At an intersection near Irving Elementary School in the Village of Oak Park, IL, motorists picking up/dropping off kids often move too fast, so the Village intends to implement changes to calm traffic at this location. Plans call for a “neckdown” to give strong visual cues to motorists, slow traffic and shorten the pedestrian crossing distance. The challenge: what should the turning radius be to accommodate turning buses?
Before pouring concrete bumpouts and moving drainage/utilities, the Village decided to test the intended configuration with DEZIGNLINE’s CURBRAIL™. They knew that CURBRAIL could be installed — and uninstalled — quickly and cost effectively into the concrete surface, and would give them the flexibility to easily test different curb extension geometries.
RESULTS: The neckdown reduced pedestrian crossing distance from 31′ to 16′ and has significantly calmed traffic at this intersection. The Public Works installation crew liked how easily and rapidly the system could be deployed (2.5 hours start to finish). When Planning and Engineering teams discovered — within days — that the turning radius was too tight for buses, they were pleased that modifying the configuration was simple and quick (much easier than modifying a concrete installation).
The Village will observe and collect data from this location — and perhaps make further modifications — until the appropriate geometry has been determined. They’ll then remove and re-purpose the entire CURBRAIL system to another location in town.