Warrenville council signals support for traffic‑calming toolkit, asks staff to draft speed‑limit options

The Warrenville City Council on June 1 reviewed a consultant speed study and public‑survey results and gave staff informal direction to bring ordinance options back for a formal vote on residential speed limits.

Rory Fansler of Kimley Horn summarized the study’s approach and findings, explaining the firm used the 50th percentile to set prevailing speeds on local and collector streets and the 85th percentile for arterials. Fansler said the firm reviewed 60 Chicago‑area communities and found no widespread regional shift to a 20 mph residential standard. "For the speed study, the purpose was to evaluate the potential for a consistent speed limit on neighborhood residential local roads," Fansler said.

Public Works Director Phil Kukler told council the city received 212 survey responses: about 61% favored standardizing residential speed limits to 25 mph, roughly 29% preferred keeping existing limits, about 66% supported raising Williams Road north of Batavia Road from 30 to 35 mph, and roughly 67% opposed reducing the standard residential limit from 25 to 20 mph. Kukler described the survey as an informative data point but not the sole basis for policy.

Warrenville Police Chief Bonilla cautioned that a citywide reduction to 20 mph would substantially increase enforcement demands. "Lowering the residential speed limit to 20 miles per hour significantly increased the expectations for proactive law enforcement," Bonilla said, noting traffic activity already accounts for about 55% of calls and that the city’s traffic unit consists of two officers whose reassignment would strain other community policing duties.

During questions, aldermen pressed staff on roadway classification, cross‑jurisdictional consistency (noting Winfield Township’s posted limits), and whether the survey drew responses only from Warrenville residents (staff said the survey lacked a residency filter). Alderman Wagner urged more granular counts and data on where traffic stops and accidents occur; staff agreed to supply additional breakdowns if council wanted them.

After extended discussion members signaled broad support for adopting the traffic‑calming toolkit and asked staff to prepare motions for the next meeting presenting alternative ordinance paths (status quo; citywide 25 mph standard; targeted 20/25 combinations) and a specific recommendation for Williams Road (staff noted a 1.4‑mile city‑jurisdiction segment that could be raised to 35 mph to match adjacent sections). The council’s show‑of‑hands and head‑nods were nonbinding; formal votes will come when staff returns with drafted ordinances and any required ordinance language.