In December 2025, the Village Board approved a traffic calming project for the Hatlen Heights Neighborhood that includes:
- Installation of asphalt speed humps on Audrey Lane and Hatlen Avenue between Central Road and Connie Lane spaced approximately 400’ apart
- Construction of a bump out at the southeast corner of Meier Road and Connie Lane
- All-way stop control at the intersection of Audrey Lane and Connie Lane
- Flashing “No Truck” signs at Hatlen Avenue & Connie Lane, Audrey Lane & Connie Lane, and Meier Road & Connie Lane
- Pavement markings on Meier Road north of Lincoln Street to match the pavement markings on Meier Road south of Lincoln Street
Proposed improvements are shown in the Hatlen Heights Final Design document.
All-way stop control have been installed at the intersection of Audrey Lane and Connie Lane. Flashing “No Truck” signs are expected to be installed in the spring of 2026. Speed humps are anticipated to be installed in late spring of 2026; pavement markings installed soon after speed hump construction is complete. The bump out will be constructed as part of the street resurfacing program in the summer of 2026.
Below provides background information on the Hatlen Heights Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study.
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 recommended 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. In December 2025, staff presented to the Village Board the Transportation Safety Commission’s recommended project that included all-way stop control at Connie Lane & Audrey Lane, mini-traffic circles at the intersections of Audrey Lane & Grindel Drive and Hatlen Avenue & Grindel Drive, speed feedback signs on Audrey Lane and Hatlen Avenue, and pavement markings on Meier Road. Much discussion took place over the course of two meetings and ultimately the Village Board rejected mini-traffic circles, instead opting to trial speed humps in the neighborhood. Recordings of these meetings are available on the Village website.
Recordings of the Village Board meetings can be found at the links below:
December 2nd: https://play.champds.com/mtprospectil/event/278
December 16th: https://play.champds.com/mtprospectil/event/280
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
