Western Springs School Traffic Prompts 'Fear'

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — A resident told Western Springs officials this week that the traffic in front of an elementary school leads to "frustration and fear."

The village said it would look into the matter. And the superintendent of the local school district agreed with the resident that changes needed to be made.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, resident Mike Dahl was speaking about the situation on Howard Avenue in front of Field Park Elementary School. The school is across from Music Makers and just north of the intersection with Hillgrove Avenue.

Dahl, who has two children in the school, described the situation as "razor-thin lanes, careening cars, buses steamrolling through and traffic going in all directions." He suggested the situation was unsafe for students.

Dahl not only spoke about the problem, but also brought forward a possible solution: Make Howard a one-way, northbound street in front of the school and eliminating parking on the west side of the street, giving drivers more space.

"That would alleviate a lot of the issues," Dahl said.

Village President Alice Gallagher said she appreciated that Dahl came forward and that it was obvious he had given the issue a lot of thought.

"We do have procedures in place to address safety issues," Gallagher said. "I can assure you there is nothing more important for this board than that our youngest residents are safe on our streets."

She said the village's Traffic and Safety Commission reviews such issues.

Police Chief Brian Budds said the commission was meeting next week, but that would be too soon to adequately prepare for the issue. He suggested it come up at the commission's meeting in January. Meetings are held every other month.

"I would be more than happy to talk to you more about it," Budds told Dahl.

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, Superintendent Brian Barnhart of Western Springs School District 101 said he and Principal Ashley Burger agreed the street in front of the school is a problem.

Barnhart said if the board changed the two-way parking during school hours or made some other plan, "we would support that one hundred percent."

He said the village also has a number of connected issues to consider — the nearby Methodist Church and Music Makers, among others.

"I believe Mr. Dahl is correct in that Howard Avenue is too narrow to allow three lanes of traffic (two parked, one moving) when dropping off/picking up kids, so I think a revised solution/plan is likely," Barnhart said.