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A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendations for Traffic Calming at 500 S East Avenue
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Introduction
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At the May 12th Transportation Commission (TC) meeting, the TC reviewed a traffic calming petition for the 500 block of S. East Avenue. The TC voted to concur with the staff recommendations to install the recommended traffic calming items for paint and post curb extensions at the East Avenue and Adams Street intersection.
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Recommended Action
Adopt the Motion.
Prior Board Action
There is no prior Board action associated with this item.
Background
On October 21, 2024, the Village of Oak Park received a petition to implement traffic calming measures on the 500 Block of S East Avenue. The residents expressed concerns regarding excessive speeds, increased traffic volumes, and concerns regarding vehicular and bicycle conflicts along 500 S East Avenue between Adams Street and Madison Street.
Attachment A includes a copy of the letter of explanation. No public testimony was received. Attachment B includes the aerial imagery of the area.
The petition was reviewed by the Transportation Commission at its May 12th, 2025 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 G.
At the May 12th, 2025 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted five to zero to:
- Install a temporary radar speed feedback sign facing northbound traffic
- Install paint and post curb extensions at all four corners of the S East Avenue and Adams Street intersection, extending onto both streets
Pending Village Board approval, pavement markings and posts will be installed as part of the upcoming 2025 Bike Boulevard construction project.
Attachment C includes the Traffic Study, traffic volume, and speed.
Twenty-four-hour traffic data was also collected along the 500 block of South East Avenue using radars. The data was collected on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. One component of the traffic data is Average Daily Traffic (ADT), which is the number of vehicles counted over a 24-hour period. Volumes along South East Avenue are around 4,315 vehicles per day. The high volume of traffic on South East Avenue compared to other north-south streets in the Village indicates that it acts as a collector, serving both local traffic and those heading to regional destinations. On average, there are more than eight vehicles per minute along the 500 block of S East Avenue during the peak hours.
The volumes along the 500 block of S East Avenue are highest between the 8:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 PM periods. Outside of the morning and evening rush hours, volumes drop off significantly.
Speed data was another component of the mid-block data collection effort. A review of the 500 block of South East Avenue speed data shows a higher than 80% compliance rate with the 25-mph speed limit, and more than 95% of the vehicles are traveling less than 5 mph over the speed limit. The 85th percentile speeds tend to be highest during the early morning hours and lowest during the middle of the day. A small percentage of northbound drivers blatantly disregard the law and drive faster than ten miles per hour over the speed limit along South East Avenue in the northbound direction. This could be the drivers trying to beat the traffic signal at South East Avenue and Madison Street. However, speeds along this block are generally fairly low, potentially due to the high utilization of on-street parking, particularly towards the northern portion of this corridor
See Attachment C for a summary of the results.
Traffic Study - Turning Movement Counts (Attachment D)
To quantify vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle volumes at the South East Avenue/Adams Street intersection, six-hour counts were conducted on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 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 50 degrees and a low of 35 degrees. The traffic count data shows that the morning peak hour occurs between 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and the evening traffic volume is highest between 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Overall, volumes at these intersections are low.
The peak hour data indicates that volumes on Adams Street are relatively low, and there are no distinct turning movement patterns. Pedestrian volumes are moderate, generally in the range of 10 to 15 people crossing each leg per hour. There is a significant volume of bikes traveling northbound on East Avenue, with over 30 counted traveling northbound during the morning peak hour. A total of 87 bikes were captured during the 6-hour period at the intersection.
See Attachment D for a summary of the results.
Crash History - Collision Diagram (Attachment E)
To evaluate safety trends on the 500 block of South East Avenue, reported crash data was obtained from the IDOT Safety Portal and the Village of Oak Park from January 2020 through December 2024, a five-year period. This data shows that there were two mid-block collisions along this block during the five-year period.
The two mid-block collisions were parked vehicle crashes with no injuries. Crashes at the intersection of S East and Adams Street were also assessed. There was one crash reported at South East Avenue/Adams Street. This was a right-angle vehicle collision with a “B” level injury reported. There are no crash patterns that indicate any issues or adverse safety trends.
See Attachment E for the collision diagram.
Timing Considerations
Adoption of the Resolution at this time will allow for staff to include this work as part of the design of the upcoming 2025 Bike Boulevard project which is anticipated to be constructed in the Fall of this year.
Budget Impact
Staff estimates that it will cost $23,200 to install the pavement markings and bump-outs using paint and post treatments. Pending Village Board approval, staff will include this work as part of the upcoming 2025 Bike Boulevard construction project. There are available funds for this work in the FY25 Budget in the Capital Improvement Fund (CIP), Public Works - Engineering, Traffic Calming Improvements, account no. 3095-43780-101-570955.
Staffing 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 80 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 is a minimal effort and would take somewhere in the range of 8 to 10 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 these vulnerable groups.
Community Input
On October 21, 2024, the Village of Oak Park received petitions to implement traffic calming measures at the 500 Block of S East Avenue. The petition organizers were notified of the May 12th 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 12th, 2025 Transportation Commission (TC) meeting, the TC recommended to:
- Install a temporary radar speed feedback sign facing northbound traffic
- Install paint and post curb extensions at all four corners of the S East Avenue and Adams Street, extending on both streets
Staff Recommendation
Staff concurs with the Transportation Commission’s recommendations for traffic calming on the 500 Block of S East 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 500 block of S East Avenue. The proposed paint and post curb extensions will improve safety.
Disadvantages:
• It will cost approximately $23,200 to install the recommended improvements using the paint and post treatments as part of the upcoming 2025 Bike Boulevard 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 2025.
Alternative 2:
The Board can vote down the Motion.
Advantages:
• This action can result in potential cost savings of $23,200.
Disadvantages:
• This action is in 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 Village Board concurrence, staff will include this work in the upcoming 2025 Bike Boulevard project’s design.
Staff will continue to bring Transportation Commission Traffic Petition Recommendations to the Village Board in the future.
Prepared By: Ron Burke, 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. 500 S East Attachments A-G