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Parents urge La Grange trustees to restore street closures near Cassette Elementary, citing student safety
Summary
La Grange residents at the Sept. 8 board meeting urged restoration of street closures near Cassette Elementary after recent traffic changes, saying opening Ashland Avenue to cars during arrival and dismissal endangers students; village officials said they are reviewing the situation.
Jennifer McElroy, a La Grange resident and parent, told the Village Board on Sept. 8 that recent parking and traffic changes near Cassette Elementary have increased safety risks for students and urged the board to reverse them.
"Opening it up to cars during the busiest school times ... is an irresponsible decision that puts children directly in harm's way," McElroy said, describing how two-thirds of the school's students cross at Ashland and Cassette and saying the change mixes cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians at a single intersection.
McElroy asked the board to "revert back to keeping Ashland between Harris and Cassette closed to cars during drop off, pickup, and lunch," to return Madison to one-way southbound for arrival and dismissal, and to relocate newly added teacher-only parking on Madison to a street such as Harris to preserve critical curb space for student safety.
Randy Valenta, another resident who spoke, noted that pickup activity at the nearby United Methodist Church contributes to congestion and double parking around the school, and urged the board to consider church-related traffic when devising solutions.
A third resident raised separate traffic-enforcement concerns on East Avenue and suggested automated cameras; that speaker also asked for the status of a village water-reservoir inspection. Village Manager Knight said the board previously approved the task order, engineers completed a review and provided preliminary results, and a final report is expected in the coming weeks.
President Kukler thanked speakers and said, "kids' safety is the absolute top priority for everyone up on this board, [and] our village staff," and that the village will continue to work with School District 102 and pursue changes if appropriate.
The speakers urged specific changes to curb access and parking near Cassette Elementary to reduce conflicts during arrival and dismissal; officials acknowledged the concerns and said staff will follow up. No formal vote or ordinance on the school-area traffic changes was recorded at the meeting.
The board moved to a closed session later in the meeting and did not take further public action on the requests; residents seeking updates were directed to village staff and posted board materials for follow-up information.
