BACKGROUND

A resident living along Chesterfield Drive in the Surrey Ridge subdivision has made a request to have the speed limit lowered along his street.  A spot speed survey was conducted by the Police Department and the results of the data suggest that a reduction from the current statutory unposted 30 mph speed limit to 25 mph is warranted.This segment of Chesterfield Drive has a significant ‘dog-legged’ bend in the roadway alignment, and the motorist speed performance measured during the speed count reflected this condition.

Looking a bit closer at this part of town, many of the subdivisions built when this area street system was designed established a street pattern in a non-grid fashion. The popular street layout approach at that time was to introduce curvilinear road networks to try and reduce speed since the long straight city type block standards would be replaced by a winding road pattern.

Over the years the Village has conducted numerous spot speed counts along Harvard, Noyes, White Oak, Fernandez, Highland, and several other streets in the area. The results of these studies have always come back with data to suggest that the majority of motorists have reduced speeds to compensate for the curved street system.  

While some of the streets in this subdivision are already posted 25 mph, in order to establish a consistent approach to the neighborhood as a whole, it is suggested to expand the request to include the 25 mph speed limit throughout the subdivision. This recommendation is suggested to cover all Village local streets from New Wilke Road to Arlington Heights Road and from White Oak Street to Golf Road, as shown on the map attached to the ordinance.  

RECOMMENDATION  

It is recommended that the Village Board approve the attached Ordinance Establishing the Speed Limit on Certain Streets located between New Wilke and Arlington Heights Roads and White Oak Street and Golf Road.