Glenview rejects request to cut Woodlawn Avenue through-traffic

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:21AM

Glenview officials will not close a street where residents believed traffic speed and volume were making their neighborhood unsafe.

Village trustees, public safety officers and a traffic consultant met Wednesday night with Woodlawn Avenue homeowners, who wanted the avenue gated on the eastside of Wildwood Lane.

Doing so would close Woodlawn Avenue mid-block and prevent traffic flow to two thoroughfares — Waukegan and Sunset Ridge roads.

In studying the complaint, a traffic consultant and Glenview’s Traffic Committee earlier found that closing the avenue would spread vehicles to nearby streets.

For that reason and others, the consultant and committee recommended to trustees to keep Woodlawn open.

If the recommendation was to gate the avenue, trustees would have been required to make a decision in a regular board meeting.

Joe Kenney, Glenview’s director of capital projects, said the village has always resisted closing streets to reduce traffic and did not want to set a precedent regarding the Woodlawn Avenue request.

“There are side effects to closing Woodlawn. Cut-through vehicles will find other major streets to travel, such as Hollywood Avenue and Pleasant Lane,” he said.

Kenney also said maintaining a grid pattern of open streets dispersed traffic and increased access to thoroughfares.

In November 2011, homeowners submitted a petition to the village asking for the gate and described Woodlawn Avenue traffic as “an ongoing dangerous situation.”

The village has performed traffic counts on Woodlawn, finding the average daily westbound travel was 623 vehicles in 2007 and 462 in 2011.

Going southbound, the count was 703 vehicles in 2007 down to 303 in 2011.

Like all residential streets in Glenview, Woodlawn’s speed limit is 20 mph, and in 2011 the study found 85 percent of westbound vehicles were going 31.5 mph or slower, while 85 percent going eastbound were traveling at 28 mph or slower.

In 2011, the village installed new traffic signs and road striping and used temporary speed carts for showing motorists how fast they were driving.

Also, more police officers enforced speed limits last year.

On Feb. 2, the village board could approve permanent speed boards that show drivers their miles per hour and more pavement markings.

A Glenview police report stated officers stopped nine vehicles for infractions in 2007 and 46 in 2010 on Woodlawn Avenue.

No car accidents have occurred since 2009, but some residents said pedestrians getting hit remained a threat.

“Getting your mail is dangerous,” said a resident.

Police Sgt. Terry Urbanowski said gating streets slowed response times to emergencies.