No Traffic Light At York and Diversey: City Council

ELMHURST, IL — The Elmhurst City Council rejected a traffic light at York Street and Diversey Avenue on Monday, despite a request from residents. Aldermen pointed to a study that recommended against a light.

According to a consultant's report, the north-side intersection failed to meet any of the nine conditions for a traffic light. Residents, though, have pointed to car accidents at the Ward 3 intersection that they contended a traffic light could have helped prevent.

Ward 3 Alderman Michael Bram said it was hard to justify a traffic signal when none of the conditions were met. Sometimes, he said, traffic control devices do more harm than good and that they are not meant to deter cut-through traffic.

Dannee Polomsky, the other Ward 3 alderman, agreed.

"We are better off when people participate and make their needs known," she said. "Nobody likes to be a part of a council to hear a request and then come to the conclusion that what someone is asking for is not warranted. Should conditions change, we can always re-evaluate."

Ward 2 Alderman Norman Leader was the only council member to support a light. In his 15 years as an alderman, he said he has never questioned or opposed a recommendation from the public works department. He said that was because he lacked the knowledge or experience to do so.

In this case, he said he dissented because he feared the "lethal combination of schoolchildren, McDonald's and a plethora of left turns."

"Forgive me, but I can't help but sense that we are dancing on dynamite over there," Leader said.

During public input, four residents spoke out in favor of a light. As he did last month, former Mayor Pete DiCianni, now a DuPage County Board member, warned about the traffic accidents. He listed 16 of them since 2015, information he said he got from the police department.

"I would hope you would step up," DiCianni told the council. "It's only a matter of time until we have a major problem. Shame on us for not doing something."

Resident James Ignoffo, a north-side resident, said he worried for the schoolchildren getting off buses in that area. A traffic light, he said, could prevent people from cutting through to the intersection to shave 30 seconds off their commutes.

His son, Nicholas Ignoffo, said he had an accident a Diversey and York when he was 18. He said he and another driver struck head on, without either seeing the other. He said his car took most of the damage, but he was not injured.

The council voted 13-1 in favor of the consultant's study, which recommended against the light.

According to the consultant, Engineering Enterprises, none of the justifications for a traffic light under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices apply at York and Diversey. The firm said "unwarranted signals generally cause more safety issues than they fix."

On the west side of the intersection are McDonald's and Shell gas station, while the east side leads to residential neighborhoods. It is just south of York Street and Grand Avenue, an intersection with a light.

Short of a traffic light, Engineering Enterprises had three recommendations to help with the situation at York and Diversey:

• The city could install signs on Grand Avenue, east of the intersection with York, barring left turns onto side roads that lead to Diversey during rush hours.
• Convert side roads from Grand to Diversey (east of the intersection) into one-way, northbound streets to prevent drivers from seeking to avoid the signal at Grand and York.
• The city could work with local businesses near the intersection to reduce the number of curb cuts at each site, where feasible, in accordance with the recommendations of the North York Street Corridor plan.