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A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendations for Traffic Calming at the 100 Block of North Lombard Avenue
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Introduction
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At the May 11th Transportation Commission (TC) meeting, the TC reviewed a traffic calming petition at the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue. The TC voted to concur with the staff recommendations to install the recommended mid-block pinch point in addition to targeted speed enforcement. Pending Board approval, the pinch point will be installed with the upcoming Bike Boulevard project.
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Recommended Action
Adopt the Motion.
Prior Board Action
There is no prior Board action associated with this item.
Background
On January 5, 2026, the Village of Oak Park received a petition to implement traffic calming measures on the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue. The residents expressed concerns regarding excessive cut-through traffic along 100 N Lombard Avenue between Lake Street and Ontario Street, causing safety concerns for pedestrians.
See Attachment A for a copy of the letter of explanation. Public testimony was received. See attachment B for public testimony. See Attachment C for the aerial imagery of the area.
The petition was reviewed by the Transportation Commission at its May 11th, 2026 meeting. Staff gave a presentation on the issues including: background on the petition, history of the area, analysis of the collected traffic data, collision diagram, and recommendations. Residents provided public testimony on the items. After hearing the staff’s presentation and public testimony, the Transportation Commission deliberated on the items. Relevant pages from the Transportation Commission meeting minutes are included as Attachment H.
At the May 11th, 2026 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted five to zero to:
• Install mid-block paint-and-post pinch point (also known as a neckdown) with two 20-foot-long bump-outs. The west bump-out lining up with the fire hydrant at 151 N Lombard Avenue and the east bump-out between 150 and 154 N Lombard Avenue.
• Targeted speed enforcement
Pending Village Board approval, a mid-block paint-and-post pinch point will be installed as part of the upcoming 26-15 Bike Boulevards project.
Analysis Section
Traffic Study - Volume and Speed (Attachment D)
Forty-eight-hour traffic data was collected along the 100 block of Lombard Avenue using radars. The data was collected on Wednesday and Thursday, April 8 and April 9, 2026. One component of the traffic data is Average Daily Traffic (ADT), which is the number of vehicles counted over 24 hours. Volumes along Lombard Avenue are around 2,300 vehicles per day. Volumes along Lombard Avenue are relatively higher than the typical Oak Park residential street volume, which ranges between 800 and 1,200 vehicles per day. Lombard Avenue acts as a collector, and therefore, it is expected to carry higher traffic volumes compared to typical residential blocks.
The volumes along the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue are highest between the 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. periods.
Speed data was another component of the mid-block data collection effort. A review of the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue speed data shows a 50% compliance rate with the 25-mph speed limit and more than 85% of the vehicles are traveling less than 5 mph over the speed limit. The 85th percentile speeds tend to be consistent throughout the day.
The speeds along this block are generally higher a mile per hour or two higher than similar streets in Oak Park, potentially due to Lombard Street being two to three feet wider than those streets.
See Attachment D for a summary of the results.
Traffic Study - Turning Movement Counts (Attachment E)
In order to quantify vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle volumes at the Lombard Avenue/Lake Street and Lombard Avenue/Ontario Street intersections, six-hour counts were conducted on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, using a video camera system. The traffic data was collected on a weekday with typical traffic patterns while school was in session. Conditions were sunny with a high of 70 degrees and a low of 40 degrees. This weather was conducive to pedestrian and bicycle activity. The traffic count data shows that the morning peak hour occurs between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., and the evening traffic volume is highest between 4:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. at Lombard Avenue and Lake Street. The morning and evening peak hours at Lombard Avenue and Ontario Street occur between 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Pedestrian volumes are moderate, generally in the range of 10 to 40 people crossing each leg per hour. There is a low volume of bikes traveling along Lombard Avenue during the peak hours. At Ontario/Lombard, there are relatively few vehicles turning from the north and south legs of Lombard Avenue onto Ontario Street. This indicates that most of the traffic on Lombard Avenue is using it to traverse the Village north-south. This is to be expected since Lombard functions as a collector street, running relatively uninterrupted between South Boulevard and Greenfield Street, where it jogs and continues to North Avenue.
See Attachment E for a summary of the results.
Crash History - Collision Diagram (Attachment F)
In order to evaluate safety trends on the 100 block of Lombard Avenue, reported crash data was obtained from the IDOT Safety Portal and the Village of Oak Park from January 2021 through December 2025, a five-year period. This data shows that there were four mid-block collisions during the five-year period. There were two parked vehicle crashes, one sideswipe crash, and crash involving a driver turning from the alley onto Lombard. None of the reported crashes were injury crashes.
No crashes were reported at the Lombard/Ontario intersection in the past five years.
21 total crashes were reported at the intersection of Lombard Avenue and Lake Street. Eleven of these were angle collisions (more than 50% of the total reported crashes). Three of these collisions resulted in injuries. Additionally, there was a pedestrian collision which resulted in a C-level injury collision. The high rate of angle collisions is a result of motorists on Lombard Avenue misjudging gaps in through traffic on Lake Street as they travel north or south across the intersection or turn left onto Lake Street. It is important to note that Lake/Lombard was not studied in further detail or analyzed for specific mitigation measures, as it is an arterial intersection which is not eligible for traffic calming measures as part of the petition process.
See Attachment F for the collision diagram.
Timing Considerations
Pending Village Board approval, staff will include this work as part of the design of the upcoming 26-15 Bike Boulevards project.
Financial Impact
Staff estimates that it will cost $3,800 to install the paint-and-post pinch point treatment. Pending Village Board approval, staff will include this work as part of the 26-15 Bike Boulevards project. The FY26 Budget includes $75,000 for traffic calming for petitions and commission items in the Capital Improvement Fund, Public Works - Engineering, Traffic Calming Improvements account no. 3095.43780.101.570955.
Operations Impact
This is a core service responsibility of the Engineering Division of the Public Works Department. Implementation of this item has minimal staffing impact. Preparing the materials for the Transportation Commission for this traffic calming petition took around 60 hours, including obtaining and analyzing traffic data, preparing exhibits, and presenting at the commission meeting. Including the design of the traffic calming improvements into the street resurfacing project and neighborhood greenway project is a minimal effort and would take somewhere in the range of 20 hours.
DEI Impact
The Vision Zero plan highlights that traffic accidents disproportionately affect minority communities within the Village. Traffic calming improvements will enhance safety for all users, with particular benefits for vulnerable groups.
Community Input
On January 5, 2026, the Village of Oak Park received a petition to implement traffic calming measures on the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue. The petition organizers were notified of the May 11th TC meeting regarding these petitions, and public comments from residents were heard at the TC meeting. TC meeting minutes are attached for reference.
At the May 11th, 2026 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted five to zero to:
• Install mid-block paint-and-post pinch point (also known as a neckdown) with two 20-foot-long bump-outs. The west bump-out lining up with the fire hydrant at 151 N Lombard Avenue and the east bump-out between 150 and 154 N Lombard Avenue.
• Targeted speed enforcement
Staff Recommendation
Staff concurs with the Transportation Commission’s recommendations for traffic calming on the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue. Staff recommends adopting the motion.
Advantages:
• Traffic calming improvements will be installed per the Transportation Commission’s recommendation, which will slow traffic on the 100 block of N Lombard Avenue. The proposed paint-and-post pinch point will improve safety.
Disadvantages:
• It will cost approximately $3,800 to install the recommended improvements as part of the 26-15 Bike Boulevards project.
Alternatives
Alternative 1:
The Board can delay to gain additional information.
Advantages:
• The Board can be presented with the requested information.
Disadvantages:
• Significant delays could impact the staff’s ability to incorporate the recommendations in 2026 project.
Alternative 2:
The Board can delay to gain additional information.
Advantages:
• Potential cost saving of $3,800.
Disadvantages:
• Misalignment with the Transportation Commission and Staff’s recommendation to address resident concerns.
• Potentially unsafe traffic conditions would persist.
• Resident concerns would not be addressed.
Anticipated Future Actions
Pending Board approval, the pinch point will be installed with the upcoming Bike Boulevard project.
Prepared By: Jenna Holzberg, Transportation Commission Chairperson; Bill McKenna, Village Engineer/Assistant Public Works Director
Reviewed By: Rob Sproule, Public Works Director
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Attachments - 100 N Lombard