First reported 6/8/2010 3:07 p.m.
A temporary stop sign in northwest Oak Park – installed after a 4-year-old boy was hit by a car May 21 – will be made permanent after a decision by the village board Monday.
Trustees spent about two hours debating whether the stop sign should stay up at Woodbine and Division, near Field Park and Mann School. The village’s engineer recommended against the sign, as there’s one just a block east at Kenilworth, and traffic volumes aren’t heavy enough to warrant one.
But Chief of Police Rick Tanksley said the sign is needed to make crossing Division safer. People just don’t want to walk 300 feet to cross at Kenilworth.
“Granted, the stop sign is 300 feet from a four-way stop sign,” Tanksley said. “Basically, I don’t care.”
Neighbors implored the village board to keep the stop sign in place, saying the 4-year-old boy was lucky to walk away unscathed. The Oak Park Transportation Commission had previously recommended reducing the speed limit and installing flashing yellow lights, but residents said the stop sign is the only true remedy.
“All we want is an octagon in red that says stop, and if it inconveniences drivers, who are driving, what is the inconvenience?” said Neal Rutstein of the 700 block of Woodbine. “They have to move their ankle from the accelerator to the brake?”
A group of residents petitioned the village to make changes at Woodbine and Division. And in April, the transportation commission settled on the lights and reduced speed. Village Engineer Jim Budrick ticked off the reasons why a stop sign was previously denied: There’s one a block away, no accidents have been reported there in 50 years, and putting one there might set a precedent in the future.
“I know the board tonight is faced with a tough decision,” Budrick read from a prepared statement. “It’s next to impossible to take the emotion away from this decision … Keeping stop signs at Woodbine sets a precedent that would be very difficult to defend against in other similar situations.”
The village board ended up voting 5-2 in favor of keeping the sign and ditching the yellow caution lights. They held off on decreasing the speed limit on Division from 30 mph to 25 mph, until the village can take a broader approach to assessing speeds around town.
Village President David Pope and Trustee John Hedges voted against making the stop sign permanent. They, instead, urged the village to keep it temporary for now, while the board discusses the general approach to approving stop signs. Why put one up at Woodbine and Division, and not at other high-traffic intersections, such as at Lake and Scoville, asked Pope.
But the majority of the board sided with neighbors and the police chief. People want to cross at Woodbine because of the nearby entrance to Field Park, and should have a right to do so, they said. Closing and moving the park entrance to stop people from crossing at Woodbine would be costly and wouldn’t make sense, trustees said.
Trustee Jan Pate urged parents to keep a watchful eye on their children and teach them about lessons learned from the 4 year old who was hit, as a stop sign alone won’t keep kids safe. Drivers, too, must obey the rules of the road and respect pedestrians, she said.
“I don’t ever feel that a stop sign is a total guarantee for safety,” Pate said.
CONTACT: mstempniak@wjinc.com