Rockford Sun

City of Rockford Traffic Commission met Sept. 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

I. CALL TO ORDER 

Attendee Name	Organization	Title	Status	Arrived
Mark Bonne	City of Rockford	Alderman	Absent
Scott Capovilla	City of Rockford		Present
Kerry Lin	City of Rockford		Present
Don Bissell	City of Rockford		Absent
Dorien Peterson	City of Rockford		Present
Patrick Yarbrough	City of Rockford		Present
Tom Okite	City of Rockford		Present
Cedrick Ketton	City of Rockford		Present
Andrew Hartman	City of Rockford		Present
Charles Smilinich	City of Rockford		Absent
Emil Mosny	City of Rockford		Present
Joan Sage	City of Rockford		Present

Other Attendees:

Also Present  

Alderman Jaime Salgado, 1225 9th Street, 61104

Mr. Matthew Flores, Legal Department

II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES 

The minutes of the last regular meeting held on August 13, 2025, were approved as submitted.

III. TRAFFIC REQUESTS 

A. New Business

1. Request in the 5th Ward, by Stephen Blais, 2111 Martha Avenue, to establish a 25mph speed limit on Clara Avenue from Christina Street to Lucille Street, thus repealing the 30mph speed limit on Clara Avenue from Christina Street to Lucille Street. (This item was laid over from the June Traffic Commission.) (This and the following four items were discussed and voted upon as a group. K. Lin called attention to the actions taken following the June Traffic Commission which included the posting of a speed limit sign, distribution of “slow down, save lives” yard signs, and additional enforcement. She gave the results of the speed studies that were done in preparation for this meeting. One-percent or less of all traffic on each road exceeded 35mph. Given the results, city staff does not feel that there is a speeding problem on the roadways in the neighborhood. She pointed out that the City standard for residential streets is 30mph and that staff does not support a non-standard speed limit. In the past, a city-wide change to 25mph has been brought before City Council but they have not supported this change. Commission recommended taking “No Action.” Motion by C. Ketton, seconded by S. Mosny, Voted 8-0).

2. Request in the 5th Ward, by Stephen Blais, 2111 Martha Avenue, to establish a 25mph speed limit on Martha Avenue from Clara Avenue to Sylvia Avenue, thus repealing the 30mph speed limit on Martha Avenue from Clara Avenue to Sylvia Avenue. (This item was laid over from the June Traffic Commission.) (See discussion above).

3. Request in the 5th Ward, by Stephen Blais, 2111 Martha Avenue, to establish a 25mph speed limit on Lucille Street from Clara Avenue to Sylvia Avenue, thus repealing the 30mph speed limit on Lucille Street from Clara Avenue to Sylvia Avenue. (This item was laid over from the June Traffic Commission.) (See discussion above).

4. Request in the 5th Ward, by Stephen Blais, 2111 Martha Avenue, to establish a 25mph speed limit on Sylvia Avenue from Lucille Street to Martha Avenue, thus repealing the 30mph speed limit on Sylvia Avenue from Lucille Street to Martha Avenue. (This item was laid over from the June Traffic Commission.) (See discussion above).

5. Request in the 5th Ward, by Stephen Blais, 2111 Martha Avenue, to establish a 25mph speed limit on Mary Court from Martha Avenue to end, thus repealing the 30mph speed limit on Mary Court from Martha Avenue to end. (This item was laid over from the June Traffic Commission.) (See discussion above).

6. Request in the 11th Ward, by Beatrice Smith, to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Parmele Street and 21st Avenue, thus repealing the existing traffic control of 21st Avenue stopping for Parmele Street. (Alderman Salgado explained the request and expressed that he felt some of the issues that have happened there are due to the additional traffic using Parmele Street to get around the 11th Street construction. K. Lin explained some of the warrants for consideration of a 4-way stop.

These include accident and traffic volume criteria. While there has been one accident at the intersection in the three-year time period, the guideline is 5 accidents in one year or 6 accidents in three years. Traffic volumes also do not meet warrant criteria. K. Lin commented that “Cross Traffic

Does Not Stop” signs will be installed on the existing stop sign posts.

Commission recommended taking “No Action.” Motion by K. Lin, seconded by A. Hartman, Voted 8-0).

IV. ADJOURNMENT 

The meeting was closed at 5:51 PM

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