Slow down! Turtle crossing signs installed next to Busse Woods

New turtle crossing signs installed this week next to Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village — along with depressed curbs installed last fall — are meant to aid in their annual migration pattern.

The new signs and lower curbs are in place along Beisner Road, from Gloucester Drive to Winston Drive, near the southern end of the forest preserve and Amita Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center. Elk Grove Village staff constructed the turtle crossing area after a request from the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

Forest preserve staff for decades have observed and received notices of turtles stuck on the side of Beisner Road struggling to get up and over the curb near the hospital and Village Point Church.

Officials say the painted and snapping turtles follow a pattern every year, crossing from the marsh on the west side of the road to the east side, where areas of low vegetation offer safe nesting locations.

Turtle crossings occur annually from April through October, and most frequently in June and July.