Politics & Government

High (Speed) Anxiety: Why These Fast Streets Make You Furious

Spurred by Mayor Hank Kuspa's move to find the Oak Forest roads and intersections where traffic speeds are dangerous, Patch asked readers for their picks. Find which ones made the cut, and what street residents think should be faster.

UPDATED (9:51 a.m. Tuesday, June 4): Forestview Drive from Oak Park to Ridgeland avenues added to the map.

Mayor Hank Kuspa isn't the only one who wants to see traffic slow down in certain parts of Oak Forest.

At last week's City Council meeting, the mayor asked the aldermen to suggest streets and intersections where vehicles were going too fast, as part of the first step at trying to reduce speeds—and risk factors—on potentially dangerous roadways around the city.

Patch decided to do its own informal polling and asked residents for their opinions about what streets needed to slow down. Responses on the website and Oak Forest Patch's Facebook page were collected, and areas that were suggested more than once or had at least one recommendation were then mapped.

The map in this article labels the streets that made the cut, with roads that need speed reductions outlined in red and intersections marked with overturned cars.
Roads outlined in green denote areas where the speed limit should be increased.

Here's some of what we found out.

Quick Breakdown


  • The most dangerous road, according to readers is pretty much the entire stretch of 151st Street that runs through Oak Forest.
  • Although it's only a problem during specific times of the day at very specific times of the year, Oak Forest High School's exit onto 151st Street is a particularly frustrating area for some.
  • The presence of children was the reason most people cited for why drivers needed to slow down in a particular area.
  • The suggestion that received the most support wasn't about slowing down a road. It was about speeding one up. More than 20 readers suggested changing the speed limit of Central Avenue from 25 mph to at least 35 mph.

Other Responses


Here's a sampling of other streets and intersections that only received a single suggestion from residents.

Roger: "How about changing the No Turn on Red @ Central + Albert Dr. to No Turn on Red When Pedestrians Present? So annoying."

Janet Virva: "151st and Moorings Lane--the Mayor's own street! We are 4th house from the corner and the cars FLY by our house! Good luck slowing them down. It's usually the residents who live further into the subdivision."

Richard Browne: "Chaucer drive from 152nd south to Victoria is brutal. I live between Lancaster and Victoria, I've had snow plows take a foot and more off my curbside lawn, Had cars drive up onto my lawn. Had my car totaled after it was t-boned while it was parallel parked outside my house..... Kids from the high school blaze up and down there.

"I think rumble strips may be a solution and they are probably much cheaper than roundabouts...."

Aaron A: "Parkside ave between 151st and 149th. I live on this street and have three young children. The speed limit is 20 mph yet we consistently have speeders that travel in excess of 45 mph down the street. I have yelled walked out in from of cars and even had my car hit while pulling into my drive way by a young driver trying to pass me. They cut through to a kid the light at 151 th and central. Lowering the speed limit will not help, it is already 20 and cars travel 2 times that over here. Speed bumps are needed badly or I may be investing in spike strips."

E Peterson: "167th Street from Central to Cicero Ave. I used to live on 167th St. and cars are still going 45 to 50 mph after going over the hill by the horse stables and it was almost impossible to pull out of your driveway.

"Speed bumps would probably work on some side streets to reduce speeds, however, they damage shocks and make you slow down too much and islands are awful (dangerous) when you have 2 to 3 feet of snow on ground."

Mike Kennedy: "163 Debra a lot of cars speed and run the stop sign. This has been a big problem for many years."

What's Next


Patch will compare the streets and intersections readers chose with those picked by the aldermen, mayor and other city officials. We'll also talk with the Oak Forest Police Department to see what areas it considers to be trouble spots when it comes to speedy traffic.

YOUR TURN: What do you think of these findings? Are these the streets you expected? Are there some streets that shouldn't be on here? Share your thoughts in the comments section.


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