Elmhurst Eyes Intersection Where Woman Died

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials on Monday addressed possible traffic changes to make the northside intersection of Diversey Avenue and York Street safer.

This was in light of the January crash that resulted in the death of 74-year-old Elmhurst resident Rosemary Rice, who was walking across York at the intersection.

At the public safety committee meeting Monday, Rice's family spoke. During a City Council meeting earlier this year, Rice's daughter, Patricia Hudson, called for action to make the intersection safer.

A 2019 consultant's study of the intersection suggested diverting cut-through traffic from Diversey. But the consultant said a traffic light was not warranted.

One of the study's recommendations was to convert side roads from Grand Avenue to Diversey, east of the intersection, into one-way, northbound streets to prevent drivers from seeking to avoid the signal at Grand and York.

York Street and Diversey Avenue was the intersection where a woman was killed walking across in January. (David Giuliani/Patch)

At Monday's meeting, Assistant City Manager Kent Johnson said many of those streets are in Addison Township, so the city would need cooperation to make the changes.

Alderman Guido Nardini said that if a traffic study excludes the Addison Township neighborhood, "that's going to miss a lot of driving behavior."

It was suggested during the meeting that a dedicated crosswalk could be installed at Diversey and York.

A few months ago, the city completed a dedicated crosswalk three blocks to the south, near Yorky's restaurant. It has flashing lights letting drivers know pedestrians are in the crosswalk. It also includes an area in the middle where pedestrians can wait to cross the other two lanes.

The 2019 study also called for the city to work with businesses near the intersection to reduce the number of curb cuts, where feasible. This was following the recommendations of the North York Street Corridor plan.

Johnson said the city has been following this practice on North York. Officials were able to convince the gas station at Diversey and York to shift its entrance on Diversey farther away from the intersection.

The city also has been able to get other businesses to consolidate entrances.

"We don't have the ability to force people to do it," Johnson said.

Mike Brennan, the public safety committee's chairman, asked members to review the 2019 study for the next meeting.