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Council discusses speed-display signs, grant options after resident speeding complaints
Summary
Residents raised speeding concerns at Bellwood, Cole Road and neighborhood cut-throughs; council members discussed solar speed-display signs, possible grant funding for safety improvements and short-term police patrols at problem bus stops.
At the pre-meeting Franklin Park council members reviewed multiple neighborhood speeding complaints and potential responses, including temporary enforcement, purchase of solar speed-display signs and pursuing safety grant funding.
A council member described a Bellwood resident’s request about permanent solutions after a traffic study and chalk-line counts. Members discussed speed-display units that flash a driver’s speed. One member noted, “They’re solar too, so you don't have to run electric,” when discussing those devices.
The borough noted an open grant program funded by automated enforcement receipts with applications due in about two weeks; council members said that smaller awards of roughly $20,000–$40,000 could fund a local speed-display sign and related improvements. A council member observed an approximate equipment cost in the low thousands: “I've seen them. Yeah. I've seen about 4,000.”
Members also discussed traffic patterns on Cole Road and a morning bus-stop cut-through on Nevan Drive/West Ingimar Drive, where officers temporarily parked to deter unsafe speeds near children waiting for buses. The police chief arranged patrols for several days; council members reported motorists slowed when they saw an officer parked.
Council members agreed to investigate grant options, consider purchasing a small number of solar speed-display signs if funding is available, and coordinate further with the police department on enforcement. No formal vote or purchase authorization occurred during the pre-meeting.
