For our residents over on Upland, we wanted to share an important public safety update with you.
When the neighborhoods in that area were constructed, a gate was installed at the point where Upland dead-ends at the parking lot for Starks Corners. Based on the Illinois Department of Transportation approved plans, the gate was intended to be a secondary (emergency) access point only. However, the gate has remained open and the private driveway on Starks Corners receives heavy use as a cut-through to Route 20. As the parking lot was not designed for this volume of traffic, we have had a number of significant pedestrian and vehicle safety concerns, for vehicles using the parking lot to exit from Upland to Route 20. Based on those concerns (and on the restrictions that were intended to be applicable to this secondary access point), the Village will be closing the gate at Upland and Stark's Corners in the next week. We wanted to share this update with residents so that you can plan accordingly. We would make the following notes:
- The gate has been marked with appropriate reflective markers, and Upland has been marked as a dead-end street (as designed).
- The gate will be secured with padlocks that both the Police Department and Fire Protection District have keys to; in the event of a public safety emergency, both agencies have the ability to open the gate if necessary for emergency access.
- There is an offset portion of the fence near the end of Upland that allows for pedestrian access to Stark's Corners, if residents desire to travel there on foot.
We understand that this may affect resident travel patterns, and thus we wanted to share news of the upcoming changes before they occur. We apologize for any inconvenience, but we have to heed concerns regarding the safety of those using both Upland and the Stark's Corners parking lot. We appreciate your understanding!
