The Hatlen Heights Traffic Calming Study is scheduled to be presented to the Village Board at their December 2nd meeting at 7 PM at Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street. The public is invited to attend and participate in the meeting.
A full history of traffic calming studies on Audrey Lane dating back to the mid 1990’s is available in the documents section on this website, see Audrey Lane Traffic Memorandum. This current study was initiated when a petition was submitted to Public Works in October of 2024 and will include all previous traffic counts and discussions as outlined in the memorandum. This petition requested the Village consider supplemental traffic calming measures to the new speed feedback signs or different traffic calming measures altogether. Concerns relate to speeds of vehicles on the street and cut-through traffic.
Public Works staff reviewed the petition and recent traffic counts on the street. The traffic volume and speed data showed the street qualified for the Friendly Neighborhood Streets Program. Staff then updated the project area to include Hatlen Avenue, Connie Lane and Bonita Avenue as well as changes to Audrey Lane could impact these streets as well. Initial public outreach was sent out to all residents in the project area to introduce the study and solicit input.
Surveys were sent to 134 residents and 27 surveys were returned (20%). Engineering Staff used comments received to help develop the preliminary preferred alternative to address traffic issues in the neighborhood and is now seeking neighborhood input on the design. Please see the Alternative Analysis Memo in the Documents section to see the preferred alternative.
The Engineering Division investigated possible street closures in the neighborhood to address traffic concerns and determined them not to be feasible for the following reasons:
- Closing just one street (Connie Lane) would push traffic issues onto other streets
- Closing multiple streets would increase response times for emergency vehicles
- Closing streets would not impact vehicle speed in the neighborhood
- Dead end streets create maintenance issues for Public Works
A neighborhood wide traffic calming project, as presented in the revised design, will better address perceived traffic issues in the neighborhood.
Staff presented the preliminary preferred alternative to residents at the March 10th Transportation Safety Commission Meeting, see Transportation Safety Commission Minutes in the Documents Section. Staff then installed temporary traffic calming measures to collect traffic counts to determine effectiveness of the trial and to solicit additional comments from the community. The trial showed a 50% - 70% reduction in vehicles going over 35 MPH on the street. See Second Public Outreach Comment Summary in the Documents section for all comments received on the initial design and during the trial.
Staff used the results of the trial and comments received to revise the design, see Revised Design Memo in the Documents section. Staff sent out the revised design and a ballot to all residents within the study area to voice their opinion on the revised design. The results of balloting and a recommended design were presented to the Transportation Safety Commission at their August meeting, see Hatlen Heights Draft September Transportation Safety Commission Minutes. After review, discussion and public comment, the Commission recommends the following improvements to the Village Board for consideration:
- Mini-traffic circles at the intersections of Audrey Lane and Gindel Drive and Hatlen Avenue and Grindel Drive
- Speed feedback signs on Audrey Lane and Hatlen Avenue
- All-way stop control at the intersection of Audrey Lane and Connie Lane with centerline pavement markings on approach to the intersection
- Pavement markings on Meier Road north of Lincoln Street to match the pavement markings on Meier Road south of Lincoln Street
See Hatlen Heights Recommend Design for Village Board Consideration for the recommended improvement plan. These recommendations are scheduled to be presented to the Village Board for final approval or denial at their December 2nd meeting. At this meeting, the Village Board will vote to move forward with constructing the project or to deny the project and end the study.
The Village Board agenda and agenda packet can be found on the Village website here once available:
https://mountprospectil.portal.civicclerk.com/
More information on traffic calming and the Friendly Neighborhood Streets Program can be found here:
https://www.mountprospect.org/departments/public-works/engineering/traffic/traffic-calming
