Crawford Avenue Update – June 12, 2019
In an effort to expedite improvements to Crawford Avenue north of Oakton Street, the Village of Skokie is conducting a Phase I engineering study on behalf of Cook County. The county has jurisdiction over Crawford Avenue and will reimburse the Village for the engineering study costs.
The Village is currently in the process of selecting an engineering firm to conduct the Phase I study that includes extensive review of traffic safety data, future traffic projections, lighting review, roadway geometry, drainage and pavement surface investigations and more. There will be public outreach and opportunities for public comment during Phase I. The Village has heard the following community concerns:
- Do not increase the speed limit on Crawford Avenue.
- The current 35-mile-per hour speed limit will not increase.
- There is too much truck traffic on Crawford Avenue.
- The volume of truck traffic will be studied during Phase I.
- Remove parking on Crawford Avenue/Do not remove parking on Crawford Avenue.
- Removing parking on this section of Crawford Avenue has, historically, been a condition imposed by the Cook County Highway Department for funding the improvements. Parking on Crawford Avenue will be studied during Phase I.
- Add bike lanes to Crawford Avenue.
- Adding bike lanes to Crawford Avenue will be studied during Phase I.
After conducting the extensive review, the selected engineering firm will create and ultimately seek approval of a Project Design Report (PDR). When a preliminary PDR is created, there will be a public open house to present the preliminary report and gather public comment before a final PDR is created. The open house will be publicized by both Cook County and the Village.
The Village and Cook County have been discussing improving Crawford Avenue north of Oakton Street for many years, with these discussions increasing since improvements were made south of Oakton Street approximately six years ago. Crawford Avenue is classified as an arterial street and has an average daily traffic count upwards of 14,000 vehicles. Conducting a Phase I engineering study is necessary prior to beginning the engineering for construction design and specification documents, and Phase III, which is the actual construction of the improvements.