Ridge Avenue Speed Limit Reduced To 25 MPH From Howard To Emerson

EVANSTON, IL — The speed limit on Ridge Avenue is being reduced from 30 to 25 mph south of Emerson Street, with new signs are scheduled to be installed Tuesday, city officials announced. Temporary flashing message boards will also be used to remind drivers of the new limit. The change follows an increase in the number of crashes and complaints of distracted and aggressive drivers.

The city asked drivers to help "minimize incidents" by complying with the new limit in order to improve safety for everyone on the road.

Last October, 4th Ward Ald. Don Wilson, the traffic unit of Evanston police and city traffic engineers announced a traffic initiative to address the increase in traffic crashes and complaints of aggressive and distracted driving along Ridge.

Aldermen voted for the changes at the City Council's Feb. 12 meeting, passing an ordinance that amended a 2012 increase to the speed limit.

The speed limit remains 30 mph north of Emerson Street to Isabella Street, according to the ordinance.

At the same meeting, alderman approved funding for split phasing of the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Lake Street.

According to a Jan. 31 memo accompanying the changes, staff plan to request funding in the FY 2019 capital improvement budget for fiscal year 2019 to conduct a comprehensive study of the Ridge corridor.

The city said public works crews have recently trimmed trees along the Ridge Avenue corridor to make it easier to see traffic lights, and operational changes to the signals are planned in the spring.

Evanston police have also stepped up "targeted enforcement" along Ridge Avenue. Cops are focusing on speeding, breaking traffic laws, distracted driving and seat belt requirement, according to the city.

According to Traffic Sgt. Tracy Williams, there have been at least 310 traffic citations issued on Ridge since the start of February.

Please slow down on Ridge, Traffic Unit doing enforcement for all violations along Ridge. pic.twitter.com/ablXXUiFNh
— Evanston, IL Police (@EvanstonPD) February 6, 2018

Three suggestions for the Ridge Avenue corridor from Jan. 31 memo from Public Works Agency Director David Stoneback, Capital Planning Bureau Chief Lara Biggs and Transportation Senior Project Manager Rajeev Dahal:

Analysis:
Staff recommends that the following three suggestions be implemented along the Ridge Avenue Corridor in the near future:

1. Reduce speed limit to 25 mph

There is a safety benefit to reduced vehicle speeds. In addition to reducing the risk of injury when an accident occurs, lower speeds allow better reaction time to drivers and reduced stopping distance to avoid accidents. The Ridge Avenue corridor traffic signals have previously been coordinated to allow for better traffic flow at 26 mph. With approval, staff will prepare an ordinance to lower the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on Ridge Avenue from Emerson Street to Howard Street. The signal timing will not be adjusted at this time.

2. Enforcement of speeds and traffic regulations

EPD will continue their efforts with targeted enforcement to encourage behavior changes. These efforts will focus on speeding, disobeying traffic regulations, and distracted driving, and seat belt requirements. These weekly efforts will continue through the end of March 2018, and an assessment will be made regarding the outcomes.

3. Split phase Ridge/Lake intersection signals

A primary cause of accidents at the Ridge/Lake Intersection is northbound Ridge Avenue traffic turning left onto westbound Lake Street. The accidents at this location may have increased due to left turn restrictions from Ridge onto Grove, which was implemented to mitigate accidents at that location.

To address the left turning accidents, split phasing of the Ridge/Lake traffic signal could be implemented on a trial basis. Similar to the intersections at Ridge/Main and Ridge/Oakton, traffic signals would be timed to allow all northbound traffic, then all southbound traffic, and then all east-/westbound traffic. This type of signal phasing has been effective in addressing the type of left turn accidents that have been occurring at Ridge/Lake. However, the interruption to the flow of traffic caused by split phasing may result in significant traffic back-ups occurring during the morning and afternoon peak hours. In addition, some traffic may move to other parallel streets, such as Asbury Avenue.

Initial review of the intersection indicates that this can be done by in-house staff electricians working with a traffic signal vendor for an estimated cost of $10,000. This work could be implemented in the spring of 2018. The trial is proposed to continue through December 2018, which would capture traffic differences that occur in summer versus fall (when school is back in session) as well as extending the trial period until after the traffic detour from the Sheridan Road construction is over.

It should be noted that the Forestry Division completed the trimming of trees along Ridge Avenue to improve signal visibility in early February. Forestry will check the corridor again in May, after the trees leaf out, to determine if further trimming is needed to maintain good lines of sight in both directions. Staff will request funding in the FY 2019 Capital Improvement Program to conduct a comprehensive study of the Ridge corridor to include assessment of adding left turn arrows on major side streets and northbound onto Davis, additional “walk” time for pedestrians; removing push button pedestrian operation, and retiming of the corridor. This study could also consider mast arm signals and/or other lane modifications.