Daily Herald opinion: A gate for a gate is not the answer to road issue between Aurora, Batavia

Good fences make good neighbors. That’s a saying many suburban residents probably agree with.

But one gate isn’t making good neighbors in two suburban communities. It’s paved the way for a modern-day suburban border battle between Aurora and Batavia.

The cities remain at odds over a gate Aurora installed across a road in 2008 that blocks access to and from a neighborhood on the cities’ border.

How it started: Concerned about traffic after a Walmart and other businesses were built nearby, Aurora residents requested the gate to keep traffic from cutting through their neighborhood if Kirk Road was congested.

Batavia says the gate forces traffic onto its streets in the southeast part of town, and is now threatening to close the road at its border to force Aurora’s hand.

The gate issue has been brewing for years.

Since 2015, the two cities have discussed solutions, with no results.

In 2023, Batavia asked Aurora for $2 million a year to handle the increased traffic.

In 2024, Aurora showed Batavia plans for a reconfigured intersection that would provide limited access to the neighborhood once a road connection was completed.

Fast forward to today: the road connection is complete but not fully opened, and Batavia says Aurora made no changes to the intersection.

After an unproductive meeting this summer, Batavia staff is recommending closing the road.

Aurora is hosting a public meeting next week to get residents’ input and is asking for more time to find a solution.

Why? Neighborhood residents already spoke out against removing the gate at a recent Batavia council meeting. Nothing has happened since then to change anybody’s mind.

More time? The gate has been an issue for more than 10 years.

After 10 years of back-and-forth, it's clear why Batavia leaders are fed up with the lack of movement. We would be, too.

But building a gate to force another town to remove a gate isn’t a solution.

Other suburban towns have dealt with cut-through traffic. Mount Prospect recently installed speed humps in one neighborhood to reduce and slow traffic.

What would it hurt to open the gate on a trial basis and study what happens?

At least then you can see whether neighborhood residents’ concerns are valid. With concrete data, community leaders can come together and make a decision that works for everyone.

It’s time to remove the gate blocking these towns from finding a way forward that everyone can live with.