Naperville candidates explore different traffic fixes
Improving traffic congestion is one of the top goals in Naperville's strategic plan, and city council candidates say it should stay that way.
The city is taking steps to improve traffic flow, such as installing a $3.3 million traffic signal management system for Washington Street during the next two years, using $2.4 million in federal or state funding.
But City Manager Doug Krieger said Naperville also plans on decreasing its spending on road maintenance to $10.6 million from the usual $11.6 million because of budget concerns. Unless the budget is amended, that means less work will be done this year to resurface streets, fill cracks and replace curbs and gutters.
With those spending plans in mind, the 20 candidates for eight council seats available in the April 7 election shared a variety of traffic improvement suggestions.
Here are their ideas.
A couple candidates say the city should consider removing downtown parking on Washington all day instead of only during the morning and afternoon rush periods.
Kevin Coyne said removing parking from Washington would be worth exploring, despite past opposition from business owners.
"Before pushing that I'd like to have the business input," Coyne said. "But I think that would help a lot."
Robert Hajek agreed that two lanes of traffic in each direction could help north/south vehicle movement on Washington.
"I'd love to see less parking there to keep that traffic flowing and maybe stepping up bus service," Hajek said.
Bill Eagan said business operators parking on Washington instead of in parking garages could be contributing to delays. He said he'd also consider making some streets one-way or creating a pedestrian-only street.
John Colletti also said merchants shouldn't be taking on-street parking because they can get a yearly garage parking pass for $5.
"The customers don't want to have to squiggle around three flights to find a spot," Colletti said. "Step up and take advantage of that and help us out."
Rebecca Boyd-Obarski said some downtown congestion could be eased if shoppers would learn to park in the first garage they reach instead of circling the entire downtown for an on-street spot.
"That much traffic is almost a good thing," Boyd-Obarski said. "It means that we have a vibrant city. We're a city that moves, we're a city that goes to work and is engaged in our community."
Instead of removing parking on Washington, the city should look to the integrated traffic signal management system to achieve better flow through the downtown, Joseph McElroy said.
"I don't think that we should take the parking off of Washington," McElroy said. "That would cut the downtown in two. It would be like having an expressway in the middle of your downtown."
Judith Brodhead called Washington Street parking a "perennial question," but her answer is it should be retained.
"We need to keep that (Washington) walkable, but we want traffic to move fairly smoothly," Brodhead said. "I think the idea of coordinating the signals is probably a great thing."
In other communities, David Wentz said drivers can hit "a consistent wave" of green lights. So when the city finishes the two-year process of integrating and updating several separate traffic signal management systems, he said traffic on Washington will flow better.
Tom O'Hale, however, cautioned against spending on traffic signal management because it won't increase the capacity of city streets.
"My concern is that when you have X amount of traffic and the streets remain the same size, a big expenditure on such a computerized system might be ill-advised," O'Hale said.
When the expansion project on Route 59 is complete between Ferry Road and Aurora Avenue/New York Street, Nancy Marinello and Paul Hinterlong said traffic should improve.
"Certainly the Route 59 improvement is going to be fantastic once we get through it," Marinello said, adding that the city also should increase transportation options for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
While Hinterlong said the city needs to "continually work with the state on Route 59," he also said Naperville should address smaller glitches, such as malfunctioning cameras and sensors at a traffic signal near Neuqua Valley High School, or pedestrian walk signals that frequently cut the length of green lights at Book Road and 83rd Street.
Adjusting attitudes is the best way to deal with the traffic problem, a handful of candidates say.
Kevin Gallaher said the city has done "a pretty good job" addressing traffic problems, and now it lies with residents to make lifestyle changes that would take cars off the road.
"People in Naperville love to drive. Nobody will admit that they're part of the problem, but every high school kid has a car. You want to cut traffic? Make a no-parking zone at every high school in town and make the kids take the bus. That's not going to happen," Gallaher said. "Suburbanites just love to drive. We have a car culture."
Just the impression that traffic will be bad can be a deterrent, but Wayne Floegel said drivers need to remember traffic comes with things to do and places to go, so patience is necessary.
"We have to remind everyone that in order for us to have this great community where there's shopping, where there's nightlife, where there's everything, we're going to have to tolerate some traffic," Floegel said.
Becky Anderson said structural limitations, such as the width of downtown streets and placement of buildings, limit possible traffic improvements. But the city is doing what it can.
"People always complain and I think maybe our traffic is the way it is," Anderson said. "But I think steps are being done all the time to help improve that situation."
With a "better-than-average" economy, Patty Gustin said traffic is a "good problem to have" and it'll never completely go away.
"I don't think there's a silver bullet to correct it. It is what it is," Gustin said. "We can't widen our roads. We have a lot of infrastructure underneath those streets, so it's a difficult thing."
Steve Peterson agreed the city will never completely fix traffic, so he said solutions should address how traffic affects other quality of life issues, such as bicycle safety, especially potential bike routes to the downtown.
"We're not going to fix traffic," Peterson said. "It is part of the fabric of who we are because of what our community is. Bikes take cars off the road, so what are we doing to do that?"
Steve Purduski said he deals with busy traffic on Ogden Avenue, Washington Street or Mill Street just to get out of his neighborhood. He said adding more parking at the 5th Avenue train station could improve traffic by decreasing downtown trips.
"I've always wondered why can't we figure out how to put a parking garage, somehow share a parking garage with Burlington and put some sort of people-mover and get people into the downtown without everyone driving," Purduski said.
Adding more right-turn lanes is Dick Furstenau's idea to keep traffic flowing, especially along Ogden Avenue south of North Aurora Road, which backs up during rush hours.
"When you're turning right and going slow, everyone behind you has to slow down," Furstenau said.
Instead of improving entire stretches of roads, John Krummen said Naperville should upgrade busy intersections to save money.
"I look at the work done at Washington and 75th; that kind of work needs to go on," Krummen said. "We don't need to improve the whole roads, we need to improve the intersections that again would reduce any capital investments because you have shrunk the scope of the projects."
Candidate Jim Bergeron has suspended his campaign pending review of a regulation that would prevent him from renewing his liquor licenses if he is elected.
Naperville council candidates
Twenty candidates will be on the ballot in the April 7 election, seeking eight available seats on Naperville City Council. Here are the candidates in the order in which they will appear on the ballot.
1. Kevin Coyne, a 39-year-old business attorney and planning and zoning commission member
2. Joe McElroy, a 62-year-old public policy consultant and city council member
3. Dick Furstenau, a 70-year-old retired AT&T executive and former city council member
4. Bill Eagan, a 41-year-old school district chief financial officer and park board member
5. Wayne Floegel, a 43-year-old special education assistant and transportation advisory board member
6. Jim Bergeron, a bar owner who has suspended his campaign
7. Robert Hajek, a 47-year-old salesman
8. John Krummen, a 50-year-old engineering executive and chairman of the public utilities advisory board
9. Paul Hinterlong, a 49-year-old plumber and city council member
10. Nancy Marinello, a 71-year-old retired environmental lawyer
11. David Wentz, a 51-year-old lawyer and city council member
12. Patty Gustin, a 55-year-old real estate broker and planning and zoning commission chairwoman
13. Judith Brodhead, a 63-year-old English professor and city council member
14. Harry Thomas O'Hale, a retired high school principal
15. John Colletti, a 54-year-old adjunct professor of finance, accounting and economics
16. Steve Purduski, a 58-year-old computer engineer
17. Rebecca Boyd-Obarski, a 56-year-old attorney and board of police and fire commissioners chairwoman
18. Steve Peterson, a 42-year-old business executive
19. Becky Anderson-Wilkins, a 56-year-old book shop owner and advisory cultural commission chairwoman
20. Kevin Gallaher, a 51-year-old attorney and former city council member