New traffic enforcement measures may soon come to Orland Park, with village officials on Monday discussing technology meant to deter speeding among drivers.
“We’re changing the way we approach this because we just want compliance,” Mayor Jim Dodge said during Monday’s board meeting.
The board previously discussed installing speed and noise cameras in Orland Park to stop reckless driving and aggravated speeding, with some members expressing frustration that state law prohibits municipalities outside Chicago from issuing citations based on the data.
But Itasca-based company DacraTech may provide a solution in the form of its automated speed enforcement system, Dodge said Monday, with Orland Park officials planning to issue fines to speeders under the village’s nuisance ordinance. The pole-mounted cameras capture vehicle identification along with timestamps and speed measurements, according to DacraTech’s website.
As two cameras are required for each location, the village plans to install four in total, two near Carl Sandburg High School and two near Orland District 135 schools on West 151st Street.
After some debate, board members agreed the village should deliver two warnings through the mail to vehicle owners before issuing fines of $150 for a third offense and $300 for a fourth.
“After we have a year of experience with this program, let’s see what the numbers look like,” Dodge said. “Maybe it needs to be adjusted if we get people who just keep racking up fines, don’t care about the warnings — then we’ll have to take another approach. Hopefully, we see that after they get a speed warning, they stop.”
The board will review the proposal again and decide whether to purchase and install the camera systems during their next Village Board meeting on Oct. 5, according to Village Manager George Koczwara.
Koczwara said if the current plan is approved, the village will pay DacraTech $150,000 per year for the four cameras, along with staffing that would be required to issue up to 1,500 warnings and citations. The village hopes to approve a three-year contract.
“The cameras (are) kind of the easy part,” Koczwara said. “The more labor-intensive part is the back office — the issuing of citations, the collections, the reminders, all that.”
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Dodge said he hopes the new technology quells speeding among teenagers, as parents are made aware of the problem through the warnings and other notices.
Emergency procedure updates
The Orland Park Village Board also discussed changing the village code to prepare for future emergencies and crack down on disruptive teen gatherings known as “teen takeovers.”
Following in the footsteps of other municipalities, Orland Park officials aim to fine parents and guardians when their children engage in large disturbances that “may threaten the safety of residents, damage public and private property, disrupt governmental services, and place extraordinary demands upon law enforcement and emergency personnel,” according to the proposed ordinance.
The ordinance also proposed giving the mayor and police chief the authority to establish a curfew after declaring a civil emergency, which is defined as a riot or unlawful gathering of at least three people, a disturbance or gathering of at least 20 people, or a natural disaster resulting in property damage or injuries to people.
But Dodge and village officials agreed to go back to the drawing board after hearing board members push back on the level of authority given to the mayor’s office.