Oak Lawn Illinois Traffic costs residents an extra $40,000 annually

Wow – since Oak Lawn revitalized downtown, traffic has become a nightmare. Let’s see – first the brainiacs at city hall planning closed off every through street between Central and Cicero, except for one residential side street. That quiet, community road is now a major thoroughfare – busses, occasional trucks, hundreds of cars now stream down this once quiet side street in an attempt to avoid the busier roads. It’s no longer safe for kids to play near the street during rush hours.

Plus Oak Lawn is constantly griping about costs and wasting money. Hmmmm. How do they justify having two squad cars / two cops directing traffic there in the morning and afternoon, for a total of 8 hours a day in labor costs. That’s a cost to the city of over $40,000 annually – when a couple of signs would do. How about “No Left Turn” and “Local Traffic Only.” Have those same two cops issue tickets for a few weeks and see how fast the side street is once again a quiet side street!

When I asked city hall about these problems, both via email and letter, they felt that answering a lowly resident was beneath them. But hey, elections are coming up!