Safety Issues With Clarendon Hills Plaza Plan?

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills resident Angela Sartori plays a snippet of Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" on her Facebook page.

That's to help make her case against a proposed plaza in Clarendon Hills.

In May, a second traffic study of Clarendon Hills' idea for a downtown plaza plan indicated "potential safety issues."

A top village official says the study's findings reflect existing conditions.

But a lead opponent of the proposed plaza contends the plaza would be dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.

As of Tuesday, more than 550 people have signed an online petition against the plaza plan.

The village is looking at doing away with the traffic triangle at Prospect and Park avenues. This is where the southbound leg of Prospect links to Park.

The space would be used for a new plaza, which officials say could be a go-to spot for residents and visitors.

However, petition organizers say the Sloan Triangle is needed for the smooth flow of traffic.

In May, Christopher Burke Engineering tested the closure of the southbound leg to Park.

The report indicated that southbound cars can back up to the nearby railroad tracks.

That is impacted by the railroad gate downtime, delivery vehicles blocking the lane, drivers backing up from diagonal spots, school buses dropping off students and stopping Uber drivers, according to the study.

During the test, the only instance of cars on the tracks was when a delivery truck blocked a lane, the report said.

When a school bus dropped off students at the triangle, the video showed the resulting line of backed-up cars getting close to the tracks, but not on them.

"(T)his may be due to drivers purposely stopping at the Prospect Avenue and Burlington Avenue intersection, and this could be a safety concern as well," engineer Liz Jensen said in the report.

In a text message to Patch, Sartori, the petition organizer, points to the study in making the case against the plaza.

"No matter how the village wants to spin this, there were dangerous conditions created when the safety lane was closed from May 12-18," Sartori said.

Past traffic studies, she said, show that 40 percent to 50 percent of southbound traffic in Clarendon Hills uses the special southbound lane next to the triangle. The village must have that "escape" lane, she said.

"It is NOT an option to cover it with cement," Sartori said. "They are measuring our lives in feet from the back-up to the train tracks and in wait times of clearing. Not acceptable."

In response, Village Manager Zach Creer said the delivery truck – the only time that traffic backed up to the tracks during the report period – was parked just north of the triangle area.

This means the village has an enforcement issue and that it has nothing to do with the road design, Creer said. The village has installed "Do Not Stop on Tracks" signs.

As for the school bus stop, it appears to be unauthorized, Creer said, adding that the village is working with the school district in question on that issue.

He said the special right turn lane from Prospect to Park is not needed to prevent backing up of traffic to the tracks.

In her messages, Sartori labels a crosswalk installed in 2024 from the old Starbucks to the triangle as unauthorized.

"It is dangerous, should NOT be there to confuse pedestrians and motorists, and was installed despite no traffic Engineer recommendation whatsoever," she said. "THAT is straight-up negligence. All for the plaza..."

Creer, however, said the village engineer recommended the crosswalk after the first traffic study to simplify the intersection and address two downtown crashes involving pedestrians and cars.

"The new configuration is safer, as pedestrians cross with a stop sign (a controlled intersection)," Creer said in an email.

The village is considering removing a midblock crosswalk west of Prospect on Park Avenue.

Information on the plaza proposal is on the village's website.