A Potential Ordinance at Radcliffe and Durkin Roads Could Slap Hefty Fines on Violators

Three parents scrutinized a potential student drop-off ordinance Tuesday saying that rather than keep kids out of harm's way, it will push existing traffic and safety issues farther down the street.

Members of the village board's Public Safety Committee discussed the plan during their regular meeting and the full board later conducted a first reading. It would prohibit student drop-offs and pick-ups on Radcliffe Road between Durkin Road and 84th Avenue. If approved, a fine of up to $750 could be slapped on offenders, according to village documents.

The suggestion was the outcome of a traffic study and the statewide Safe Routes to School initiative. The project was paid for using the Model Communities Grant, said Village Planning Director Amy Connolly.

said parents routinely meet their kids in the area because of a sidewalk between two single-family homes that leads to the school. Some residents are upset their driveways are blocked before and after class. Others are concerned to see kids darting into traffic.

"We've done some enforcement, given some verbal warnings … " Tinley Police Cmndr. Steve Vaccaro said. "It's pretty much fallen on deaf ears. The parents continue."

Students blindly walk between cars that often aren't in park, he said, because parents drive away instead of monitoring them. A crossing guard was added at Radcliffe and Durkin roads in the spring for that reason. However, student drop-offs and pick-ups haven't let up.

"The crossing guard will continue," Vaccaro said. "But in order to safeguard the children, we need to fix that backlog and hopefully encourage parents to use the route that was designed for the school."

Rich Marynowski, father of a 5- and 7-year-old who walk to the school, said an ordinance wouldn't change a thing. Student safety has improved with the addition of the crossing guard and making that area smaller will only push the problem down the street, he said. He also noted that many parents avoid the school's designated drop-off and pick-up spot because space and time is limited there.

"I'm not seeing the point of this ordinance," he said to committee members Tuesday. He was joined by his mother, Karyn Marynowski, who echoed his concerns.

Mother Angela Arrigo lives near Bishop and Radcliffe, about 1 block west of the school. She has a 6-year-old and and 8-year-old who go to class there.

She agreed with the Marynowskis that the problem wouldn't be solved by the proposed ordinance, only shifted. But she does see a point to it. In fact, she'd love to continue to support the Safe Routes to School plan, she said.

"Parents are required to use the drop-off area right now and they're not doing it," Arrigo said. " … I think they should extend the ordinance equally east and west of Durkin rather than just east. The bottom line is there are a lot of kids enrolled at the schools. It's one of the biggest in the district. It just takes one incident."

Trustee Brian Maher, chair of the Public Safety Committee, admitted that the ordinance may be a work in progress.

"This is what was fashioned out of our meetings as the best solution," he said. " … I don't know if there's a better solution to this, but this is what we're going to try."

Officials said if the ordinance does eventually pass, the area will be closely monitored to decide if adjustments should be made.