Engineering consultants who gathered data about the safety of the Main Street/River Street intersection in East Dundee observed nine motorists driving the wrong way on River Street within 12 hours.
“They (also) noticed a close call resulting in some road rage and, really, kind of a scary incident,” said Steve Pautsch, Civiltech Engineering project engineer told the East Dundee Village Board at a recent meeting.
Civiltech, as part of a Bike and Pedestrian Plan it’s doing for the village, is also looking at the saftey of the Main Street/Route 72 and River Street intersection, which was the most frequently cited safety concern in a resident survey and at public meetings.
Pautsch said the study used new technology that can capture information and video on near-miss crashes. Such technology has not been used in Illinois before, consultants said.
The study took place during peak hours from Sept. 24 to 28 at which time there was a high volume of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the west leg of Main Street, the consultants said.
One hundred and twenty-seven pedestrians and 236 cyclists were counted, and the eastbound and southbound right-turn lanes at the intersection had a high traffic volume, the study found. On southbound River Street, 170 vehicles were counted.
Data showed pedestrian and bike crashes tend to be sporadic, with complaints also made for near misses, Pautsch said.
What consultants found is motorists yield to pedestrians and cyclists but don’t give them enough space, he said.
“It’s more of an issue of driver behavior than an engineering difficulty” of the intersection or crosswalk, Pautsch said.
Civiltech consultants are recommending some changes that might help in the short term, such as posting a stop-for-pedestrians sign and adding a right turn on a red light restriction to the westbound lane of Route 72.
Long-term recommendations are still being developed but could include realigning the crosswalks, relocating the Fox River Trail to the west side of South River Street and improving the sightlines by doing things like removing the village’s digital sign.
Lissa Sweeney, transportation planner with Civiltech, also gave village officials a progress report of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. The idea is “to create a roadmap to prioritize future projects when opportunities are available,” she said, and to provide the data needed for the village to apply for funding grants.
Improving safety and enhancing connectivity for people walking, bicycling and rolling throughout the village is the goal, Sweeney said. It will build on the village’s existing bike and pedestrian network, she said.
The Fox River Trail is the primary walking/biking path in East Dundee but lacks sidewalks or paths for east-west connectivity, Sweeney said. There also are gaps in the sidewalk network and only one pedestrian signal downtown and not along other major roads, she said.
Civiltech is expecting to wrap up its work in the spring. A public meeting will be held for residents to provide more feedback before the village board reviews and approves the plan, Sweeney said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.