Trying to reach a common ground regarding traffic restrictions on 60th Street in La Grange Highlands is enough to make some residents want to head for the hills.

Signs prohibiting through traffic on 60th Street are being enforced by Indian Head Park police. Residents who have used the road as a bypass of Willow Springs and Plainfield roads are less than happy about it.

Speed bumps installed earlier this year to cut the traffic and slow speeders on 60th Street had supporters crying foul regarding La Grange Highlands Civic Association President Arnold Hoving’s decision to remove them.

Hoving said many residents complained about the noise the speed bumps created, especially late at night.

The signs have now raised the ire of residents in the area who see 60th Street as a public road that should be accessible to anyone, including those who use it to bypass Willow Springs and Plainfield roads.

La Grange Highlands resident Bill Johnson said he and his neighbors are furious over police ticketing residents who do not live on 60th Street.

Johnson said two Indian Head Park police cars were patrolling for violators June 15, a week after the signs were installed. His wife and two neighbors were ticketed. Johnson said it was unconstitutional to be prohibited to use a public street.

“There’s a lot of other alternatives to eliminate the cut-through traffic,” said Johnson, who lives on 62nd Street. “To put no-through traffic signs up and begin ticketing en masse is ridiculous. I’ve been using that street for 40 years at least, and now I can’t use it.”

Meanwhile Rick Fritz, a former resident of 60th Street, applauded police for their efforts because “people do in fact bolt down there without respect for the neighborhood at all hours of the day.”

Patricia Vuillemont, a strong supporter of the speed bumps said the bigger issue is why the bumps were replaced by signs before a survey announced in April asking residents what should be done about traffic was ever completed.

“Did the signs solve the problem? No, it’s the speed bumps that slowed people down. It did cut all that traffic that was speeding to miss that light,” Vuillemont said. “The whole point here is we’ve had that killing on 47th Street. What do we have to wait for?”

She added the signs have done little to reduce traffic or speeding.

“Last Friday it was like the Indianapolis 500 here again,” Vuillemont said.

As for the signs, Hoving said he had no clue when the signs were installed or who ordered them.
Several attempts to reach Township of Lyons Highway Department officials were unsuccessful.

Indian Head Park police said it would be within the township’s jurisdiction to install the signs.
Township Supervisor Russell Hartigan said he and the township’s Highway Department will accommodate the Highlands residents as best they can.

“Basically we said let us know what you want,” Hartigan said. “Now there are complaints the Indian Head Park police are ticketing too much. You can’t have it both ways. We’re kind of putting it largely to the civic association to let them tell us what they need.”