‘At wits’ end’: Naperville man pleads for help in keeping cars from crashing into his backyard

Ryan Daly and his family just want to enjoy their backyard without wondering if a car will come crashing through their fence.

In the last 31 months, four cars have crashed into his Naperville yard, which backs up to the T-intersection at Washington Street and Naper Boulevard. The last accident was on a foggy Dec. 23 night when a car knocked down the traffic signal and a panel of Ryan’s fence.

“We’re kind of at our wits’ end about what we can do about it,” Daly told Naperville council members this week.

Daly spoke to council members, pleading for help. Though the city has made various improvements — including signs as drivers on Washington head into the curb, raised reflective road markings and improvements to traffic signals — the accidents keep happening. On Tuesday, Daly asked city council members to look into the possibility of a roundabout at the intersection.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Daly said this week after council members agreed to a study.

According to an engineer’s report, there were 33 crashes within 500 feet of the intersection between 2017 and 2021.

The city has recorded six accidents that involved Ryan’s yard within the last 10 years. Five of those crashes involved cars heading southeast on Washington Street and attempting a left turn onto Naper Boulevard.

Several factors, including weather conditions and driver impairment, have contributed to those six crashes, officials said. However, city officials want to ensure they’ve done all they can to minimize risks.

“For both the homeowners and the drivers, we really need to be looking at all possibilities to make it safer,” Naperville Councilman Patrick Kelly said.

Due to the number of accidents, Daly said his insurance company is no longer willing to pay for repairs to his fence. In instances where drivers have left before Daly can get out to his yard — as was the case on Dec. 23 — he must pay for the repairs himself. The Dec. 23 repairs cost him about $600, slightly under the typical bill of $1,000 or more. One accident, which took out part of his neighbor’s fence as well, cost more than $6,000 in repairs to his fence, Daly said.

Besides the cost, Daly said he worries about the safety of his family and his two dogs. Some of his daughter’s friends have been told they can’t hang out in the Daly’s backyard because of the accidents.

The city has implemented all but one of the suggested remedies from a 2023 study, said Bill Novak, director of engineering and development.

The final recommendation — feedback signs letting motorists know how fast they are driving as they approach the bend on Washington Street — will be implemented in the near future.

Other options, such as guardrails or crash barrels, are not feasible or do not meet traffic warrants, Novak said.

The city was working with a manufacturer of crash barrels. But the manufacturer declined to sell the devices, saying they would not work at the T-intersection, Novak said.

Novak could not say if a roundabout would work at Washington and Naper. But he is hoping a study of the intersection will give additional guidance. He anticipated a feasibility study for a roundabout would take about a year to complete.