A recent viewpoint questioned the effectiveness of the RRFBs (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons) that are being deployed around the village. Some of these flashing lights have been around for a few years; several more will be installed next year.
I don’t have any statistics one way or the other, but as a regular bike rider in Oak Park I find them to be quite helpful at busy street crossings. I regularly use the RRFBs at Erie and Oak Park when traveling east-west across the village. For the most part, drivers on Oak Park Avenue do stop when the lights go on and I am then able to safely cross to the other side.
Madison Street is a different story. Many drivers disregard the beacons on Madison. I believe this is because that street, even after the road diet, still feels like a higher-speed thoroughfare. Some driver education along with better signage and other traffic-calming measures would make the existing RRFBs more effective and provide for safer crossings of Madison.
Ridgeland, where no RRFBs exist today, can be quite difficult to cross on bike or on foot and there are numerous schools near that road throughout the length of the village. The RRFBs that will be installed on Ridgeland next year will greatly improve the situation for students walking to and from school.
But RRFBs by themselves are not the answer to safe biking and walking. Even better would be some curb bump-outs or other traffic-calming measures at key locations.
There are many different infrastructure options that can lead to safer biking and walking, but each one by itself has limited effectiveness. Safe biking and walking in Oak Park requires RRFBs, but it also requires many other components that work in tandem with the beacons to improve the overall effectiveness of our transportation system as a whole.
Karl Lauger
Oak Park