Traffic considerations for HS

[doctorwho]

While there are varying degrees of opinion on routes for HS students to travel to HS as far as safety, some numbers stand by themselves. Below allows one to view the paths your kids are taking today, as well as potential paths.

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Route 59 and North Aurora most crash-prone in Naperville ... again
by Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 12/6/2007 3:19 PM | Updated: 12/7/200 12:06 AMSend To:

As it has for the past few years, Route 59 and North Aurora Road tops Naperville's list of most dangerous intersections, with 95 accidents last year.

That's a slight drop from 2005, part of an overall trend of decreasing accidents citywide.

The number of accidents on public roadways totaled 3,686 last year, compared to 3,938 in 2005, Naperville Police Cmdr. Mike Anders said. Many of the high accident totals occur along Route 59.

The thoroughfare simply doesn't have the capacity to handle the 50,000-plus vehicles traveling near that intersection daily, said Kim Grabow, city project engineer.

"We're seeing a lot of capacity-related accidents, such as rear-ending and people trying to get through the signal at the end of the light … and making turning movements at the last minute," she said.

Traffic volume has been a key factor in other Route 59 intersections as well, but at least two of them saw significant drops in accidents last year, though they remain in the top 15.

At Route 59 and 95th Street, there were 64 crashes in 2006, down from 95 the previous year. At Route 59 and I-88 there were only 48 accidents, compared to 82 in 2005.

Anders said police have been making concentrated efforts to coordinate special programs along Route 59 as well as Ogden Avenue in which police from neighboring towns all put extra patrols on those roads on the same day to stop scofflaws.

"It's not necessarily tickets that have an effect, but letting people know we're out there," he said. "Hopefully that helps … modify people's driving behavior so they slow down and provide enough space between vehicles in case they need to stop in an emergency."

Road improvements may eventually be on the way as well. City project engineer Andy Hynes said Route 59 intersections are part of the Illinois Department of Transportation's engineering study to improve capacity, but state funds will be needed to make the changes.

The intersection of Ogden Avenue, North Aurora Road and Raymond Drive was third in number of crashes in 2006 with 67. But Hynes said this is another intersection that will soon see a few safety enhancements.

In the next few weeks, a state contractor will be installing left-turn signals for drivers traveling north and south.

Another intersection that has long had the city's attention, 75th and Washington streets, had 20 more accidents than last year. About 65,000 vehicles a day travel that thoroughfare, prompting the city to begin a project to widen and add lanes to help absorb the congestion.

Starting in January, red light cameras will also be activated at the intersections of 95th Street and Book Road and Aurora Avenue and Fort Hill Drive. While these intersections didn't crack the city's list of the top 15 for crashes, Hynes said all of those intersections are state- or county-controlled. The two that have been chosen for the first cameras are controlled by the city and are among the most dangerous of that group.

The city hopes to eventually install cameras at 10 to 15 intersections.

Naperville's most dangerous intersections

Intersection Crashes in 2006 2005

Route 59 and North Aurora Road 95 102

Route 59 and Diehl Road 68 68

Ogden Ave. and North Aurora/Raymond Drive 67 64

75th St. and Washington Street 66 46

75th St. and Naper Boulevard 64 53

Route 59 and 95th Street 64 95

Ogden Ave. and Aurora Avenue 61 54

Ogden Ave. and Naper Boulevard 55 57

Route 59 and 111th Street 53 47

Ogden Ave. and Washington Street 52 40

[doctorwho]

For instance in Watts - our commute today potentially includes 1 of these intersections:

Ogden Ave. and Aurora Avenue 61 54


A commute to Neuqua Valley would lower this to zero


A commute to a north side site would raise this to some combination of up to 4

Route 59 and North Aurora Road 95 102

Route 59 and Diehl Road 68 68

Ogden Ave. and North Aurora/Raymond Drive 67 64

Ogden Ave. and Aurora Avenue 61 54


a commute to a southern site - if east of 59 ( i.e. Wagner Farms ) would be zero

a commute to a southern sute - if west of 59 ( i.e. MACOM) woud make this up to 2

Route 59 and 95th Street 64 95
Route 59 and 111th Street 53 47


I have not heard it, just people repeating from IPPC meetings etc., but if Dr. Daeschner really did say that Rt 59 seems like a natural boundary - these stats would bear out some of the reason why also.

[momof3]

Somone had mentioned that for COW to get to the AME site they should take Fort Hill Drive. Looks like they will have a shiny new red light camera to hand out tickets there.

Looks like only those on Aurora will get a ticket - imo the problem is people turning left onto Aurora from Fort Hill.

Regardless, the project engineer sites the 'collision history' at that intersection. I'm sure traffic is up significantly since the olden days when that area went to Indian Plains.

Cameras planned to monitor two intersections

December 11, 2007
By KATE R. HOULIHAN Staff writer

Two intersections have been chosen to host the city's first red light cameras.

When the project rolls out in early 2008, residents will see cameras, meant to snap an image of the license plates of motorists who run red lights, at the following locations:


• Eastbound 95th Street at Book Road

n Westbound 95th Street at Book Road

n Eastbound Aurora Avenue at Fort Hill Drive

n Westbound Aurora Avenue at Fort Hill Drive

"These two intersections were selected for several reasons, but primarily because these locations could benefit most based upon their collision history," said project engineer Andy Hynes.

The other places considered included the intersection of Aurora Avenue and Washington Street and Chicago Avenue and Washington Street. However, Hynes said those were put on hold because a major utility construction project set for Aurora and Washington is planned for early 2008, and would cause disruption to the red light program.

"The Chicago and Washington location has some equipment conflict issues that would complicate the installation," Hynes said. "The red light camera vendor is also in the process of developing a new housing for their equipment that would be more compatible with the streetscape elements of the downtown."

Eventually, if the program is successful, the city would like to see the cameras placed at 10 to 15 intersections, Hynes said. After an evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the cameras, the idea is to place them on streets controlled by the Illinois Department of Transportation, such as Route 59 or Ogden Avenue, city officials said.

Four roads that intersect Route 59 have had the highest number of vehicle crashes in the city within the past three years. Those include Route 59 and North Aurora Road, Route 59 and 95th Street, Route 59 and Diehl Road and Route 59 and Interstate 88.


Emphasis on safety

The cameras could be operational by the beginning of 2008, according to Naperville traffic unit Sgt. Lee Martin. A 30-day warning period would act as the precursor to people receiving a $100 violation, which is similar to a parking ticket and does not go on a person's record.
The same red light camera program was instituted in Bolingbrook this past May. The program was suspended in November after Bolingbrook police said that in the six months since the cameras were operational, accidents dropped by an average of 40 percent, compared to the same months in 2006. City officials there said because the goal of the program was to reduce accidents, they were going to evaluate the data during the winter before deciding whether to restart it.

However, some residents said the program was nothing more than another way for the city to put some extra cash in its coffers.

"As far as the police department is concerned, the program is purely a safety program," Martin said. "If no one was ever issued a citation, it wouldn't break my heart at all."

City officials said similar programs in other parts of the country improve safety by reducing red light violations, in addition to serving as a deterrent to poor driving behavior. Martin said people who come to a complete stop before a crosswalk, look both ways to check for pedestrians, and then proceed to get a better view of the intersection before turning right on red would not be fined; nor would people who pull into an intersection on a green light to turn left and then have to complete the turn when the light becomes red.

"We encourage people to continue the flow of traffic," he said. "This is for people who completely blow through the red light, roll through a stoplight at five to 10 miles per hour or people who disregard the light entirely, which happens regularly at a number of intersections."

Contact Kate Houlihan at [e-mail] or 630-416-5224.