Following a pair of crashes at an L-shaped intersection earlier this year, the village of River Forest is planning to install granite boulders as a barrier to keep cars off residential properties.
In separate incidents in March, two cars traveling south on Thatcher Avenue jumped the curb at Hawthorne Avenue and drove onto residential property.
In the pre-dawn hours of March 26, a car was traveling at an “excessive rate of speed and did not slow down in order to properly navigate the turn,” officials said, and the car hit two nearby residential garages.
Just two days later, also during the pre-dawn hours, a different car traveling south on Thatcher Avenue went through a fence and bushes, with the car eventually flipping and bumping into a nearby home.
Following those crashes, the village began talking with residents about ways to improve safety at the intersection, which also sits just south of a railroad viaduct.
After initially studying bollard and fencing options, village staff says it now intends to pursue a barrier consisting of boulders each about two-and-a-half feet wide.
“We talked about barrier solutions [with residents],” Public Works Director John Anderson said. “I looked into several different barrier solutions [such as] bollards or a rail system, but it requires digging into the parkway and it turns out there’s a Nicor gas main right there. After doing all the research and getting a lot of quotes, we realized that wouldn’t be feasible. We looked at the boulders again and the residents were in favor of that.”
According to Anderson, the village expects to install “five or six” boulders along the parkway, calling it a “low cost” alternative.
“That’s the idea of putting something there that would be something like a big curb and at least slow a car down,” Anderson said.
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Village staff said bollards or a rail-type fence could cost between $8,922 and $25,140 to install, while the boulders could be purchased for as little as $70 each.
Some on the board asked if the village could be liable for cars that may strike the boulders, but village attorney Greg Smith feels the village would be safe if such an incident occurs.
“You have tort immunity from improvements that you put in for road safety purposes,” Smith said. “If someone didn’t operate their vehicle safely and it left the roadway and hopped into the boulders and the person was hurt, we would have a good argument that it was their negligence or someone else’s in leaving the roadway.”
Anderson also said the boulders should weigh in at about 1,000 pounds each, which should limit how far they could move should they be struck.
Since the projected costs are within village staff’s purchasing authority, no village board vote was needed, though trustees said they are supportive of the plan.
“It’s time to make sure there’s more safety around that area,” Village President Cathy Adduci said.
In addition to the boulders, village staff has already installed other safety measures at the intersection. Those upgrades include a new beacon light and reflective signage.