La Grange's Fastest Traffic: Resident Seeks Village Study

LA GRANGE, IL – The La Grange street with the highest speed limit is East Avenue, where drivers can go 40 mph.

The state road also has heavy truck traffic.

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At Monday's Village Board meeting, Linda Pluto, who lives in the 700 block of East Avenue, noted these facts about her street. She called for a traffic study for her neighborhood.

She said she failed to understand why the village and state did not conduct a traffic study before the ongoing construction project at East and 47th Street, which also involves nearby railroad tracks.

As a result, she said, traffic backs up from 47th to Plainfield Road for much of the afternoon and into the early evening.

This is leading drivers to use 49th and 50th streets and Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and 10th avenues as cut-throughs, Pluto said.

The increased traffic is impacting safety at nearby Seventh Avenue Elementary School and Sedgwick Park, she said.

"This is particularly dangerous because there are no sidewalks west of East Avenue until you reach 10th Avenue," an area that spans three blocks, Pluto said. "To be honest, I have a hard time believing that when the train comes through, it will be any better than it is today."

She continued, "I'm trying to remain positive that the stoplight at East and 47th will facilitate better traffic flow. I am asking to please prioritize a traffic study on the streets of concern in my neighborhood."

At a meeting earlier this month, Pluto's husband, John Pluto, asked officials about wiring that he suspected was part of a traffic study.

Tim O'Brien, the village's public works director, responded by revealing that a traffic study was taking place, saying money had been socked away for it.

The study area is bounded by 47th Street on the south, La Grange Road on the west, the railroad tracks on the north and East Avenue on the east.

The Plutos' neighborhood is south of that area.