Submit comments on downtown pedestrian safety by Oct. 2
Offer input on possible safety improvements on Washington Street

Couldn’t make it to last week’s downtown pedestrian open house? There’s still time to learn about traffic and pedestrian issues in downtown Oswego and to submit your comments.
 
The Village of Oswego held a downtown pedestrian safety open house on Sept. 18 to gather residents input on possible safety improvements along Washington Street (U.S. Route 34) in downtown Oswego. Maps and exhibits from that open house are available to view from the home page of the Village’s website. Residents may also submit comments by downloading this form and emailing it to [email protected]. The deadline to submit comments is Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Download exhibits.
Download comment form.
 
Washington Street (U.S. Route 34) is controlled by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The major state route passes through downtown Oswego and has been the site of multiple vehicle-pedestrian crashes, including a fatal crash that killed a pedestrian in 2018. Since 1997, the Village has negotiated with IDOT for improvements, including installing flashing beacons, adding pedestrian flags, and lowering the posted speed limit to 20 m.p.h. In the past, pedestrian counts have not been high enough to warrant a traffic signal at either Washington and Main Streets or Washington and Harrison Streets. However, following recent crashes, IDOT has agreed to reconsider traffic signals and other safety improvements along Washington Street in downtown provided the community generally supports them.

The Sept. 18 meeting was the first of two public meetings that are planned to discuss Washington Street improvements. After collecting information from this meeting, engineers will draft possible solutions and solicit feedback on them in a second meeting.  The Village will provide public notice in advance of this meeting.
 
Questions?
Email Public Works Director Jenn Hughes at [email protected].