LaSalle County to order removal of unauthorized stop signs in Dana, plans two radar speed signs

LaSalle County officials said on the record that the village of Dana installed multiple stop signs on county highways without authorization and that the county will ask the village to remove them while pursuing a lower-cost alternative to address speeding.

Bill, a county staff member, told the meeting that “The village of Dana . . . went out and put stop signs on our county highway system. 2 of them on Main Street . . . and then 2 on Washington Street.” He said those installations “do not meet any of the guidelines put out” by the federal manual for traffic control devices and that the county’s state's attorney will send a letter directing removal.

The county framed the response as a compromise aimed at safety and consistency. Bill said the county would install two solar-powered radar speed signs—one on Main Street and one on Washington Street—so drivers see their speed and are warned when they exceed a threshold. He said the cheapest of three quotes obtained for the pair was $7,641. “So this is our solution to it,” Bill said, adding that the signs are “one of the, I would say, low cost measures to help with speed control.”

The county emphasized limits on its enforcement authority. Bill noted that speed limits in the area are posted—“as soon as you hit the city limits, there's a speed limit at 30 sign”—and said enforcement responsibility rests with the sheriff’s office. Meeting participants discussed that the village can hire a part-time officer but that county deputies are spread thin across a large jurisdiction. Bill said accident-report data show no history of collisions at the intersections that would justify stop signs under the county’s normal criteria: “That's 1 of the drivers for a stop sign is if there's an accident history . . . There's no history.”

Kent Hill, identified in the meeting as the state's attorney, was named as the official who will write to the village instructing removal of the signs. Meeting remarks described a likely sequence if the village refuses: the county would remove the signs and bill the village for removal costs.

Officials said the county will treat the radar signs as an interim, testable measure. Bill said the county could relocate the devices elsewhere in the county if they prove ineffective in Dana. “We can always take them down from their location in Dana and put them somewhere else in the county,” he said.

The county also discussed community reaction and next steps. Several speakers acknowledged that residents of Dana support the extra stop signs because they believe the signs slow traffic. County staff said they have received calls on both sides and expect community calls after the state's attorney letter is issued. The meeting closed the item after members agreed to proceed with the radar signs and to have the state's attorney deliver the removal letter.

Ending detail: The county presented the radar-sign purchase and the removal letter as separate but related responses: the letter to enforce roadway rules and the signs to address community concerns about speeding while the legal matter is resolved.