If you live in South East Oak Park (or any other OP area), you’ve experienced an increase in speeding, careless and aggressive driving over the past few years. Residents of several blocks have been petitioning the Village for speed bumps on their blocks to try to slow down cars.
In mid-November the Village installed speed bumps on most of the 1150 blocks from Humphrey to Maple (Ridgeland, Oak Park, and avenues with cul-de-sacs were not included). We asked neighbors on our Facebook page and via our email list for their reactions.
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback on the speed bumps. We’re hoping to get more comments on other issues in the future. Here’s a sample of what we heard.
“I live on the 1150 block of Humphrey, and I am thrilled with the new speed humps. I think the Village did an excellent job with them. I do think they are effective at slowing the traffic down in this block, but I fear that some drivers may try to make up lost time in the 1100 block, at least when they are northbound.”
“Love them. Never thought I’d want them for my street (1100 block of Lombard), but I do.”
“I worry that they will damage cars and will be difficult to clear in ice and snow. When they first put them in on some streets they weren’t marked, which is rage-inducing because some are so high that you can’t go over them at more than 5mph. But they’re also the cheapest option to calm traffic, and that’s a priority right now because it’s gotten ridiculous.”
“I’m hoping people are happy with anything that slows cars down.”
“We’ve noticed a big difference on Taylor–cars were often flying up and down our street. Taylor’s speed hump is well marked and quite intimidating in size.”
“My big beef is that none of them are the same height and some are better marked than others.”
“Very happy to have them. Been trying to get the village to do something about it for 52 years. Literally.”
“My wife and I live on Lyman, next to Roosevelt Rd. During the summer of 2022, one of our neighborhood children was struck by a vehicle, resulting in minor injuries. We would frequently see vehicles travelling well in excess of the posted 25 MPH, after blowing through stop signs. About 3 years ago we joined a coalition of our neighbors and signed petitions for creating a cul-de-sac or speed humps. The village conducted a couple traffic studies and randomly increased patrol car surveillance.
Personally, I’m very pleased with how this solution has calmed traffic. Indeed, the first day the hump was completed, we watched nearly every vehicle rapidly slow down, except for one: we heard the undercarriage bottom-out, so quite likely that driver will be more diligent in the future. This solution appears to have resolved a major safety issue the residents face, especially in SEOP which has a high concentration of children.”