Fewer Crashes After Clarendon Hills Bar Closed: Stats

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Fewer crashes have occurred at 55th Street and Western Avenue in Clarendon Hills since a corner bar closed three years ago, according to village statistics.

The village obtained the numbers from the police department because a Dunkin' Donuts is proposed for the southwest corner of the intersection. It is the site of the old Tracy's Tavern.

From 2014 to 2019, when Tracy's was open, the annual number of crashes at the intersection averaged 7.5 a year, ranging from five to 11. After the bar closed three years ago, the average dropped to about two.

In an interview, Jonathan Mendel, the village's community development director, said the village needed more information on the crashes. As it is, officials cannot conclude that the bar was a factor, he said.

Mendel has prepared a memo on the Dunkin' Donuts proposal for the zoning board, which meets Thursday. At the meeting, members may vote on the request for a drive-thru at the restaurant.

In the memo, Mendel said the data on crashes provides "minuscule" numbers before and after the bar closed.

"These small number of occurrences should not be substantively increased with the operation of the drive-through, since the applicant's traffic study shows low volumes in the drive-through during the AM peak period," Mendel said in the memo. "(T)here doesn’t appear to be any evidence that the proposed restaurant drive-through facility could be considered to create unsafe conditions in its immediate vicinity."

He said the village recommends that no traffic from Dunkin' Donuts exit onto Western Avenue. Tracy's only exit was on Western.

Mendel's memo does not address the traffic light, although a consultant for the developer suggests a signal.

In the interview, Mendel said a traffic light is a separate issue and not one that would be considered in the current process.

He said in the memo the restaurant would be a compatible use because the property has been commercially zoned for decades. He noted it is next to 55th Street, a four-lane road.

The developer, Hinsdale-based KrohVan LLC, is proposing a 6,000-square-foot building. A third of the development would be for a combination Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurant. The rest is for a yet-to-be-determined retailer.

Neighbors are opposed to the project. They contend it could worsen traffic.