Board of Trustees Approves New Garfield Street Stop Signs

Though an ordinance placing two new stop signs at the intersection of 1st and Garfield streets, making it a four-way stop, got the unanimous approval of the  Board of Trustees Tuesday night, its passage came with some trustee reservations.

The proposed the additional signs after they were justified by a traffic study that began in late December and showed significant enough pedestrian traffic and sight obstructions at the intersection, which features (HMS) on the southwest corner and  on the northwest corner.

The traffic study was prompted by by one vehicle that was passing another vehicle that had stopped while waiting to turn left onto 1st.

The intersection did not meet the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) warrants for vehicle traffic and crash frequency that would justify additional traffic control, but in the police department’s view did meet other DOT criteria, including “the need to control vehicle/pedestrian conflicts near locations that generate high pedestrian volumes” and at “locations where a road user ... cannot see conflicting traffic and is not able to negotiate the intersection unless conflicting cross traffic is also required to stop.”

Hinsdale Police Chief Brad Bloom said Garfield is wide enough that cars can legally make that pass on the left without crossing into oncoming traffic, but might not be able to see any pedestrians crossing in front of the turning car, as was the case in the Dec. 21 incident.

Other sight problems at the intersection are created by large trucks that double-park on Garfield when making deliveries to local businesses such as a Dips & Dogs and Fuller’s Hardware.

“No one will argue that [the new signs] will not make this intersection appreciably safer,” Bloom said.

Trustee Doug Geoga voted in favor of the police department’s recommendation because in Hinsdale, he said, “the fastest path to the doghouse is to get in the middle of a stop sign fight.” But the trustee said the village has benefited in the past from basing stop-sign placement on an objective, numbers-based system and Tuesday’s ordinance may bring on lots of new stop sign requests.

“We’ve said no to crying mothers in front of us,” Geoga said. “We’ve said to them, ‘Not enough cars; not enough accidents.’ … We are going to feel the consequences of this in future discussions.”

Village President Tom Cauley also worried that all the residents who have been turned down stop signs based on low vehicle volume and crash frequency will now have a gripe.

“This is a can of worms that we’re now opening,” Cauley said. “Maybe it’s worth opening, but I just want to know how we’re going to address it going forward.”

Bloom said he does not think that using the non-quantitative criteria for the 1st and Garfield stop signs means all requested stop signs will be justifiable under the same premises. The chief said the intersection is “a unique case” with “special circumstances.” 

Trustees J. Kimberley Angelo, Chris Elder and Bob Saigh all spoke in favor of the new stop signs. Angelo said it’s “high time” 1st and Garfield became a four-way stop considering its proximity to HMS.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen every day,” Angelo said. “Regardless of how the conclusion was come to, I think it’s a necessary thing and I support it wholeheartedly.”

The police department will likely install the new signs within the next few weeks, Bloom said. It will monitor new traffic patterns resulting from the signs, with a focus on southbound traffic that could potentially get backed up near the railroad tracks.