dor in La Grange more than two weeks ago, Matthew Cook took to the streets and sidewalks of the village seeking support for some kind of change to the unmarked state road to improve safety for pedestrians.And with petitions in hand containing the signatures of more than 250 area residents and counting, he boldly stood before a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 200 people packed into the gymnasium of Seventh Avenue School on the night of June 2, almost tearing up, to call for the kind of change that will assure everyone such a tragedy will not occur again.
"Something has to be done to prevent this from happening to anyone else ever again," said Cook after about 40 residents presented a wide variety of input at the three-hour
Village Board planning meeting held in response to the accident at 47th and 8th Avenue that claimed the life of 30-year-old Countryside mom Cari Cook exactly 14 days earlier.Joining friends and family who also testified wearing purple ribbons on their chest as a reminder of Cari and what he said was her favorite color, Matthew Cook described the petition effort and changes it will call for when he submits it to the village and state officials later this month.
"There are 250 people I represent tonight ... and at the top of the (petition) list is to reduce speed on 47th," he said, adding there are simply not enough breaks in the road to slow down traffic, as is the case on streets bordering Waiola Park to the west. "We need to somehow slow down traffic (to avoid) everyone having to dart across traffic to get to the other side."
He said people can talk to their friends and neighbors to slow down and drive more carefully, but noted most people just do not
listen.Increasing police presence -- beyond the four squads per shift Police Chief Michael Holub said the village is limited to in addition to part-timers and auxiliary officers -- is the "best way" to solve speeding problems, Cook said.
That, he said, is in addition to aligning sidewalks with curb cuts on both sides of 47th and painting crosswalks at every intersection along the stretch, including where his wife was hit as she attempted to lift the stroller carrying her 2-year-old daughter up onto a raised curb and through some parkway to access the nearby sidewalk.
It is just one of many so-called "mismatched" intersections separating the north and south sides of 47th, in which neither side streets or their corresponding sidewalks line up. In some cases, the roads and walkways are a good 30 to 50 feet apart from each other.
For resident Angela Geraci, 747 S. 10th Ave., sidewalk alignments and sidewalks in the south end neighborhoods her hot button issues.
"I ask the village to now fix all the remaining sidewalks on the south end (from) 10th all the way down," she said -- but she added the woeful lack of sidewalks at all in some parts of the area also is a major problem.
"You say 11 years ago most residents didn't want sidewalks, but I don't accept that excuse for not having sidewalks now. Between 49th and 50th alone, there are 15 kids and children are forced to walk on the street every day ... This area is another accident waiting to happen."
Another idea Cook raised, which Mayor Liz Asperger said was a novel approach to tackling the issue was the suggestion of a "pedestrian stoplight" at hazardous intersections activated at the press of a button. She said another man's approach, of installing removable rubberized speed risers, instead of permanent speed bumps, was a fresh idea worthy of consideration.
When one woman from the 600 block of 10th Avenue hollered for a show of hands supporting the pedestrian red light concept, some 90 percent of those seated raised their hands and applauded.
Cook also suggested La Grange take a cue from Chicago and consider the installation of speed bumps -- not on 47th where they'd have to get state approval -- but on every side street approaching 47th where there is a high level of pedestrians, so as to warn motorists of a dangerous crossing ahead.
"Somehow slow down that traffic," he implored the village. "Maybe making that kind of change would be easier than (making changes immediately) on 47th Street."
Other suggestions ranged from installing a four-way traffic signals at the state and county-controlled intersection of 47th and East Avenue where La Grange's western edge meets the southwest corner of Brookfield and the northwest corner of McCook.
A resident of Blackstone Avenue at 47th complained about the speed of village snow plows driving down 47th in the winter and the year-round dilemma of errant motorists jumping curbs and ending up on sidewalks and in people's yards -- prompting another person to suggest a 2-foot fence barrier between the street and sidewalk once sidewalks are re-aligned.
However, some residents expressed reservations of reducing speed and/or the number of lanes down 47th.
Chris Morris, who lives south of 47th on 8th, said he was "concerned" about the proposal to reduce east-west lanes from two to one in each direction.
"It is very difficult to access 47th Street ... in between the speedy traffic and a lot of traffic," he said. "The only real stop ... is the light at 47th and La Grange Road. You're just going to have longer trains of cars. But can you create natural traffic breaks?"
One Countryside resident said a much larger regional issue directly tied to increased traffic on such thoroughfares as East Avenue, 55th and 47th streets and La Grange Road over the past 12 years has been the closure of Joliet Road between McCook and Lyons -- which was shut down because it was crumbling into the Vulcan quarry and has been in litigation for years.
Joe Pardo, a resident at 47th and 10th Avenue for the past 44 years, said police provide "zero" presence along the stretch where the latest accident occurred.
Wally Lewandowski of the 400 block of South 9th said one idea he believes would be effective in reducing the number of speeders and potential car vs. pedestrian accidents would be to place an undercover officer at existing crosswalks ticketing drivers who fail to stop.
One resident called for installation of speed cameras along 47th, while another suggested the village temporarily employ a couple traffic officers just to target that area until the problems significantly drop. Yet another resident suggested placing empty squad cars at key side streets to fool drivers into driving slower and more cautiously.
No tickets or charges have been issued to date in the May 19 late morning crash, which left the Cook's 4-month-old son Carson with a broken leg and a daughter in the stroller and the family dog unharmed.
Another passing motorist, struck by the alleged offending driver as she attempted to avoid striking Cook in the roadway, has told The La Grange Doings he helped save the boy's life after he fell out of a baby carrier and onto the street.
At the meeting, Holub informed residents the investigation being conducted into the fatal accident by the Illinois State Police and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office was "still pending" and that detectives are avoiding all speculation.
"It's still an active case and this is going to be an objective and thorough investigation," he said, referring to 47th Street, especially in the area west of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad tracks at East to La Grange Road "an enforcement nightmare" in which irresponsible drivers use side streets to avoid lights, speed detection and trains.
A related issue involves drivers cited for speeding who are sent to Cook County Circuit Court
and who frequently have their tickets dismissed unless they were going more than 10 or 12 mph over the posted 35 mph limit. That issue has been resolved in part by issuing municipal tickets in which motorists pay fines and avoid having traffic violations on their permanent records.
But even though Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn made it clear the village has again petitioned the Illinois Department of Transportation -- which has jurisdiction over the road from Harlem Avenue west to Hinsdale -- to reduce the speed limit to 30 mph and for a jurisdictional transfer of the stretch through La Grange along with a redesign of the roadway to one lane in each direction and a center turn lane from the current four lane/no turn lane configurement, speed and local control is not the only issue.
In fact, residents in attendance loudly applauded suggestions by Matthew Cook and others to make some immediate changes to 47th and almost every misaligned side street that crosses from one side to the other -- alterations many said could be done over the next couple weeks just like when La Grange put in a crosswalk at 47th and 9th Avenue a few years ago without state approval.
That revelation, which Asperger admitted was done because La Grange disagreed with statistics presented by IDOT against a proposed speed reduction, caused some residents to jump to the conclusion the village could just go ahead and enact any changes they choose without retribution.
But, said Asperger, with State Reps. Jim Durkin (R) of Western Springs and Michael Zalewski (D) of Chicago in attendance at the meeting and agreeing to cooperate in lobbying IDOT officials to address the problems raised by the village and residents, she would rather seek cooperation and sound well-researched solutions without forcing the issue this time around.
Although Pilipiszyn said IDOT indicated it would consider the speed reduction, a jurisdictional transfer would be much more costly because the state would first have to improve the street with the redesign in mind -- a "working" figure Asperger said was estimated a few years ago to be about $4 million.
The intersection of 47th and East, he said, is also in line for future improvements including traffic lights and an underpass or overpass funded largely by the federal CREATE program that could be many years from reality.
Still, legislators in attendance voiced support for improving that part of the village.
"Your views have been heard," said Zalewski, who listened to about half of the testimony before heading to another meeting. "I think IDOT should have been here to heat every single word. I'll find my own special way of communicating what they should have heard."
Later, near the conclusion of the workshop attended by five of the six trustees, Durkin -- who lives steps away from another misaligned intersection of 47th at Grand Avenue -- said he witnesses accidents there every other week and empathized with the La Grange residents.
"It was a planning disaster ... when they did that," he said. "If it comes to the question of a jurisdictional transfer, I will listen to the (pros and cons and) I will be reasonable. IDOT is almost 'programmed' to say no, but they will not get away with it this time. If we have to be heavy handed with IDOT, so be it. It's personal to me and extremely personal to everybody in this room."
Ninth Avenue resident Jan Kinsley couldn't agree more.
"We need to take strong measures at this point," she said, saying many parents won't let their children cross 47th to go to the library, the Park District recreation center on East Avenue or even the South Campus of Lyons Township High School.
After the meeting, trustees Mike Horvath and Jim Palermo agreed they saw no reason why aligning the sidewalk access on both sides of 47th cannot be done immediately. Improving traffic and safety issues was one of Horvath's main campaign issues when he ran for trustee, he said.
Trustee Bill Holder took a more cautious approach, but said while in theory curb cuts and signs are "quick and easy" things the village could do, they may not be the ultimate answer to improve safety. He said the intersection of 47th and East "frightens (him) to death" so much that he won't even let his 16-year-old daughter who just earned her license drive through there.
"I think the turnout was important; it showed that people care," he added. "It showed this issue is a real one, not just for one neighborhood, but to a broad cross-section of representatives (in all parts of town). All of this takes cooperation."
Asperger, saying she was "delighted" so many residents decided to spend an evening to dissect the issue and come up with some well thought-out solutions, stressed there would be no final decision that night and no way of setting a timeline or next meeting date on the topic. But she did add the village has $250,000 budgeted for that area in 2010 and has committed $20,000 for a planning study this year.
"It's unfortunate, but so much of this is ... in careless driving behavior," she said. "Where there are stop signs, people just roll through. There are some horrendous driving behaviors ... (but) we will do as much as we can as quickly as we can."
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