LaSalle residents ask council for speed bumps on Hennepin Street; council tables request pending police review

Leanne Pishka, a resident of 1137 Hennepin Street, told the LaSalle City Council that cars, trucks and motorcycles travel “at massive speeds” on Hennepin Street between 11th Street and McArthur Road and asked the council to install a speed bump near Hegler Park before someone is seriously hurt. Her husband, Jerry, spoke about vehicles that he said cannot safely traverse existing speed bumps.

The request centers on Hennepin Street from 11th Street to McArthur Road, near Hegler Park and the pool. Pishka said she has discussed the issue with Mayor Jeff Grove and urged the council to act before school resumes so children on scooters and bicycles will be safer.

Council members discussed alternatives during the public meeting. One alderman said the city should “pass on that right now and see what the police … deal with.” A motion was made and seconded to table the request; the council then took a roll call vote and approved tabling the item. The roll call during the vote showed Patak, Reynolds, LaViere, Herndon, Crane, Dimas and Thompson voting in favor.

Police access and enforcement were a point of emphasis. A city police representative said the department has assigned officers recently to other problem locations and offered to station an officer periodically near Hennepin Street to observe and issue citations as needed. Council members directed the police department to monitor the location and report back rather than proceed with immediate installation of a speed bump.

The council did not adopt any immediate physical traffic-calming measure at the meeting; the formal action recorded was to table the speed-bump request pending further police monitoring and a future staff report. The public comment and the council’s direction occurred during the public-comment segment and the later agenda item formally listed as “Request for speed bumps on Hennepin Street between McArthur Road and Eleventh Street.”

Council members and staff noted practical constraints: city crews sometimes remove devices for snow plowing, and some vehicles (speakers mentioned models such as Challengers and Mustangs) have difficulty crossing high-profile speed bumps. Those operational concerns were raised in public remarks and by council members during the discussion.

The council did not set a deadline for the police report at the meeting; council members said they expect the police department to return with findings and enforcement results before deciding on any physical installation.

For now, residents were told the next step is police monitoring and follow-up reporting to the council; no ordinance change or capital outlay was approved at this meeting.