Traffic & Transit
Planned Darien Stoplight Draws Concerns
City decided on the light last year, citing crashes at the intersection.
DARIEN, IL – A year ago, Darien aldermen approved the installation of a traffic light at Clarendon Hills Road and 67th Street. It is set to go up this summer.
At this week's City Council meeting, nearby residents said they worried it may not be the right solution.
"My concern with it is that it's going to cause a lot more traffic for the houses near the traffic light," said Heather Roskopf, who lives in the 6700 block of Clarendon Hills Road. "I don't really believe it's going to make much of a difference for accidents happening there. I think people are going to speed when they see yellow. There may be worse accidents."
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Others questioned whether the city considered a four-way stop. Now, stop signs are on 67th, but not Clarendon Hills Road.
Dan Gombac, the city's municipal services director, said a four-way stop was looked at.
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"What a stop sign would do is to have further negative effects on backups in which case it becomes an emissions issue," he said. "The stacking would be so far back, it would obviously not be conducive for anyone."
The city decided to put up a traffic light because of crashes at the intersection. The idea was pushed by Ward 2 Alderman Lester Vaughan, who represents the area.
In early 2021, Rosemont-based KLOA finished a study of the intersection. It found 59 crashes happened there between 2014 and 2021.
Of the crashes, 19 of them resulted in injuries and one a fatality. The fatal crash was a head-on collision involving a drunken driver, the study said.
Fifty-three of them were either turning or angle crashes, which could be corrected by a traffic signal or a four-way stop, according to the study.
Crashes have fallen in number in the last few years. That followed improvements made to the intersection in response to a 2019 study, officials said.
Darien's jurisdiction makes up three-fourths of the intersection, while Willowbrook takes up the rest. Willowbrook is set to pay a quarter of the costs.
Darien officials said they aim for the traffic light to be up by this summer.
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