The Village of Manhattan and its residents remain resolute in their mission to improve the dangerous Rt. 52 and North Street intersection to make it safer for travelers and pedestrians, proving they are undeterred by time, distractions, or delays by IDOT.
The bulk of Manhattan’s November 4 board meeting was dedicated to discussing making Rt. 52 safer, as the village had requested residents share concerns, ideas, and more during the meeting.
“It’s important to keep inviting people to the table to always ask for input. Sometimes people will come up with ideas and thoughts other people might not have considered,” resident Andrea Baumhardt said after thanking the village for requesting community input.
She expressed concerns about Rt. 52 near Baker Road, citing at times she will drive past the entrance to her subdivision, especially when she has a large truck coming up behind her at a high speed, because she doesn’t feel it’s safe enough to slow down and turn in.
“ I know motorist and pedestrian safety on Rt. 52 obviously has been a concern for myself and the board for many years. Now that we have had a tragedy, I just want our community to do everything possible to avoid having another family go through loss and pain as the Hunnicutt family is enduring,” Mayor Mike Adrieansen said.
Adrieansen reviewed a lengthy list of requests the village has made to IDOT, beginning from requesting a traffic study to support Rt. 52 bypass options in 2020, to requesting speed reductions, signage, and pedestrian-safety improvements.
“IDOT currently, right now, since the head-on collisions in Baker and Rt. 52 have been, I guess, a threshold that they look at it now, started a phase one engineering study for that area with the turn lane option for the round barn,” Adrieansen said, noting the study takes 18 months, then IDOT would provide a proposal and get community input, which is probably a year away.
He continued, explaining other improvement requests the village has implemented, like the flashing school zone signs on Rt. 52 by St. Joseph School, and other ideas they’re working on, like replacing and painting curbs and reducing parking near the Y intersection of Rt. 52 and North Street. Other improvements included adding a bike path and improving crosswalks.
The frustrations with the bureaucratic process IDOT follows were palpable.
Trustee Justin Young expressed that he’s been in touch with both State Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D – Chicago Heights) and Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex), who are willing to work toward solutions.
Adrieansen added other area leaders are trying to help Manhattan, and he affirmed the struggle with IDOT isn’t Manhattan’s alone.
“I appreciate the community, too, because the more they hear from you guys, they probably listen to the community more than us. So, if we can work together, I think that’s the best way we can accomplish, uh, what we’re all trying to accomplish and just make it safer,” Adrieansen added.
Police Chief Ryan Gulli also expressed he is committed to getting answers and said he “wasn’t happy with the lack of urgency” from IDOT.
“The survey tells us it’s dangerous. We’ve already determined it’s dangerous. I think as a village, you know, IDOT has been responsive to a few emails, but we need action,” Gulli said.
Adrieansen shared the determination.
“We’re going to keep at them. They’re going to, they’re going to have to answer to us eventually, I’m sure, because we’ll keep bugging them. It’s unfortunate it has to be like that,” Adreiansen said.
Trustee Bob Dilling acknowledged the work the police department has put in pulling over overlength trucks.
“We do have an inordinate amount of trucks that have been coming through, but with the efforts of what the truck unit has done and the rest of the guys have done, it’s cut it down quite a lot,” Dilling said.
“For the two days preceding the accident, we were averaging 50-to-60 a day. For the month of October, we had 304 total, which was 10 more than in 2024,” Gulli shared.
In overlength tickets alone, the year-to-date ticket numbers are staggering: 1,961 overlength tickets compared to last year’s 1,448, which Gulli said exemplifies how the problem is increasing.
Additionally, Dave Ptak spoke and suggested repainting the crosswalk at the intersection of Rt. 52 and North Street. He said he has tried to reach out to IDOT to help spur some action.
Adam Ehlers spoke to promote his “citizen action group,” which can be found on Facebook as the “Bike Walk Alliance of Manhattan.” Their goal is to “teach community members how to give public testimony,” specifically regarding giving public comment to IDOT, the county, and more.
On November 7, the Village of Manhattan posted on their Facebook that they were informed by IDOT the intersection of State and North Street will be converted into a three-way stop, effective immediately.
Adrieansen said the action was made possible because of the emails, calls, and voices of residents who demanded swift action. He added, “This is just the beginning, and we are fully committed to continuing improvements at this intersection to ensure it is as safe as possible and to prevent future tragedies.”
Crosswalk Lighting Presentation
The village invited Éric Ladouceur, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Lighting of Cyclone, an Acuity Brand, which produces municipal lighting options. He flew in from Montreal and provided an informative presentation, highlighting facts that elicited audible reactions from members of the audience.
“Eighty percent of pedestrian fatalities happen at night between dusk and dawn,” Ladouceur said, noting he studied photometry, the science of lighting, specifically how it illuminates crosswalks.
He noted when cars are coming from both directions, crosswalks require four times the light that’s needed on the roadway.
Ladouceur also explained that when a car is traveling 30-mph, the headlights shine about 84 feet ahead of the vehicle, noting that a vehicle could stop within the reach of the low-beam headlights. However, today’s larger SUVs and pickup trucks can take anywhere from 85-to-110 feet to stop, which means they would not be able to stop in the time it takes for the headlight to illuminate someone or something in the crosswalk.
“That’s why you need to be able to show there is a crosswalk to bring awareness so the drivers slow down. Then, if somebody’s crossing, it’s going to highlight, and we’re going to see the person,” Ladouceur explained.
Downtown Design Guidelines Approved
Related to Rt. 52, the board had a brief presentation ahead of the adoption of the downtown design guidelines from Ken Chastain and John Striker from the Farnsworth Group.
The pair each expressed minor enhancements can be made for existing buildings that want to participate, like adding awnings and uniform signage.
“Implementation is the hardest part,” Striker said, noting having a volunteer business get the ball rolling is helpful. Adrieansen explained the village will be setting an example by updating its Historical Society building and the old village hall to conform to the new design guidelines.
Young assuaged fears Manhattan would turn into Naperville, assuring the goal of the guidelines wasn’t to achieve that type of feel.
“I think what we’ve done here is put together a way to refresh our town, unify our town, there is a lot of mish-mosh out there, and still keep it in a farm-type country feel, but still with some modern amenities with that. I support it. I think it’s going to be great,” Young added, noting a downtown cleanup would be beneficial to both new and existing businesses.
Trustee Lucinda Neighbors also welcomed the guidelines.
Striker and Chastain reiterated the guidelines serve as a model for businesses, with the possibility for the village to offer incentives to those who follow the guidelines. It also serves as a model of the village’s expectations for businesses interested in coming to Manhattan.
Village Administrator Resigns
Village Administrator Jeff Wold tendered his resignation at the November 4 board meeting, with Wold stating he would be returning to police work as a police chief in another community.
The trustees and the mayor all appeared sad to see Wold go, expressing well-wishes to the outgoing administrator. Adrieansen added Wold agreed to help get the new administrator acclimated once selected and hired, though his official last day is slated for November 13.
Wold read a lengthy prepared statement that heralded all of his accomplishments during his tenure and recalled fond memories, which he joked was an “Academy Award speech.”
Wold’s sense of humor was appreciated by staff and board members alike, with several commenting they would miss it.
“As I step away from the village of Manhattan, I know the future of Manhattan is in fine hands. I have a deep appreciation for the entire staff and for the community, but I’m going to miss most is our police department. I loved being a police chief here in Manhattan. I’m going to go back to being a police chief in another community. But I always have Manhattan in my heart. I loved it here. Thank you,” Wold said.
Marc Nelson was appointed interim village administrator and nicknamed “Swiss Army Marc,” by Wold after Young said Nelson was like a Swiss Army knife for his ability to step into nearly any role to help out.
Other Village News
Regarding finances, Justin VanVooren briefly reviewed the tax levy, but no action was taken.
In other news, the board approved the purchase of a computer and software to assist in redactions for police FOIAs, specifically with regard to body cameras. Not only does audio need to be redacted, but also anything on camera that is personally identifiable, such as information on an individual’s license.
Gulli explained one FOIA request resulted in more than 80 hours of work to apply required redactions, adding they have to comply with FOIA requests promptly, and the department currently does not have the manpower to do it.
“Obviously, we want to be as transparent as we can, but the attorney general gives us guidelines on what we can and can’t release,” Gulli said. He provided example scenarios, such as a juvenile victim appearing on body camera footage, which would need to be blurred out.
The village’s popular “Scarecrows on Parade” contest winners were awarded. The first-place winner was The Taco Man, David Pantoja, and the second-place winner was the Triemstra family.
A new grief support group, Healing Hearts: Hope After Loss, will have its first meeting at the Manhattan Village Hall on Sunday, November 23, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. All are welcome.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.