Following the lead of communities such as Lake Forest and Buffalo Grove, Gurnee will lower the speed limit on May 1 for most residential streets from 30 to 25 m.p.h.
The Village Board agreed to the speed-limit reduction this week in response to residents’ long-standing concerns about speeding in their neighborhoods, said Assistant Village Manager Brad Burke.
“It’s really more an issue of perception,” Burke said, adding that law enforcement surveillance indicates that most drivers obey speed limits in residential areas.
“But when children are playing in front yards and cars are passing at 30 m.p.h., it’s the parents’ perception that they are going a lot faster,” Burke said. “And who can blame them?”
Burke said the village will use a public relations campaign to let residents know where and when the changes will occur.
Burke said that the project costs about $12,000 and that about 330 signs will be replaced.