GODFREY - Keri Kiser, a Godfrey resident and mother, raised concerns about the speed limit on West Delmar Avenue while holding one of her children at the Godfrey Village Board of Trustees meeting on March 7. Kiser, whose two-year-old daughter was killed in a traffic accident in that same area, said the current 45-mile-per-hour speed limit is too dangerous for the neighborhood and that two businesses are controlling the speed limit for over 1,400 Godfrey residents.
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“There’s more than 1,400 people that live in that area … from Pierce [Lane] down to Blue Fountain [Drive], it’s over 1,400 people - lots of families, lots of children,” Kiser said. “My daughter was the 2-year-old girl that was killed right there in front of my house on Pine Grove on West Delmar.”
Not only was her daughter killed, but her dog was also hit by the car, which Kiser says was definitely speeding despite no official determination being made.
“The circumstances of what happened with her is he basically ruined the crime scene; they were unable to decide if he was speeding or not,” she said. “I know from what happened to my daughter and knowing what my dog looked like after he had hit both of them - he was speeding, I have no doubt.”
She went on to say she hopes the current plan for the roundabouts in Godfrey will help slow traffic in the area, despite no plans for a reduced speed limit.
“I live there, I watch the traffic constantly - it is a problem. I’m hoping the traffic circles slow it down,” she said. “I know that there’s nothing in the plans for the traffic circles to reduce the speed limit … I think it should be incorporated into the plan. I hope this committee can have some influence over that.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation previously refused to lower the speed limit due to a couple of businesses being in the area, Kiser said.
“The last time I talked to IDOT, [their] concern was that there were two businesses down there, and because of that, they weren’t lowering the speed limit,” she said. “So two businesses are deciding the speed limit for an entire residential section of over 1,400 people on West Delmar.”
Kiser also described problems with the turning lane in the middle of West Delmar leading to Pine Grove Lane, which she said interferes with the turning lane into D’Adrian Gardens. When people “fly into D’Adrian gardens,” she said she and her neighbors cannot turn into their residences on Pine Grove Lane.
Finally, she said there are no sidewalks on her side of the street, which prevent her children from walking to school and make conditions especially dangerous with the current roundabout plans.
“There’s no sidewalk on my side of Delmar either, so my kids are never going to walk to school - and I’m okay with that, but one of these days they’re going to get big enough to decide that’s their own decision,” she said. “I don’t want traffic barreling at 45 miles per hour through a roundabout right in front of my house - not to mention the multiple churches, elementary schools, [and] nursing homes.”
Village Engineer Richard Beran said he spoke with IDOT prior to the meeting about this issue, and they told him that the first step to re-evaluating the speed limit would be for the Village to send a letter to IDOT requesting a speed study to be done. Village Trustee Jeff Weber said the Village would have an engineer send a letter to IDOT and “see what we can find out.”
A full recording of the meeting is available above from Riverbender.com.
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