Joliet Illinois residents worried after pair of Route 59 crashes
Increasing police presence may be the only way to stop accidents along an "improved" section of Route 59. Another suggestion was to plant sturdy trees in the backyards of the homes that line that section of Route 59 to stop cars that may veer of the road.
Illinois officials have agreed to help the Joliet community pay for a fence that would add another layer of protection for residents. But the suggestion to install guardrails has been rejected by State officials.
Amy Russell, a Pheasant Landing resident whose backyard sits along that particular stretch of Route 59, says that residents have become even more concerned after a pair of accidents.
"People drag race down the road," she said. "I didn't think it was possible with the stop lights. But I guess if you're drag racing, you're not worred about the stop lights.'
Russell said that motorcycles and speeding cars have also increased the road noise since that section of Route 59 has been widened.
After battling with the village, Joliet officials agreed to pay for a fence for residents. The high fence will be installed next month and will provide privacy. After the reconstruction, Route 59 was elevated. In addition, the road was widened and moved closer to the Quail Drive resident's backyards. They are hoping that the fence will provide some protection as well from cars driving off the road.
The residents in Pheasant Landing want the state to install guardrails. But Guy Tridgell, a spokeman for the IDOT, believes that they would increase the hazard. "Actually, erecting a guardrail creates more of a hazard by directing drivers back into traffic.
A guardrail can send a speeding vehicle already out of control, back into traffic. Tridgell believes the problems on Route 59 are a result of poor driving and not the reconstruction design of the road.
Residents have been told to plant trees in their backyards as another way of stopping an out of control vehicle.
It sounds flippant, but it could work. Pine trees in the backyard of the Caton Crossing development stopped a speeding care that broke through a wood fence along Route 59.
