Rock Island council denies crosswalk request on 17th Street after safety review; staff to study alternatives

The Rock Island City Council voted to deny a request to install a pedestrian crosswalk on the 1900 block of 17th Street, following a traffic-engineering recommendation and extended public comment.

Resident April Linenberger told the council the request followed a local pedestrian fatality and said the engineering study “contains no data about the intersections in question,” asking, “If the crosswalk were to be denied, what’s next?” Alex North, a Rock Island resident and nonprofit executive, urged a reorientation of street design toward people, citing wide 44-foot streets that create higher speeds and suggesting options including single-side parking and clearer delineation of lanes.

Council members and staff noted the engineering committee’s recommendation against installing a crosswalk at that location because of safety concerns and the presence of a traffic-controlled crossing at 18th Avenue and 17th Street. Public works staff cited vehicle counts—approximately 7,000 cars per day—and the city’s speed-hump policy (generally for streets under 5,000 average daily traffic) as reasons a typical speed-hump remedy would not apply. Councilor comments recommended targeted measures: examine no-parking zones between 18th and 19th, consider restriping or bump-outs as part of reconstruction projects, rotate radar speed signs, revive the bicycle task force and incorporate study into the five-year strategic plan.

The council approved the staff recommendation to deny the crosswalk and directed staff to continue evaluating other remedies and report back, including possible short-term visibility improvements and longer-term design solutions.