Stop Signs Get Go-Ahead At Elmhurst Intersection

ELMHURST, IL – Stop signs could be at the intersection of Columbia and Kenilworth avenues by next week, an official said Monday.

At a meeting, the City Council's public safety committee approved the city staff's proposal to replace the yield signs at Columbia and Kenilworth avenues. The signs are on Columbia.

The city's engineer, Kent Johnson, said the City Council could vote on the stop signs at its meeting next Monday. If that happens, changing the signs out will be relatively easy and likely completed in days, he said.

Signs stating "Cross traffic does not stop" will also be added, officials said.

Over the summer, the committee decided to keep the yield signs until the city performed a traffic study for the area in question. The city plans such studies in neighborhoods throughout town, which could take years.

But two crashes since October changed officials' minds.

Johnson said national standards call for the stop signs, given the number of crashes – a total of three within the last 14 months.

"We do think there is a warrant to do something here," Johnson said.

Alderman Guido Nardini said he was "thrilled" to vote for the stop signs. He said the intersection had seen enough crashes in his "un-engineered" opinion.

Last summer, Ward 3 aldermen Chris Jensen and Michael Bram, who represent the neighborhood in question, requested stop signs at Columbia and Kenilworth. That's what prompted the committee's original consideration.