Exploding Hinsdale School's Enrollment Means Change Needed: Officials

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale elementary school's exploding population calls for making a nearby crosswalk safer, officials said Tuesday.

Oak Elementary's population has grown by more than 50 percent over the last 15 years, to 432, according to state records.

At a meeting, Hinsdale trustees agreed that the village needed to put up button-activated flashing beacons for those crossing Country Line Road at Ninth Street.

Trustee Alexis Braden said she had spoken with Oak parents.

"I've been there for 12 years, and now we have gone from two classes per grade to three classes per grade," she said.

The flashing beacons, she said, would particularly help students in the Woodland neighborhood east of County Line.

Police Chief Brian King said his department favored a crosswalk there.

"If you look at the average daily counts on our collector streets and our minor arterial streets, South County Line Road has the highest volume north-south in our village," the chief said.

The village is also considering putting up flashing crosswalk beacons at County Line and Third Street.

Braden, who lives a block away, said the elevation changes on County Line near Third, so it's hard for pedestrians to see.

While the trustees agreed on the beacons at Ninth, they wanted the village's traffic consultant to study Third and County Line.