Naperville seeking public input to improve traffic flow, safety for city roads

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The city of Naperville is seeking the public’s input to help identify problematic roads.  As a result of a 2023 community survey, city staff found that traffic flow on major roadways is concerning to a number of residents.

Updating Naperville’s road improvement plan

The city has contracted the engineering, planning, and designing company Kimley-Horn to help identify problem areas and recommend future improvements in an effort to update the Road Improvement Plan.

“That plan was last updated in 2007,” said Andy Hyne’s, the city of Naperville’s deputy engineer.  “It’s a list of roadways and intersections that we’ve identified for future improvements, further study to improve traffic flow.”

Improvements include things like widening roads, adding turn lanes, or modernizing stoplights.  The plan’s last update includes a number of projects that have since been completed, such as:

  • 75th Street and Washington Street intersection improvements (Completed in 2012)
  • Intersection improvements on Route 59 at Diehl Road, North Aurora Road, and Aurora Avenue (Completed in 2016)
  • Widening of North Aurora Road between Frontenac Road and Fairway Drive (Completed in 2023)

Some projects have yet to be done.

“I think with this we’ll be re-evaluating some of those,” said Hynes.

Meanwhile, others are in the design phase and expected to move forward.

“A couple projects coming up are the north Aurora underpass at the Canadian Northern Railroad, we’ll be widening the road, adding a bike path, addressing flooding issues, as well as the 248th Avenue improvements between 95th and 103rd streets, widening that to five lanes,” said Hynes.

Determining projects of priority

To determine which roads are of greatest priority for improvement, city engineers are continually conducting technical analysis.

“We look at (what) the current traffic volumes are, projected volumes, how the roadway’s performing in terms of crash history.” said Hynes.

Public input is also taken into account, so the city is hosting an open house on Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. All residents are welcome to stop in to discuss with city staff and their project consultant what streets they find problematic.

Additional public input

For those who can’t make the open house, the city will have an interactive map on its website available starting Jan. 28 where residents can click on a specific road or intersection and leave comments. Staff hopes the public’s input will help them as they determine areas of greatest need.

From there, the TED department will have additional discussions and analysis and then present their findings to the Transportation and Advisory Board, with more opportunities for the public’s input. The goal is to have an update to the Road Improvement Plan by the end of summer, if not the end of the year.

Project implementation

The implementation and construction for those projects that end up in that plan, however, could take years to complete: some as long as five to ten years, according to Hynes, who said this update is a 25-year outlook, through the year 2050.

Projects will be done in phases to mitigate disruption to residents and businesses as much as possible. Funding for each will vary and be addressed individually in the future, with the city looking for as many external funding sources as possible, such as federal assistance.

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