Elmhurst May Keep 2-Way Stop, Despite Concerns

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst is poised to keep a local intersection a two-way stop, despite concerns it was better as a four-way.

On Monday, the City Council's public safety committee is set to vote on a measure keeping the intersection of Glenview Avenue and Third Street as is.

In response to a neighborhood traffic study last year, the City Council changed the intersection in question to a two-way stop, from a four-way.

Months later, though, Ward 2 aldermen Jacob Hill and Karen Sienko, who represent the neighborhood in question, said the study did not take into account a nearby school bus stop.

"Since the change was put into effect, aldermen and city staff have been alerted to the fact that there are numerous schoolchildren picked up by school buses at this intersection, which lacks sidewalks," the aldermen said.

During the winter, children are forced to wait at times on the plowed street, Hill and Sienko said.

"Since this is also a cut-through area for vehicular traffic, the safety issue appears to be compounded," the aldermen said.

According to a memo last week, the city found that the majority of local school bus stops are at intersections and that only 15 percent of them occur at four-way stops.

The city said the school district reported that six to 10 students are expected to be at the corner daily.

As for cut-through traffic, the police department and the city's traffic consulting firm studied afternoon rush hour traffic and determined that the street is not a cut-through and that speeding is not an issue.

Sienko is among the three members of the public safety committee.