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Safety & Traffic Commission lays out 2025 work plan; council debates whether to expand the commission's scope
Summary
Drew DePries, chair of Forest Park’s Safety & Traffic Commission, presented a proactive 2025 work plan focused on parking, bike and pedestrian safety, and better public intake. Council members raised questions about whether some items exceed the commission’s statutory purview and asked staff to synthesize feedback before a vote.
Drew DePries, chair of the Village of Forest Park’s Safety & Traffic Commission, presented a 2025 work plan on April 28 that prioritizes off-street parking guidance, collaboration with the Environmental Control Commission on bike-path planning, and outreach events including a bike-safety carnival on May 31 and a proposed town-hall on traffic issues.
"From a policy perspective, we've really highlighted kind of 3 areas," DePries said, outlining how the commission intends to move from reactive requests — stop signs, neighborhood complaints — to a more proactive set of recommendations and community engagement opportunities.
The plan also recommends improved intake and triage tools to make it easier for residents to report safety concerns, noting neighboring municipalities use online forms and scoring systems to prioritize requests.
Several council members applauded the commission’s proactive approach but raised procedural concerns. "When we look at the code, it's very kind of vague about it," Commissioner Maxim said, questioning whether items such as a permit parking program fall within the commission’s defined role and whether the council wants to broaden that scope before approving a plan.
Commissioner Nero urged administrative filtering to avoid repeatedly returning low-priority items to the council for debate. "I would hate for the commission, Drew, and his team to come back at council and then we sit here and box over a bunch of items that they decided was a good idea to put on an agenda for no reason," Nero said.
Council members agreed on a middle path: accept the presentation as a draft, provide written feedback to staff, and have the administrator synthesize comments for a future vote. Mayor Rory Hoskins thanked DePries and the commission for the work and encouraged the council to send any specific feedback to staff before the next meeting.
Next steps: the council indicated it would expect a revised plan and staff memo summarizing commissioner feedback at a subsequent meeting, when the council will consider formal approval.
