On Oct. 8, 2025, the Village of Downers Grove’s Transportation and Parking Commission met to discuss safety issues in neighborhood schools. Community commentary was heard, and the Commission will move forward with many of the issues on the Council level. At the meeting, the main concern raised was about vehicular regulations in school zones.
Downers Grove government functions through a series of Commissions, such as the Transportation and Parking Commission, which hears public petitions and official reports and then conveys those concerns to the Village Council, which passes legislation regarding the issues.
During the meeting, a representative from KLOA Inc., a traffic design firm, shared details from the neighborhood traffic report 11, a project that analyzed vehicle and pedestrian safety within an area of Downers Grove. The company’s official report also shared that there are schools directly affected in this area.
“The neighborhood also contains five parks, Hillcrest Elementary School and Indian Trail Elementary School, which includes Grove Children’s Preschool. Downers Grove South High School is located directly south of the neighborhood,” the KLOA Inc. representative said.
The potential danger to students if traffic is not properly directed can be deadly. Therefore, the commission takes these issues very seriously. Chairman Matthew Novak stressed this sentiment.
“Our main goal is to maintain and increase pedestrian safety, but at the same time, increase and maintain vehicular safety so that everybody understands that their roles in traveling and walking in the areas of the school zones are extremely important,” Novak said.
The safety efforts that are being considered are updated signage and speed limits. This would create a more controlled environment in which everyone can go where they need to safely, whether that is DGS students or the local elementary schools.
Another area of possible concern raised at the meeting was the commute for Whittier Elementary School students. Whittier Elementary is located on the North side of Downers Grove and is notably a walk-only school, meaning that there is no bus option for students.
This increase in pedestrians around the school creates a possibly tragic opportunity for an accident. Therefore, special caution must be taken regarding safety. Community member Grant Milstead led a petition to implement new regulations at one intersection in the neighborhood.
“Recent stop sign installations at Lyman and Summit, Fairmount and Summit and new traffic controls on Washington Avenue have redirected more vehicles to this intersection-particularly during the morning when children are walking to school,” Milstead said.
Addressing this new increase in traffic would help to keep the masses of children utilizing this intersection safe. The commission received the ideas well and looks to possibly make changes in the future.
“We interpret those [community inputs] and take those to heart… everybody here is focused on one thing, and that’s the safety of our community,” Novak said.
The Village of Downers Grove is taking steps to create a safer community, both for students and for everyone.
“It is everybody’s responsibility to maintain safety, and we’re proud to be a part of that for the village of Downers Grove,” Novak said.
Click here to see the official meeting report.
