OP_092916

opprairie.com News
the orland park prairie | September 29, 2016 | 5
Orland Park Village Board
Orland looks to roundabouts for traffic flow improvement
Village estimated to
spend $3.2 million
Jon DePaolis
Freelance Reporter
The Village of Orland Park
is one step closer to joining
the roundabout craze.
The Village Board of
Trustees had budgeted for
Phase 1 engineering for the
roundabout at 151st Street
and West Avenue. According
to a staff memo, the project
is federally funded through
the Southwest Conference of
Mayors.
Christopher B. Burke Engineering,
of Rosemont, was
the chosen engineer, and a
representative from the firm
– Jason Souden – presented
on the proposed roundabout
at the Monday, Sept. 19 Development
Services, Planning
and Engineering Committee
meeting.
“Roundabouts started in
Europe, and they are becoming
more popular in the
United States,” Souden said.
“There is currently about
2,400 of them in use. Some
of our neighbors are a little
more ‘roundabout happy,’
and Wisconsin is one of the
leaders in the nation with
269. Indiana also has quite
a few with 86. We’re a little
bit behind [in Illinois], as we
have nine currently. But I
know there are dozens in the
design and planning stage.”
Souden said the Federal
Highway Administration
plans to fund roundabout
installations, with a goal of
creating “1,000 per year in
the United States.”
“The advantage of a roundabout
[as compared] to a
four-way stop that we have
today, the biggest advantage
is improved traffic flow,”
Souden said. “If we take the
2040 projected volumes, the
average delay if we left it a
four-way stop would be 73
seconds. If we [construct]
the roundabout that would be
reduced to about 12 seconds
on average. That is during the
peak, or worst, hours of the
day. That’s a major benefit.”
Other benefits, he said,
were reduced noise and less
air pollution.
“It’s rare to have a collision,
and when there is one,
there is usually a low severity,”
he added. “They are
considered very safe.”
One drawback, however,
is the size and cost of the
project.
“With a larger footprint,
they are slightly more expensive
than a four-way stop,”
Souder said.
The estimated cost of the
entire project is $5.8 million.
“We’ve talked about the
federal funding you’ve been
successful in obtaining [earmarked]
at $2.6 million,”
Souder said. “That would
bring the Village’s estimated
share at $3.2 million.”
Souder said that because of
the additional federal funding
that is available for roundabout
construction, this project
will be cheaper for the
Village than reconstructing
the four-way stop or installing
a traffic signal.
“Being more fiscally responsible
is what we’re up
here to do,” Trustee Kathleen
Fenton said. “And I know
in my subdivision, nobody
stops at stop signs. They see
it there, and they just go right
through it. It’s sad for the
kids, because they are anticipating
that a car is going to
stop.”
Fenton said it is something
new, and that can be a challenge
for people at first.
“But anything that is going
to help improve the environment
and especially improve
the safety of the community I
think is something we need to
go along with,” she said.
Trustee Patricia Gira asked
how the roundabout accommodates
truck traffic.
“The truck apron … is
raised up by a two-inch
curb,” Souder said.
Gira also commented on
the environmental benefits of
roundabouts.
“One of the things with a
roundabout is that you don’t
have fuel emissions in the
air from stalled or stopped
vehicles,” Gira said. “Traffic
keeps moving, so it’s supposed
to be better for the environment.”
Two residents asked questions
during the meeting, one
focusing on what the benefit
was to going with a roundabout
versus a four-way stop.
The other, Colleen Gavin,
asked how the 2040 projections
were made.
Souder explained that to
use federal funds, the details
of the project need to show
how it will impact motorists
in the future. Using projected
data from the Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for Planning,
engineers were able to
Orland Township residents to give opinion on the idea to leave Cook County
Advisory referendum
is to appear on Nov.
ballot
Michael Gilbert
Contributing Editor
What began as “informal
discussion” between a group
of approximately a dozen
people upset with Cook
County’s taxes has led the
Orland Township officials to
pose an intriguing question
to its residents on the ballot
this November.
Round It Up
A brief recap of action and discussion from the Sept.
19 meetings of the Orland Park Village Board and its
committees.
• During the Village Board meeting, trustees voted
7-0 to approve an agreement with Palos Hospital to
reimburse construction costs of a temporary access
drive at the Palos Health and Fitness Center in an
amount not to exceed $98,588.
• Trustees also voted 7-0 to approve a contract with
Artistic Holiday Designs in the amount of $480,112.51
and a contract with Holiday Creations Pro Inc. in the
amount of $107,145.42 for holiday décor.
The Township board voted
unanimously this summer
to place an advisory referendum
asking residents whether
the Township should leave
Cook County and join Will
County. The question was
first brought up by a handful
of residents at the Township’s
Town Hall meeting in
May, Orland Township Supervisor
Paul O’Grady said.
Because the question is
an advisory referendum it
is not legally binding even
if a majority of the votes are
in favor during the general
election on Nov. 8. If the advisory
referendum passes,
O’Grady told The Junction
in an interview last week he
would schedule a meeting
with Will County Executive
Larry Walsh to determine if
Will County would entertain
taking in the Township.
The Orland Township board
would then have to approve
placing a binding referendum
on an upcoming ballot
and that would need to be
approved by voters. Cook
County officials would also
need to OK the Township
joining Will County.
O’Grady said he has gone
“on the record” stating the
secession is “a good idea.”
“I think there are a lot of
good reasons for it,” he said.
“The [higher] sales taxes in
Cook County and the proximity
to some of the services
are the two big reasons I’ve
heard from those in favor of
leaving Cook County.”
O’Grady noted some Orland
Township residents
have been less than pleased
to receive a jury duty summons
to the courthouse at
26th and California Avenue
when the Will County Courthouse
is only a few minutes
from their home.
“Orland Township borders
Will County on the west and
south sides so I understand
how [leaving Cook for Will]
makes sense from a proximity
factor,” O’Grady said.
No matter where the issue
ultimately ends up, O’Grady
said it “starts the dialogue
about the higher taxes” with
Cook County officials.
“[The advisory referendum]
sends a message to
Cook County that they have
to be sensitive to the issues
of Orland Township residents,”
he said.
get to the “73-second delay”
figures.
Souden said the next step
would be to get design approval
for the roundabout in
a couple of months.
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