Proposal would make trail safer

Over the years, DuPage County has invested many millions of dollars in developing, improving and extending an excellent trail network. It recently invested a lot of staff time engaging trail users asking them about the trails and how to improve them. The top concern stated was to improve the safety at street crossings.

A very dangerous street crossing at the Great Western Trail and County Farm Road should be the top priority for improvement. The GWT connects with the Timber Ridge trail on the west side of County Farm Road and leads to the increasingly popular Kline Creek Farm visitors center. The Friends of the Great Western Trails have been asking for a safer crossing.

Recently an engineer with DuPage County's Division of Transportation has said no safety improvements are needed. We disagree and believe that we need to use all the resources and ideas available to solve this problem.

It's no surprise to us that a member of the DuPage County Board that has dedicated his life to public safety has come up with an excellent idea to help not only trail users but many local residents get across the very busy County Farm Road. At the Jan. 25 meeting of the County Board, Greg Schwarze from District 6 proposed that the county look into installing traffic lights on County Farm Road at the intersection of Hawthorne/Timber Creek Drives.

This intersection is immediately south of the Great Western Trail crossing and the traffic signals would not only help the hundreds of residents living off of Hawthorne and Timber Creek but slow down traffic to make the trail crossing safer.

Thank you to Schwarze for his excellent proposal.

We look forward to having the DuPage County Division of Transportation begin working on his idea and making the dangerous trail crossing safer.

Don Kirchenberg, Voluntary Chairman

Friends of the Great Western Trails