering and public works staff who would also gather speed, volume, and crash history data.
City engineers would then determine the best solution for the traffic concerns in that neighborhood, offering residents a range of options, Ward 3 Alderman Matt Bogusz said.
"It's (the policy) a way for us to thoughtfully approach a problem that has really consumed many cities," Bogusz said. "Mount Prospect is removing speed humps that they put in because they were not thoughtful in the beginning."
The city would fund the traffic study, design and management of a project, which could include anything from signage to traffic circles, but residents would pay for the construction of traffic calming devices through a special service area tax.