Daily Herald opinion: A push for safety: More needs to be done to get a traffic light on busy stretch of Roosevelt Road

Last year, residents and community leaders advocating for a traffic light along a hazardous stretch of Roosevelt Road in Wheaton thought they were making progress.

Now it appears the long-sought traffic device on Roosevelt east of County Farm Road is in limbo and may not happen for years.

“Don’t put us on the back burner. Don’t send us back to Square One,” resident Debbie Suggs told our Marni Pyke.

Suggs and other residents of Wheaton’s Marian Park apartments have faced dangers while attempting to cross Roosevelt. The apartments are located on the south side of Roosevelt Road, along with St. Francis High School. A popular shopping area with a Target store is on the north side of the road. That particular stretch of Roosevelt is so busy that it averages roughly 1,900 vehicles an hour.

Then there are the crashes. State and city records show that nine pedestrian crashes occurred in the vicinity from 2009 through 2023.

St. Francis officials long have raised concerns about their students crossing the road. The school, residents and the group DuPage United have advocated for a crosswalk and traffic light to improve safety.

While the Illinois Department of Transportation has acknowledged it could add a signal on Roosevelt that aligns with driveways at Target and St. Francis, the agency won’t fund the light, which is considered a private benefit.

In a Sept. 22 In Transit column, Pyke reported that efforts to raise the roughly $840,000 for the project had been going well.

St. Francis raised over $200,000 in donations in 2024 and pledged more, while state Sen. Seth Lewis secured $250,000 in state grants.

But the Target corporation has decided to stop allowing St. Francis students to park in its lot due to liability concerns. As a result, the school needs a new parking lot estimated to cost between $300,000 and $400,000.

Unfortunately, the installation of a proposed traffic light wasn’t allowed before the Target was built. Now, the various concerned interests can only wish that the company might offer to help pay for the project out of a simple desire to do something great for the community.

A more practical factor in all of this is DuPage County government, which has its campus nearby along County Farm Road. If you drive to the county campus for a court date, a fairground event or other county business, odds are that you will use Roosevelt Road to get there. Perhaps DuPage leaders could use their ability to lobby state and federal lawmakers to help secure funding for the traffic light.

Of course, money is not the only obstacle.

The other problem is that IDOT wants the installation of a traffic light to be done in conjunction with major improvements to Roosevelt that may not happen for years. We agree with advocates who say that waiting until 2030 is too long.

If the efforts to find the money are successful, the traffic signal should be installed as soon as possible. The seniors, students and other residents in that area deserve a safe way to cross the road.