‘Yep, we’re biker-friendly,’ Burlington board says
‘Yep, we’re biker-friendly,’ Burlington board says
BURLINGTON — Should Burlington have a reputation among motorcycle riders as a “biker friendly” town? And should it turn the intersection of Center Street and Burlington Road (Main Street) into a four-way stop to slow traffic through the downtown?
Those were the biggest questions this week as the village board continued discussing ideas about things to change in the village over the coming year. And the consensus decision in both cases was “yes.”
The biker question came up because on warm, summer weekend afternoons, several motorcycle clubs route rural rides through Burlington. Often a long line of cycles can be seen in front of Motts tavern.
Trustee Bob Walsh, who’s in charge of the public safety committee, said he has examined the present policies about motorcycle parking along Burlington Road and doesn’t see any need to change them because Burlington is known as a biker-friendly town.
That irked Trustee Steve Vacherlon.
“I take severe offense to the idea that this is a biker-friendly town,” Vacherlon said. He said the cycles create noise and clog Main Street as they park in large numbers perpendicular to the curb.
“Does the rest of the town have to adhere to this image that occasionally flows in?” Vacherlon asked. “Is it an image we want to move in?”
“They’re well behaved and they’re welcome to come down and bring their business to Burlington,” Walsh said.
“We’re not trying to get rid of them,” Vacherlon said. “It just needs to be more controlled. They’re just packed in there. There needs to be a better parking system.”
Village President Mike Block noted that Motts does have a rear parking lot that can absorb some customer vehicles. “I don’t want to chase people out of our downtown,” Block said. “It’s not that they’re causing trouble. I wish there was a better solution (to the parking issue) but there isn’t.”
“I don’t think there have been any significant number of complaints,” Trustee Jim Daffron said.
4-way stop
All board members present seemed to agree that the village should continue working toward installing stop signs for both directions on Burlington Road at Center Street. Walsh said he met with Kane County transportation officials, who control both Center Street and Burlington Road outside the downtown, to get their cooperation.
The county people were “a little reluctant,” Walsh said. But he said he explained that signs reducing the speed limit come so close together that drivers tend not to slow down enough before they’re right in the heart of town. “A stop sign is the answer,” he said.
Village Engineer John Whitehouse said visibility for drivers on Center Street also is bad. “You have to creep out and if somebody is coming along Burlington Road doing 40, you’re in trouble,” he said.
Whitehouse said the village probably will have to document visibility problems and accident rates at the intersection before the county will sign off on the stop signs.
“We don’t want to have a large number of accidents there (to be documented),” Walsh said.
Whitehouse said a four-way stop at Center and Burlington also would help pedestrians get across the street and make the even busier nearby intersection of Plank and Burlington roads safer.
