Darien council reviews traffic-analytics subscription and state e‑bike law changes

The Darien City Council on Thursday spent the bulk of its meeting hearing from police on two public‑safety topics: upcoming state changes to micromobility law and a proposal to subscribe to a traffic‑intelligence platform that the department says would cost about $24,000 a year but save staff time.

Deputy Chief Jump told the council the state’s Senate Bill 3484 changes definitions and speed limits for certain electric micromobility devices and that portions of the law take effect July 1, with additional provisions phased in through January 2027. "We’re going to have to update that," Jump said, adding that the department and its school resource officer are already briefing students and schools on the changes.

The second presentation demonstrated a commercial analytics product, Urban SDK, that the department piloted in January. Austin and public‑works staff showed maps and speed‑percentile reports the vendor generates and said the platform can produce near‑instant analytics — for example, the 85th‑percentile speed and traffic volume for a given street — allowing staff to determine whether a speeding complaint is perception or a measurable problem. "If a resident calls today we can tell you what their speed was two weeks ago," Dan said during the demonstration.

Staff described the program as a way to triage complaints quickly and to target directed patrols and public‑works responses. The vendor access the department has provided for the demonstration covered one month of data; staff said the platform can hold up to 13 months of history. The quoted annual subscription cost in the presentation was roughly $24,000 to $25,000, which staff said would be charged yearly and would be sized to Darien’s road network.

Deputy Chief Jump and other presenters addressed privacy concerns that residents raised about automated license‑plate reader (LPR) systems in public spaces. Jump said the department currently operates 10 LPR cameras, with more sites pending, and that Illinois law and court precedent permit license‑plate scanning in public view and limit the department’s use to investigations and legitimate law‑enforcement purposes. He also said microphones or audio capture would require a warrant under Illinois two‑party consent rules.

Council members reacted positively to the analytics demonstration but agreed the decision should be vetted by the police committee and finance staff because the subscription was not in the current budget. Council members asked staff to present the program and cost options to the police committee and to identify potential funding sources, including forfeiture funds and the general fund. Brian (staff) and others said the police committee could meet and present a recommendation to full council well before the next council meeting.

The council took no purchase vote at the meeting. The immediate next steps recorded in the meeting were a recommendation to send the proposal to the police committee for deeper review and a staff follow‑up to provide more recent vendor data and a cost breakdown for committee consideration.