Carolyn Campbell
Courtesy of McHenry County Conservation District
Drivers on Pyott Road in Lake in the Hills might soon be required to slow down — but only if McHenry County Board members override a committee vote against a proposed speed limit reduction.
The proposal to lower the speed limit from 50 to 45 mph on Pyott between Oak and Willow streets has support from the Lake in the Hills police chief, but it was voted down at the county‘s transportation committee last month.
Chief Matt Mannino wrote a letter May 15 to McHenry County Board member Carolyn Campbell endorsing the proposed reduction.
“As a police officer for over 19 years and now Chief of Police in Lake in the Hills, I have responded to and/or been made aware of many crashes at those intersections,” Mannino wrote. “I believe that this change is a step in the right direction to reducing crashes and is vital for safety and well-being of our community.”
He cited a specific crash in January at the latter intersection that “sparked many comments on social media regarding traffic safety around these two intersections.”
County Board member Joe Gottemoller, a Crystal Lake Republican, cited the letter during a meeting Thursday.
“Now we’re talking about not lowering speed limits because it’s inconvenient for some board members,” Gottemoller said, prompting some laughter from the board.
Campbell said Thursday that while there has been resistance to speed limit reductions because of a belief that county roads are supposed to move people quicker, conditions have changed in a lot of places. She said Pyott isn’t used only by commuters but also “hundreds of residents” getting to and from their homes.
“Pyott Road no longer bisects open fields, but entire residential neighborhoods, creating a barrier instead of serving as a means of neighborhood connection,” Campbell said.
Board member John Collins, a Democrat from Crystal Lake, said he takes Pyott Road every day to work, and there are times when going the speed limit isn’t something done “by anybody driving it.”
He said he supports the speed limit reduction.
The board is expected to take up the proposals at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, at the county building in Woodstock.
