Traffic in the Village

The meeting on June 17th was not a formal City Council meeting. Instead, it was a study session, designed so that the Council members can have a better understanding of the issues and people which they govern. Nothing is voted on. It is merely a chance for the Council to learn and debate problems that arise in the Village.

One of the issues the Council learned about was the Village’s control of traffic, specifically around the Tech Center and in school zones. Public Works has slowly integrated new traffic light systems throughout the Village, in order to make traffic run more smoothly and safely. As the Tech Center employs around 35,000 people, the Council was concerned with getting these people to and from work in a timely manner. By sending around an ever increasingly specific survey (which is sent around every 4 years) the Council and Public Works are able to hear from their constituents about which areas and which intersections cause the most problems. The Council discussed the benefits of improving traffic light sensitivity specifically, as opposed to adding more lanes to the roads in the Tech Center. There was a general consensus that the new system would help the citizens more, as it will be able to predict the traffic flow at all hours, even at 3 am Sunday morning. It is more economical to spend less money improving the flow of traffic at all hours of the day, rather than spending much more money just to decrease congestion at two distinct times. As Council Member Roemer put it, “There will be traffic no matter what”.