Oak Lawn officials hope making a street one-way at certain times will relieve traffic congestion around Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, in response to homeowners who said backup cars sometimes block their driveways.
The Village Board voted Tuesday to make Oak Center Drive between Minnick Avenue and 52nd Avenue one way eastbound between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., and from 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. on school days, when drivers are dropping off and picking up students at the rear of the school.
The one-way change will not go into effect until the next school yearn begins.
The middle school proposed the change, according to an email from the Principal Sean McNichols, posted on the village website. Some homeowners also complained that cars backed up on Oak Center Drive blocked driveways.
The board’s Traffic Safety Committee recommended the change April 7 to end the gridlock around the school, village attorney Paul O’Grady said.
“Nobody wants to drive over there,” O’Grady said.
Village Board member Paul Mallo said he was concerned that with vehicles going east on Oak Center Drive, children would get out of the cars on the street side and have to cross the street to enter the school, which is on the north side of Oak Center.
But McNichols supported the traffic change.
He reported at a committee meeting in March there was an increase in students being driven to school, rather than taking the bus, and about 500 children are dropped off or picked up at the rear of the school on Oak Center Drive.
Village Board member Bud Stalker said about 20 residents participated in a community meeting organized by the school and the result was a good example of stakeholders reaching consensus on a solution to the traffic problem.
Bond sale reduced
Oak Lawn officials also said due to rising interest rates, they pulled back on the number of general obligation bonds they planned to issue this year.
In February, the Village Board approved issuing up to $70 million in bonds, $50 million of which would be used to refinance existing debt.
The village’s financial consultant, Daniel Denys of Austin Meade Financial, Ltd., had said interest rates were at historic lows, but were expected to go up.
Denys said he expected new bonds could be sold with about 2.5% annual interest, to refinance five series of bonds issued between July 2006 and July 2017, on which the village was paying more than 4% interest.
“No one anticipated the bond market would decline as rapidly as it did in the last 45 days,” Denys said.
When the village sold $20 million worth of bonds April 20, the interest rate for them averaged 4.47%, finance director Adam Metz said.
“Our credit rating was not a factor in the decision to hold off on the other bonds,” said village controller Jerry Dillon. “We both received a slight upgrade from S&P and we had bond insurance in place.”
More Top Picks Vtech Vs112 2
The proceeds of the 20-year bonds will be used for a variety of purposes, including street resurfacing, sewer infrastructure and equipment, Metz said. But refinancing the old bonds was put on hold.
“We held off on the remaining bonds because of the recent significant spike in interest rates.” Metz said.
Kimberly Fornek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.