The city of Geneva is setting aside $208,000 for a possible reconfiguration of Illinois Route 31 that would reduce a stretch of the road from four lanes to two through lanes and one turn lane.
A handful of residents, along with their aldermen, have been investigating the possible “road diet” for Route 31 for several months. But when city officials heard that the Illinois Department of Transportation is planning a repaving of the road this spring, they decided to speed up the process.
“This is a timing issue,” said Ald. Tom Simonian, whose ward includes the stretch of road, which runs from Elizabeth Place to Fabyan Parkway.
The council’s committee of the whole last week unanimously approved shifting money that had been planned to improve the commuter parking lots on Fourth Street and instead saving it for any possible contribution from the city toward the road diet project.
Mayor Kevin Burns and Simonian stressed that the project is not a given — it still has to undergo public hearings and IDOT approval.
Last November, the council heard from resident Bob FitzSimmons, who worked with Phil Bus, the former development director for Kane County, to examine whether the southern stretch of Route 31 could be reduced from four lanes to two, with a center turn lane, and bike paths on either side. They also included plans for a landscaped median and a pedestrian crossing in their proposal.
They maintain that the lane reduction would have a “calming” effect on traffic and would increase safety by reducing crashes because drivers don’t have to change lanes to avoid being stuck behind a left-turning vehicle. They also said that it would increase bike access, a stated goal of the city.
Simonian polled the residents on the streets perpendicular to the stretch of Route 31 that runs from Elizabeth to Fabyan. The majority were in favor, he said.
Simonian also said that a few “good Samaritans” from the neighborhood have pledged that they will foot the bill for the “Phase 1” study that would be required by IDOT before considering the proposal.
Ald. Don Cummings said it makes sense to not let the opportunity of the IDOT repaving pass. He cited a national traffic study that examined road diets that showed accident reductions ranging from 29 percent to 47 percent.
“If we have a good end game out there, and it doesn’t necessarily cost us anything to look into this, I think it’s a do,” said Ald. Don Cummings. “I’m in favor of pushing ahead and taking a harder look at this and diverting the money so we can do it.”
Ald. Craig Maladra said that the study will show whether the lane reduction is possible.
“To me, this kind of looks like a no brainer,” Maladra said. “But I am not an engineer or a highway expert. We need the engineering done, we need the highway experts to weigh in so we can find out if the benefits we hope to accrue from the project are actually possible or if indeed the project itself is possible.”
Alds. Dean Kilburn and Chuck Brown questioned the idea that the budget for the Fourth Street lots that had already been approved as part of this year’s budget had to be set aside for unspecified road diet expenses but ultimately voted yes.
Burns said that with the vote, the council was signaling that the exploring the road diet was a higher priority than the Fourth Street lots.
