Burr Ridge Limits Neighborhood's Traffic

BURR RIDGE, IL – The Burr Ridge Village Board decided this week to restrict traffic going into the Chasemoor subdivision, where an estimated 500 people live.

The action came as residents in the neighborhood were divided over what to do. The homeowners association itself supported the changes.

With its decision, the village plans to bar northbound traffic on Chasemoor Drive between 79th Street and Lincolnshire Drive from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays.

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, southbound traffic would be prohibited on Chasemoor between Lincolnshire or the Pace bus commuter parking lot to 79th.

Chasemoor residents have complained about the volume of traffic on their street. The road is a link that many drivers use from Village Center, County Line Square and other commercial developments.

The changes would last a year as part of a pilot study.

During the hours in question, residents could drive either way within the subdivision. But they would be barred from turning from 79th in the wrong direction, officials said.

The turning restriction would apply to every driver, except emergency vehicles.

When Mayor Gary Grasso asked whether residents in the audience favored the changes, he heard both support and opposition.

"We want to do what you want to do, but if you don't have consensus, it makes it hard for us to make a decision," the mayor told the residents.

During public comments, resident Kevin Duffy tried to ask the homeowners association's president whether the group surveyed all residents about the proposal.

But Grasso told Duffy to address his questions to the Village Board.

Duffy then said it would be best if the association got a "broader swath of opinions than the ones they have at this point."

Trustee Guy Franzese asked Duffy whether he had an alternative proposal. Duffy replied that he did not.

During a discussion, trustees Franzese and Russell Smith said they both were concerned about what it would take to enforce the rules.

The board's vote was unanimous in favor of directing the village's staff to draft an ordinance to make the changes a reality.