After a second bicyclist was hit by a vehicle on Route 31 in Batavia, city officials asked the Illinois Department of Transportation to speed up approving a new plan aimed at making the road safer.
City Administrator Laura Newman put out a statement Thursday announcing in light of “recent serious accidents, the city plans to request IDOT to expedite their review” for what is called a “road diet,” which involves converting an existing four-lane undivided roadway to a three-lane road consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left-turn lane, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The city asked IDOT to install unspecified safety improvements in the meantime while they await the road diet which would reduce Route 31’s four-lane roadway to three lanes, along with sidewalks or bicycle lanes.
On May 23, a 42-year-old woman on a bicycle was struck by a minivan while crossing Route 31 from the Les Arends Forest Preserve to Millview Drive. The woman, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her family, died three days later from injuries sustained in the crash. She was a mother to five children.
Batavia police announced Thursday that no one will be ticketed in connection with the crash.
After interviewing people involved and witnesses, police said the minivan driver had no opportunity to avoid colliding with the bicyclist as the rider entered the intersection of Route 31 and Millview Drive.
A week later, a second bicyclist, a teenage boy, was critically injured after colliding with an SUV Wednesday afternoon at Route 31 and Union Avenue.
“Following both incidents, the city has received an outpouring of concern from residents, many of whom are angry and frustrated that more had not been done before these accidents occurred to make crossing Route 31 safer,” Newman said in a statement.
City officials reminded residents that Route 31 is under the state’s control, so they need IDOT’s permission to change the road.
The Batavia City Council will discuss the safety concerns with the road at its Committee of the Whole meeting at 7 p.m. June 13 at the Jeffery D. Schielke Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave. in Batavia.
TranSystems, the engineering consultant retained by Batavia to perform phase one engineering for the Route 31 road diet project, is expected to provide a general process and schedule overview for the plan, officials said.
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Additionally, they will be prepared to discuss safety along the Route 31 corridor, and Millview Drive and Union Avenue in particular, officials said.
“Our community has been deeply saddened by recent accidents on Batavia Avenue (Route 31),” said Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke in a press release. “Our citizens have asked us to address the safety issues along this road and it has been part of the city’s strategic plan to do so. Preliminary studies showed that a road diet is viable, and the City Council is committed to pursuing this option.”