The Belmont railroad crossing closed to traffic today at 5 a.m. and will remain closed until August 12. The closure is due to work on the Belmont underpass, which was postponed last month due to a strike by Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Expect traffic snarls in central Downers Grove to increase considerably, although the official detour route is Illinois 53 to Ogden Avenue.
In other, better, traffic news, the village recently installed a stop sign on Grant Street at Middaugh Avenue, just south of Herrick Middle School.
This measure is long overdue, as any parent who has tried to pull out of the Herrick parking lot during drop-off or pick-up times can tell you. But more important it will prevent the terrible pedestrian accident that has been waiting to happen at the intersection for years.
My family has spent four years at Herrick, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen vehicles sail through the Grant crosswalk before and after school as throngs of middle-schoolers waited to cross.
I was concerned enough to send an e-mail to the school administration last year, and I contemplated trying to get the requisite number of parents and neighbors involved to bring the matter to the Traffic and Parking Commission.
I failed to do that, but it’s good news that both the school and TAP saw the problem and moved to rectify it. Future Herrick students will be safer as a result — and parents will no longer stress over how long it will take them to get out of the school lot.
With the way people drive–cruising through stop signs and right-turns-on-red, speeding in school zones even with crossing guards and pedestrians at the crosswalks, speeding up to zip through yellow-turning-red lights, doing 30-35 on sidestreets, 40 on Prairie, 45 on Ogden (in the 35 zone), texting and gabbing constantly on phones–that “terrible pedestrian accident” will come…
I was shocked to see a huge truck blow through the four-way stop at Chicago and Oakwood yesterday.
I was there first, stopped and waiting for him to stop so I could go through. I guess he figured it was a waste of brakes to do so — I honked and he looked at me like I were a Martian.
I’m just glad I didn’t jump the gun in anticipation of him stopping — which he legally was required to do.
I’m always shocked at the number of drivers who will blow past a school bus with the stop sign extended, particularly when the buses are outside of a school, and there is a crossing guard watching.
Then there is 63rd and Main. I’ve seen a number of instances where the light has been yellow for a few seconds. A left turner starts to make his turn, and an idiot goes through from the other direction, as the light turns red.
I figure that one of these days, I’m going to see a serious accident, and I’ll be more than happy to wait for the police to tell what happened.
Washington and Prairie might as well be Highland and Ogden some days. Slightly Tap On Petal rules the intersection, even when pedestrians are present and in crosswalks. Washington is a residential street and I am honked at, sworn at and tailed daily while entering and exiting my driveway – some of the faces are very familiar in the rear view mirror, they must be late for something just south over the tracks and to the left. It is just shocking that adults will speed to an intersection to try and “beat” adult and child pedestrians and will make a turn in front of people while they are in the crosswalk.
Living 1 1/2 blocks from Herrick, watching the parents line up for pick up just boggles my mind.
I see parents everyday parked right up to the intersection. Pity anyone that has to try and cross the street. The middle schoolers are 12, 13 and 14 years old. I think they could walk down a couple of blocks and meet their ride where it is not so congested and dangerous to others who are walking.
If the city was looking for a simple yet creative way to generate additional income, they would post a squad car with a radar gun anywhere along Prairie between Belmont and Main, and watch the coffers overflow.
I will intentionally drive the speed limit along Prairie and I can’t tell you how often the cars will line up behind me bumper to butt like I was an Amish farmer in a horse drawn cart. One pick-up truck full of boisterous teenagers passed me on the shoulder and gunned it all the way to the light on Belmont, where I casually drove up right behind them a few moments later. Amazing what proximity, eye contact and a red light will do to tame young bravado.
In hindsight it’s a shame that the original city planners drew a straight line to mirror Ogden right through a residential neighborhood.
You should see North’s Forest Avenue circle at drop-off/pick-up. You’d think high school kids could walk a block to mom’s car, too — or even a car length — but I’d say 8 out of every 10 drivers has to let their kid off directly in front of the door.
My other pet peeve: The drivers who don’t even bother to pull over to the curb — just stop in the middle of the street and wait for the kid to bail out or get in. Ridiculous!
Boo Hoo traffic is bad in the scared North Side.
Speaking of stopping in the middle of the street, I was coming down Burlington during the week, middle of the day, and what a mess. Two delivery trucks making deliveries to the Lemon Tree just stopped their trucks in the lanes of traffic and made the delivery of products to the store. Don’t they have a back entrance for deliveries? That isn’t going to work out well if the trucks are going to just stop in the middle of traffic to deliver to the store every week.
And Print It:
Judging from this and other comments that you’ve submitted (but which I’ve not posted), you’ve got a big beef with something.
Why don’t you e-mail me at dgreport@hotmail.com and we can discuss it. This blog isn’t about North High vs. South High or Downers Grove vs. Woodridge (although it IS a Downers Grove blog) or the DGPD vs. the Woodridge PD.
Feel free to share your thoughts with me and I’ll try my best to respond.
Thanks.
And Print it-
What exactly is the North side scared of?? Please expand.
i’m just guessing but I’m think And Print It meant sacred North side…
It wasn’t me @ the same intersection as Elaine… I once thought I was on an entirely different street, assumed a four-way stop, and went right in front of another car. If it hadn’t been for her good driving, I would have been tee’d and it would have been completely my fault. Now I read the little sign underneath the stop sign to make sure I’m not making horrendous errors.
Meat,
I intentionally drive the speed limit ALL THE TIME…because it’s the law!