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Council approves direction to study Freedom Parkway–Walmart/Menards corridor after recurring safety complaints
Summary
Council directed staff to seek a Terra Engineering traffic study for the Freedom Parkway, Menards and Walmart corridor to evaluate left‑turn safety and possible geometric changes (signals, roundabout, alternate access); Chief Stevens provided crash counts showing fluctuations from 2020–2025 and said the new Freedom Parkway routing changed traffic patterns.
City staff asked the Committee of the Whole on April 13 for authorization to request a traffic study from Terra Engineering for the Freedom Parkway–Menards/Walmart corridor and adjacent intersections, citing repeated resident complaints about left‑turn safety and traffic flow.
City Engineer Dennis Carr said the scope would include vehicle counts at the Walmart entrances and McClugage, a geometric review of alternatives (signals, roundabout, alternate access), and coordination with the Illinois Department of Transportation because of proximity to Business Route 24. He proposed a near‑term, monitored change and emphasized the study would produce IDOT‑grade documentation if the city pursues signals or a larger geometric project.
Chief Stevens supplied crash tallies for the corridor: six crashes in 2020, 12 in both 2021 and 2022, nine in 2023, nine in 2024 (the Freedom Parkway extension opened Oct. 15, 2024), and eight in 2025; none recorded so far in 2026. "When you change the geometry of an intersection and you change the traffic patterns, you can have great effects on the safety if you put a lot of thought into it beforehand," the chief said.
Council members urged the study include nearby congested corridors (Cummings, Kroger/Culvers area) and consider future growth and access changes. Members discussed funding possibilities, including submitting the project to Tri‑County/POETS competitive funding programs; staff warned such funding is competitive and not guaranteed.
Next steps: staff will request the Terra Engineering proposal and include the broader corridor and future growth scenarios in the scope; the council did not approve funding on April 13 but provided direction to proceed with the scope and pursue potential funding sources.
