The Village of Roscoe – Public Works Department is sharing information with the community regarding traffic safety, speeding, and the use of stop signs. Please find below general information about these topics. For questions, contact the Village Engineer at 815-877-0746 or vorengineer [at] villageofroscoe.com (vorengineer[at]villageofroscoe[dot]com).
The Village receives many questions about whether installing stop signs, traffic signals, speed bumps, or changing the speed limit might help to improve traffic safety. These ideas may seem like a simple way to make streets safer but that may not always be the case.
Related Questions
No. As tragic and unfortunate as accidents are, the sad fact is they occur on a regular basis in otherwise perfect conditions. Humans inherently make mistakes, and many accidents are caused by inattentiveness, impatience, influence of alcohol or other drugs, or poor judgment. If a specific intersection or area has a significant crash history confirmed by Police Department crash record data, the Public Works Department uses this data to evaluate potential improvements to help with traffic safety.
The Police Department works hard to monitor areas of the Village where residents have contacted the Police and/or Public Works Departments with a concern. Ultimately, while Police and Engineering are happy to investigate concerns about speeding and neighborhood traffic, there is no substitute for driver caution and common sense. Setting reasonable limits, posting speed limit signs where justified, enforcement, and public education can be more effective than changing a speed limit or installing a stop sign where one is not justified. The Police Department also has a speed trailer which can be placed at problem locations. Please contact the Public Works Department at 815-877-0746 for more information.
Intersections that are uncontrolled (that is, where there are no stop signs, yield signs, or traffic signals) may appear unreasonably dangerous. However, Stop and Yield signs are installed to provide safe traffic control at an intersection when certain conditions are met. Engineering studies have shown that an uncontrolled intersection with low traffic volumes and speeds will experience the same or lower accident rates than controlled intersections. Once stop or yield signs are installed, speeds on the “through” street will likely increase because the driver assumes traffic from the other direction will comply with the traffic control. Whereas, if neither of the approaches to a residential intersection is controlled, both directions of travel tend to slow down. Therefore, residential streets with low traffic volumes tend to operate best under the State Right‐of‐Way law where one vehicle is required to yield but both vehicles have an obligation to enter the intersection with caution.
A common belief is that drivers always comply with the speed limit where it is posted. However, studies conducted throughout the country show that drivers are influenced more by the surface of the roadway and existing traffic conditions than by the posted speed limit. Since studies show that most motorists drive at a speed which they consider to be reasonable and safe under existing roadway conditions, the more reasonable the speed limit is, the more likely it will be complied with. If a posted speed limit is lower than is needed to travel safely, many drivers will simply ignore the signs and the average speed will likely be higher. If the speed limit is set artificially low, some drivers will stay with the posted limit. This generally causes conflict between faster and slower vehicles, creates few gaps in traffic when pedestrians can cross roadways safely, and it becomes difficult for pedestrians and other drivers to judge the speed of approaching vehicles. Studies indicate where uniformity of speed is not maintained, the frequency of accidents generally increases. Therefore, unrealistically low limits can create a false sense of security for neighborhood residents and travelers, and may actually result in reduced safety and caution.
Residents may request a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signals believing that it will help solve a speeding problem. However, stop signs installed in the wrong places usually create more problems than they solve. Installing a stop sign to slow traffic can result in; 1) high incidences of intentional violations, 2) higher mid‐block speeds after the stop sign is installed, 3) traffic diverting to other roadways, and 4) increased fuel consumption and air pollution. Also, some drivers and particularly bicyclists tend to disregard stop signs, especially where a stop does not appear to be necessary. Motorists on through streets usually pay less attention to traffic on stop‐sign‐ controlled intersecting streets. When a less attentive motorist meets a stop‐sign‐ignoring motorist, there is a greater potential for accidents. When deciding if a stop sign is warranted at a particular location, the Village of Roscoe follows the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices requirements which states “Stop signs should not be used for speed control”. Engineering traffic studies/reports are completed by the Public Works Department to determine whether stop signs are warranted.
Illinois State law sets the speed limit on residential streets at 30 MPH whether posted or not. However, in 2008, the Village of Roscoe passed an ordinance establishing the speed limit on residential roads at 25 MPH. Some residential/local roads may not be posted in an effort to reduce the number of signs in neighborhoods because numerous signs can become unsightly and generally have no real effect on speeds, but the 25 MPH speed limit is still enforced.
No. Speed bumps can cause problems with snow and ice removal operations, street cleaning, emergency vehicles, and non‐vehicle traffic (motorcycle, moped, and bicycle). Unsuspecting motorists may drive over the bumps at high speeds creating vehicle damage and excessive noise. Others may speed up between the bumps to make up lost time or divert to other streets to avoid the bumps, transferring a speeding problem from one street to another. For these reasons, the Village does not install speed bumps on residential roads and we look for alternate solutions to combat speeding motorists.