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Vernon Hills residents press board on unsafe intersections and speeding on state routes
Summary
Residents urged action on multiple local traffic hazards — including speeding on Route 83/Westmoreland, congestion on Route 45 and a hazardous Museum Drive–Circle Drive junction — while village staff outlined limits of village jurisdiction and pending studies.
Several Vernon Hills residents urged the Village Board on Tuesday to take action on local traffic and pedestrian-safety problems, focusing on state-owned Route 83 and a confusing mall-area intersection that residents say is producing near-miss crashes.
Resident (speaker S6) told the board he has twice in the past month nearly been hit while attempting to turn from Westmoreland onto Route 83 and said drivers routinely travel “55, 60 at least” in the posted 45 mph zone, creating hazardous conditions when making the sharp right onto Westmoreland. “There’s no way you can make an easy turn,” he said.
Village staff and trustees responded that Route 83 is under the Illinois Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction and that the village has completed preliminary engineering and preserved rights-of-way for widening, but that the state has not funded the next phase. A trustee said the village had been placed on past project lists but did not appear on the most recent five-year plan.
Another resident (speaker S8) requested redesign of the Museum Drive–Circle Drive intersection near the mall, saying the current configuration encourages illegal left turns and that landscaping obstructs sightlines. He proposed a redesign — including a possible roundabout and reducing Circle Drive to a single lane each way — to slow speeds and improve visibility. “It is far safer to do it illegally than to negotiate going into the parking lot,” he said, describing how drivers now avoid the legal (and inconvenient) route through the mall parking.
Village staff told speakers that the portion of Ring Drive adjacent to the mall is private, that a traffic-warrant study found a signal was not currently warranted at the Lakeview/Fairway location, and that the village is monitoring problem locations with the police and school district. The village manager said staff will continue evaluating options and working with the mall and county as appropriate.
The public-comment exchange also covered a request for completion and maintenance of a Harvey Lake park trail; staff said a full project update will be provided at the board’s Nov. 18 meeting.
The board did not take additional formal action on the specific traffic requests Tuesday but indicated ongoing monitoring and future staff reports.
