“Do you feel like an outlier traveling 70 mph on Illinois toll roads? Several readers do and asked why drivers are getting away with 90 mph.” So wrote Marni Pyke of the Daily Herald under the headline
“Speeding is tied to 55% of crash deaths in Illinois. So why does it persist?”
You may be thinking that this shocking statistic relates to freeway speeding and, horrific though it is, what has that to do with our unincorporated area roads?
A further Daily Herald article a week later clarified that 55% crash death statistic. “Readers may be forgiven if they assume most of those deadly crashes occur on interstates and tollways, where the 70 mph speed limit appears to be a mere suggestion for most drivers. But take a closer look at the numbers, and a surprising fact emerges: Most of these fatalities are on local roads, the kind with lower speed limits. Consider: Between 2010 and 2019, traffic fatalities surged 34% in urban/suburban areas. Nearly half of those happened on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or lower.”
Whatever road, street, drive, etc. you live on, you will undoubtedly resonate with these articles. Speed limits really do seem to be a “mere suggestion” and any sign of enforcement is, more often than not, ignored.
Take Purnell Road for example. It is a suggested route if using GPS apps to go in either direction between Route 59 and Winfield Road. You may recall some years ago West-Win opposed the building of the Trillium Farm subdivision not least because of the potential increase of traffic on an already overused “rat run” between Route 59 and Winfield Road. Previous promises of controlled speed and restricted access at peak times proved to be ineffective to say the least, and those responsible for such promises could be accused of window-dressing to get approval for the development. Certainly, the speed limit was reduced to 35 mph, driver speed/speed limit indicators were put up, and turn restriction signs were erected at the Purnell/Garys Mill intersection but faced with the same attitude of drivers to speed and signed restrictions as the Daily Herald articles report, and only occasional official enforcement, these have for the most part been ignored. For residents who live on or near narrow and shoulder-less Purnell Road, this means speeding traffic, long lines at peak times, semi and car hauler size trucks driving through rural residential neighborhoods, an increase in vehicle noise, and the threat of serious injury or worse when the inevitable crash occurs and adds to those horrific statistics mentioned above. For emergency vehicles when responding to resident calls it could be a
matter of life or death.
Purnell Road was recently split between two enforcing authorities. A short length of the road between Garys Mill Road and Gardner Way, where the morning and evening turn restriction is located, came under the police jurisdiction of West Chicago although the remainder of the road remains under the DuPage County Sheriff’s Department. *
A representative of the relevant West Chicago authority reported that “Officers have conducted 14 extra patrols, including specific traffic enforcement periods. Officers have made 47 traffic stops, resulting in either citations or warning tickets.” Just to be clear, that’s 17 months of data not including August 2024 since jurisdiction changed. 14 extra patrols is less than 1 per month. Traffic stops work out to less than 3 per month. And it’s unknown if tickets or just warning citations were issued. Hardly impressive and certainly not a deterrent.
Frustratingly, the representative reported, “We have not received any calls for service or complaints related to traffic concerns in West Chicago’s jurisdiction”.
Mack Road and Winfield Road, under the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction, are also notorious for speeding and reckless driving. At least 3 fatalities and numerous collisions in recent years attest to those facts.
Traffic volume and speeding are the two most frequently reported concerns brought to West-Win’s
attention by its members!
So how should West-Win residents respond? Clearly, we need to inform the relevant authorities when
posted speed limits and traffic restriction signage are blatantly ignored. It seems that is the only way in
which we will get enforcement to be taken seriously. We appreciate that resources are not unlimited and often stretched thin but we are speaking of potential property damage, personal injury, and even life-threatening incidents here. That is not hyperbole. The statistics tell the sad story of something that can be avoided or at least reduced if we take note and act responsibly.
West-Win sincerely appreciates local and county law enforcement’s efforts on their behalf and we remain anxious and willing to work with them to ensure our and their safety.
Who to contact:
➢ Have an emergency? Please call 911!
➢ West Chicago – If you have a non-emergency situation that you need assistance with or wish to file a complaint, please contact the West Chicago Police Department at (630) 293-2222 or
police@westchicago.org.
➢ DuPage County Sheriff’s Department – Nonemergency number 630-682-7256.
*As reported in a previous edition of the West-Win newsletter: West Chicago is now responsible for
enforcing the turn restrictions, plowing, and all other maintenance of Purnell Road that is along Trillium Farm.