Hospital not chief source of traffic in Arlington Heights 'triangle'

Only 10 percent of the traffic cutting through Arlington Heights' "triangle neighborhood" east of Northwest Community Hospital between West Kirchoff and West Central roads comes from the hospital, the latest study found.

About 30 people attended a Wednesday night meeting at the Arlington Heights village hall to hear and discuss the study results. It was obvious some have been working on the traffic issue for many years.

Where the traffic cutting through the neighborhood is coming from and where it is going was an important hole in previous studies, said Diane Lukas, president of Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick Inc., hired to analyze existing work and fill in what was lacking.

Forty percent of the traffic cutting through came from the neighborhood to the south, and 40 percent was eastbound on Central Road west of the hospital, she said. The small roads that draw traffic include Walnut, Mitchell, Chestnut and Highland avenues.

HLR was hired in 2008 upon a request from an ad hoc committee that studied traffic issues in the area from September 2006 through February 2007. Neighbors were concerned that traffic will worsen with the opening of 200 new patient rooms next spring.

Making the arterial roads more attractive would keep traffic from cutting through on the smaller residential streets, Lukas said.

Here are suggestions from HLR:

• Improve traffic flow so cars do not sit so long at major intersections: Central and Arlington Heights roads; Central and New Wilke roads and Kirchoff and Wilke roads.

• Reopen the hospital driveways so cars can legally exit onto Kirchoff Road. This would prevent their cutting through the neighborhood to turn around and head the direction they want, said Lukas.

• Connect Ridge Avenue north of Kirchoff with Fernandez Avenue south of Central to provide another north-south route on the east side of the hospital. That would be expensive, said Lukas. It would also put more traffic by Our Lady of the Wayside School and Pioneer Park, pointed out Jeffrey E. Martin, one of the residents attending.

The hospital is the cause of the problem because it blocks north-south streets, said resident Terry Tufts. Other residents expressed disappointment the hospital was not represented at the meeting.

However, others said there are many attractions and causes of traffic in the area, not just the hospital.

Melissa Whitecotton said people living south of Central Road have only two traffic signals to leave the neighborhood, and during rush hour traffic backs up seriously at the intersections of White Oak Street with Wilke and with Arlington Heights Road.

Study: Firm makes suggestions to east traffic