Elmhurst Traffic Crashes Drop A Lot This Decade

ELMHURST, IL – Traffic crashes in Elmhurst have dropped by a quarter since before the pandemic, according to police statistics.

In the seven years before the pandemic, the annual number of crashes ranged from 1,653 to 1,800.

In the pandemic year of 2020, the number plunged to 931, with many people not going to work.

From 2021 to 2023, annual crashes have ranged from 1,256 to 1,307. That works out to about 3½ crashes a day.

Last year, 94 percent of Elmhurst's crashes were on the city's major roads, while the rest were on residential streets, Police Chief Michael McLean told the City Council this week.

"For our size, Elmhurst has a lot of major highways – Grand Avenue to the north, Roosevelt to the south, and probably one of the biggest that goes north-south is 83," the chief said. "We've put a lot of focus on neighborhood residential streets because that's where children play and that's where children walk to and from school."

Elmhurst, he said, has long had an efficient way of dealing with minor crashes.

If both cars are drivable and the drivers have insurance and licenses, they are asked to report to the front desk of the police station, McLean said. There, a front-desk service officer handles the report.

"That frees up our patrol officer to go back to their patrol duties," he said.

Elmhurst has 68 sworn police officers, he said.