'Unacceptable': Traffic On La Grange Street Discussed

LA GRANGE, IL – A La Grange resident told village officials Monday that they need to do something about controlling traffic on Brainard Avenue.

Mike Murphy, who lives in the 500 block of South Brainard, said the mile-long stretch from 47th to 55th streets is the longest in the village without a stop sign or stoplight.

"I can't tell you what the average speed is. I think most people drive reasonably," he said at a Village Board meeting. "I can tell you that on four or five occasions, somebody has decided to pass me on the left when I'm driving the speed limit."

He also said he sees drivers fly by when people use the crosswalk with flashers at Brainard and 48th Street. That happens whether high schoolers or he and his 6-year-old are trying to use it, he said.

"Is there nothing that can be done, or is there complete disinterest in doing anything?" Murphy asked.

Village President Mark Kuchler said that was an interesting way to put the question.

"Why don't I turn it on you? What do you suggest we do?" Kuchler said.

Murphy said he would like stop signs, with the village deciding where they should go.

Kuchler responded with what traffic engineers often advise – don't put up stop signs to control speed.

Engineers say drivers tend to speed more between signs to make up for lost time or ignore the signs completely when there are too many of them.

Murphy rejected such advice.

"I don't think it's sufficient to say that stop signs are not speed control measures. I think that ignores reality," he said. "You have to decelerate with a stop sign."

Murphy was told about the procedures for how a resident can request a stop sign.

"I will use whatever resources are available to me, but I will be back if nothing is done," he said.

He said Brainard being the only one-mile stretch without a stop sign or stoplight was "unacceptable for safety or otherwise."