'Analysis Paralysis' With Darien Traffic Issue
A resident recommends less costly safety improvements to address a traffic problem. Darien resident Charles Fischer has proposed lower-cost solutions to a traffic issue in Darien, Illinois, where semi-trucks exiting from northbound Interstate 55 onto southbound Cass Avenue must perform three lane changes across Cass to turn left on South Frontage to access the Sterling Bay warehouse. The DuPage County Board authorized $241,000 for a Cass Avenue study two years ago and a similar study recommended a traffic light in 2012. However, Fischer argues that DuPage county, which controls the roads in question, lacks the funds for such upgrades. He proposed three less costly solutions, including installing a barrier between the two southbound lanes of Cass Avenue and reducing the speed limit on Cass near Southfrontage. The potential improvements to Cass are increasing due to a planned sports complex and the increasing popularity of the nearby Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve.
ที่ตีพิมพ์ : เมื่อ เดือนที่แล้ว โดย David Giuliani ใน Tech
But resident Charles Fischer said DuPage County, which is in charge of the roads in question, indicated it lacks the money for such upgrades. So he proposed lower-cost solutions. "Let’s not sacrifice a good solution for a perfect solution!" he said in an email to Patch. "The time to act is now."
Over the last few years, Fischer and others have identified what they consider a traffic problem: Semi-trucks that exit from northbound Interstate 55 onto southbound Cass Avenue must perform three immediate lane changes across Cass to turn left on South Frontage to access the Sterling Bay warehouse. Two years ago, the DuPage County Board authorized spending up to $241,000 with CDM Smith for the Cass Avenue study. A similar study was done in 2012, recommending a traffic light, Fischer said.
"There are many safety issues within this corridor, and CDM Smith would like to solve them all and suggests even further analysis," Fischer said. "Their recommendations are not viable, feasible, or realistic. This is the epitome of analysis paralysis at the cost of public safety." Fischer proposed three options that he said are less costly:
• Install some type of barrier between the two southbound lanes of Cass Avenue to prevent drivers exiting from northbound I-55 to do the three-lane maneuver to turn left on South Frontage. The barrier could be similar to the four-foot-high bright orange plastic pipe-like structures on 67th Street between Cass and Clarendon Hills Road.
• Lower the speed limit, which is now 40 mph, on Cass near South Frontage.
• Eliminate left turns on the section of Cass near South Frontage. Increasing the need for improvements on Cass, Fischer said, are a planned sports complex and the rising popularity of the nearby Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve. "Find an engineer who says this 3-lane weave maneuver is safe," he said.