After video of overturning car, Arlington Heights to discuss speeding concerns with residents
Arlington Heights officials are expected to host a neighborhood meeting with residents of a stretch of South Cleveland Avenue near downtown who point to video of a car careening off a parked SUV and overturning as an example of why they want to curtail frequent speeding down their street.
Village board members Tuesday night officially approved a 25 mph limit for the area of Cleveland in question, between Davis Street and Central Road. While there has been a 25 mph sign on Cleveland, village officials recently discovered there was not an ordinance ordering the limit.
But about 30 South Cleveland Avenue residents - with some children holding signs such as "Slow = Safe" - attended the village board session seeking more than the 25 mph limit becoming official. Some during public comment time asked the village to meet with them to help fix what they contend is a safety problem.
That led Village Manager Randy Recklaus to suggest a neighborhood meeting with police, engineering representatives, Cleveland residents and others to explore potential solutions.
"We can dialogue about these issues easier than we can at this type of meeting," Recklaus said. "And we can go through the (traffic) data, talk about how it was collected, answer any question and brainstorm in a little bit more of an open forum."
Recklaus said a 2016 traffic survey showed the average speed down the stretch of Cleveland was 24 mph and excessive speeding at 15 mph or more over the limit was less than 1%. Another study in 2019 showed the average speed at 25 mph and excessive speeding also was less than 1%.
Police said a woman on the afternoon of Dec. 10 was behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry traveling north on Cleveland - as seen on the video from a neighbor's home security system - and attempting to go around a parked Ford Explorer while a southbound vehicle came toward her.
The driver didn't move enough to the left and struck the Explorer, causing the Camry to overturn, police said. The driver, who was found to be traveling 32 mph in the 25 mph zone, was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, he said.
Cleveland Avenue resident Tiffany Marston said she's concerned about the safety of about 50 young children living on the 700 and 800 blocks of Cleveland.
"I feel our children have the right to play outside on the sidewalk or walk safely to school without having that fear," Marston said.
Village board members said they understood the residents' concerns. Trustee Robin LaBedz said drivers need to be encouraged to obey speed limits throughout the village.
"Because it is a problem throughout the village," LaBedz said. "You're definitely experiencing your problem, but we need to somehow start reaching out to people that, 'Slow down, we don't have to hurry.' An extra five seconds is not going to make a difference and it could save someone's life or save someone from being seriously injured."