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Committee votes to deny permanent solar speed sign for 24th Street, refers portable trailer to finance
Summary
The Streets, Alley and Traffic Committee voted to deny a request for a permanent solar electronic speed sign on 24th Street after reviewing short-term speed-trailer data. Members directed staff to place a purchase request for a portable solar speed trailer on the finance committee agenda for further consideration and possible funding.
The Streets, Alley and Traffic Committee of the South City Council voted on June 8 to deny a request for a permanent solar electronic speed sign on 24th Street but agreed to pursue procurement options for a portable solar speed trailer.
Alderman Jeepson told the committee he had fielded resident complaints about speeding on 24th Street, described the stretch as a collector road between St. Vincent's and Charter Street, and reviewed collision records showing roughly 16 crashes on that segment in the past four years, “none of them being speed related” and most occurring at the St. Vincent's intersection. He said the city temporarily borrowed a modern speed-trailer from Oglesby and used it for about a week to collect volume and speed counts.
“It shows that only 1.2% of the vehicles that travel down 24th Street were excessively speeding,” Alderman Jeepson said, defining “excessively speeding” as more than 20 miles per hour over the posted limit. He added that the device registered about 12 vehicles over that threshold out of roughly 28,000 vehicles recorded over the weekend and that hour-by-hour data can help the police allocate patrols more effectively.
Committee members discussed differences between a permanently affixed sign and a movable trailer. Alderman Jeepson and others noted that permanently mounted signs can lose behavioral effectiveness if they are in place continuously, while a trailer can be redeployed among wards, used for public events, and support targeted enforcement.
Alder Green moved to deny the request for a permanent solar electronic speed sign on 24th Street; Alderman Jeepson seconded. The committee took a roll call and the motion carried. Individual roll-call votes were not reported in full in the transcript.
Chief Stubler told the committee a new trailer unit is roughly $21,167, with freight and associated charges putting the quoted total in the low‑to‑mid $23,000s as an estimate. “About $21,167” was the unit price reported; the freight estimate was described in the meeting as approximate.
Members agreed there was enough interest in acquiring a portable unit that staff should place a procurement request on the finance committee agenda. The committee directed staff to schedule the finance discussion within the next one to two weeks and explore funding sources, including operating-budget availability and an IDOT STEP grant that helps cover certain enforcement-related indirect costs.
The committee closed the item and moved other new-business items; no final procurement contract or budget appropriation was approved at this meeting. The finance committee will consider the portable trailer purchase and potential funding options at a future meeting.
