You can follow the average daily traffic counts on IDOT's site.  Just zoom in to IL Rte 53 and you'll see the aadt.

Safety

1. Safety of children getting on and off of buses

   Increasing the number of through lanes in each direction to two, means that traffic moving in only one direction is required to stop. From North Avenue to Roosevelt Road, four school districts pick up and drop off children – districts 41, 44, 87, and 89. A youth was struck and killed getting off a bus near Spring by a driver passing on the shoulder.
    

1. Pedestrian safety

   Residents are concerned for the safety of pedestrians walking along Route 53. Where there are no sidewalks, pedestrians are forced to walk on the shoulder or in the street. Pedestrians are often school aged children, the elderly trying to visit friends a few houses down, joggers and dog walkers. School children walking to, waiting for, and entering and exiting buses make up more than 100 pedestrians a day along this route.
    

2. Cycling safety

   Residents are concerned for the safety of cyclists bicycling along Route 53. Where there are no bike paths, cyclists are forced to ride on the shoulder or in the street. Because of the chewed up nature of the shoulders too often have cyclists been observed to wobble and temporarily lose control and drift dangerously close to and in some cases have crossed over into a through lane. Young adults and school children seem to comprise the majority of cyclists on Route 53. More have expressed a strong desire to do so, but fear for the unsafe biking conditions. In order for their children to ride a bicycle, the parents have to pack up the bikes in a car and drive some place else or the children have to be accompanied by an adult, cross Route 53 on foot without signals and go to a suitable parking lot.
    

3. Safe crossings for pedestrians and cyclists

   Pedestrians and bicyclists can only cross Route 53 safely at Spring and St. Charles. No sidewalks or bike paths connect to these intersections.

   This severely limits the number of people who have real access to these safer intersections.
    

4. Motorist safety

   Residents want a safe road to drive on. They want a safe way to get in and out of their driveways.
    

5. Safety in one’s home

There are some houses that have been hit repeatedly by cars.

Safety Design Requests

1. 3-lane cross section

   A three lane cross section provides fewer lanes to cross. Three-lane roads eliminate weaving. Weaving and speeding that occurs on multiple thru-lanes make it hard to judge just how fast cars are really going.

   Fewer lanes keep pedestrian/driver contact point possibilities to a minimum. The center lane can act as pedestrian refuge if need be or is a space where a protected pedestrian mid-block refuge could be constructed if logistically possible i.e. if the TWLTL feature is not needed.

   A three-lane road is the safest cross-section design for making left turns onto and off of the highway because you only have one thru-lane to negotiate at a time if necessary.

   It is a natural traffic calmer, since cars can go only as fast at the most prudent driver. This makes speed limits more likely to be adhered to by the drivers and more enforceable.

   Three lanes would allow for the road to be farther from homes, making front yards safer. With a three-lane traffic needs to stop in all lanes for school buses because in essence it is considered a "two-lane".

   Three-lane roads are as safe as four-lane divided highways and safer than five-lane roads according to a study done by MNDOT.

   Three-lane roads leave room for safer placement of sidewalks and bike paths.

   In general when four-lane undivided cross sections, as 40% of Route 53 currently is, are converted to an urban three-lane rear end accidents are reduced by 50 to 60 percent because of the addition of the TWLTL feature.

   Sideswipes are almost eliminated and overall accident rates drop by 11 to 35 percent. Fatal accidents also fall because speeding is usually is more controlled on a three-lane. The speed of the car has a direct correlation to the severity of the collision. These numbers are cited by the FHWA, with strong correlation found in other research documents.
    

2. Reduced speed

   Reduced speed makes for safer roads. Accidents that do occur will be less severe, especially those involving cyclists or pedestrians. The fatality rates jump dramatically when speeds increase from 35 mph to 45 mph. There is an 83% fatality rate for pedestrians struck by cars going 40 mph and more. In 2001 more school-aged children were struck and killed as pedestrians then died in 9/11. This is an annual death toll.
    

3. Sidewalks

   Sidewalks give pedestrians a safe place to walk. Residents would prefer sidewalks set back 4-5 feet from the curb. We want our kids more physically active. Obesity and the health problems associated with those are skyrocketing. The recommendation by the ADA is for sidewalks to be set back 1 foot for every 10 mph posted speed. In the case of Route 53, that would make set back at current speeds 4 to 5 feet.
    

4. Bike paths

   Bike paths give bicycles a safer route to cycle. Residents would prefer off-road bike paths. Especially because it is felt that children would be the most frequent users of bike routes. Off road bike path allows for more safety for children.

5. Tunnel under Route 53 at Wilson

   A bicycle/pedestrian tunnel under Route 53 at Wilson would create a safe way for residents from the west side of Route 53 to access Sunset Knoll Park.
    

6. Traffic light at Meadow

   A traffic light at Meadow would give pedestrians and cyclists a place to cross between St. Charles and North Avenue with safety.
    

7. Traffic light at Madison

   A traffic light at Madison would give pedestrians and cyclists a place to cross Route 53 between St. Charles and Spring Avenue.
    

8. Traffic light at Surrey

   A traffic light at Surrey would give pedestrians and cyclists a place to cross Route 53 between St. Charles and Spring Avenue. This is especially important because this is a low-income neighborhood with many children without the resource of an adult who drives after school. This would allow the children safe access to the Glen Ellyn Park District 2 blocks from their street and could mean the difference between participation or not for older school aged children. Considering IDOT only plans to build a sidewalk on the opposite side of Route 53 in Flowerfield from the residents at surrey, this becomes a critical light for them. We are uncertain if there are any plans for sidewalks in Glen Ellyn to link Surrey Drive to Spring Ave. Further, west Flowerfield residents could more safely access Sunset Knoll Park.
    

9. Curbs instead of shoulders

Access/Connectivity Concerns

1. Connectivity of bike trails to and between the Great Western Trail and Illinois Prairie Path

   There is no connection between the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path. There is no easy, safe path to get to the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path from Route 53 or the Illinois Prairie Path. Much money has been spent on the Great Western Trail, but residents are denied from using it.
    

2. Access to driveways

   Residents deserve to have safe and easy access to their driveways.
    

3. Access to public facilities

   Residents want access to both the Glen Ellyn and Lombard Park Districts for pedestrians and cyclists.
    

4. Full access for community feeders

   Residents would like easy access from Route 53 into Lombard, specifically full signalized access to Meadow, Madison, and Surrey Drive.
    

5. Open access to roads that are currently only right in/right out

1. A bike path

   Specifically, starting from the Great Western Trail and running south along the corridor to the Morton Arboretum and connecting to the Illinois Prairie Path. The preference is for an off-the-road bike path.
    

2. Two-way left-turn lane

   This would allow for access to driveways. This would allow for safe left turns in to and out of roads that are now marked right-in right-out only.
    

3. U-turn opportunities

   If the design has an impassable median, residents would like opportunities to make U-turns to get to their driveways more easily. U-turn capability would also improve access for emergency vehicles.
    

4. Lights at Madison, Meadow, and Surrey

1. Wetlands

   Residents want to maintain the quality of wetlands in the North of Glen Ellyn. We believe IDOT should comply with DuPage Countywide Stormwater and Floodplain Ordinance guidelines and use best management practices.
    

2. Noise

   Residents are concerned that increased traffic and trucking will bring intolerable noise. Noise already exists from I-355. Excessive traffic especially heavy truck traffic would significantly add to the problems and might exceed EPA regulations. Residents are opposed to a 5-lane cross section for this reason.
    

3. Flooding

   Residents want IDOT to address flooding problems in Flowerfield. Residents do not want any additional flooding problems introduced.
    

4. Tree preservation

1. Minimize cross-section

   Build a three-lane road instead of a five-lane road. If a five-lane road is to be built use narrower lanes. A narrow cross-section will allow more trees to be saved.
    

2. Limit impermeable surfaces

   Avoid concrete medians. Build fewer or narrower lanes. Limiting impermeable surface limits runoff into wetlands.
    

3. Don’t add fill to the wetlands surrounding the East Branch of the DuPage River
    
4. Reduce speed

   Reduced speed will reduce noise and will reduce the severity of salt spray into the wetlands and surrounding vegetation.
    

5. Significantly reduce trucking

   Reducing trucking will reduce noise, ground vibration, and pollution.
    

6. Vegetated swales in the wetlands

   Vegetated swales can reduce the impact of non point-specific water pollution.
    

7. Cutouts in curb and gutter to allow drainage into swales or ditches

   This is a compromise between those who want curb and gutter for safety and aesthetics and those who are ecologically aware of the significant problems that non point-specific water pollution can cause to the restoration efforts of the East Branch of the Dupage River.
    

8. Preserve trees

2. Reduce truck traffic

   There is a concern about inviting increased trucking on Route 53. Trucks can be hazardous both from a standpoint of leaking cargo, restricting the other driver’s field of vision, unpleasant vibration and noise.

   Trucks are more dangerous in terms of ability to do damage when involved in an accident. There is a concern of hazardous cargo coming through a residential area. Glen Ellyn and Lombard fire department Hazmat teams are not equipped to handle even one fully loaded truck should a hazardous spill occur. Since there is no industry/retail requiring heavy trucking like semis or significant building of large facilities that would require oversized loads, residents feel that thru-trucks do not belong on this section of Route 53.
    

3. No concrete median

1. Three-lane cross-section (with or without TWTL)

   A three-lane road would not invite induced or latent traffic.
    

2. Two-lane undivided with appropriate turn facilities.

   Essentially this is a no-build or a moderate improvement and would not attract the additional traffic as would an add-lanes project.
    

3. A combination of the following would help reduce truck traffic on Route 53.

• Signage to indicate to trucks to keep to I-355,
• Lower speed limit,
• Traffic calming measures like increased signals along the route,
• Narrower lanes if there are multiple through lanes present.

1. Fair compensation

   Residents are concerned that IDOT will take a small piece of their land, pay a price that represents that fraction of the value of the land, and leave residents with a significant loss in value to their land that is uncompensated.
    

2. Maintenance of their home values

Removing significant portions of the land in front of a home can make the home unlivable or unmarketable.

Residents are concerned that IDOT has kept coming back for pieces of their land and that they will continue to lose land in the future.

Fairness Requests

The proposal for the expansion of Route 53 to a four-lane divided/five-lane road between Roosevelt and Surrey:

1. Is in direct opposition to the Village Board of Glen Ellyn’s unanimous resolution (No. 02-13) of April 22, 2002 clearly opposing such a design and Lombard’s 020368 Route 53 Improvements resolution of which a motion was made on June 6th, 2002 by Trustee Florey and seconded by Trustee Sebby that the board reconsider their previous position of requesting a four lane configuration on Route 53 in favor of three lanes from North Avenue to the south village limit. The motion carried by the following vote. Trustees Destephano, Koenig, Sebby, Florey and Soderstrom all saying Ayes…Trustee Tross voting nay. This can be viewed in the June 6th, 2002 meeting minutes archive.
2. Is out of scale with the surrounding mitigated wetlands and Glen Ellyn Park District open space on either side.
3. Presents needless and avoidable adverse impacts to the wetlands and the East Branch of the DuPage River in this section; and
4. Is not justified by the traffic counts (7% reductio in traffic from 1994 to 2002 cited in the village resolution No. 02-13 above.

If it is felt a design must be proposed, then is should at the very least be in conformity with the above four points. One possible such design is one-lane in each direction, with a center bio swale vegetage with native plants. This design would

1. Provide the safety of separating the two direction of traffic;
2. Be in keeping with the water quality provisions of DuPage Countywide Stormwater and Floodplain Ordinance, with minimizing of esthetic and environmental impact in a sensitive area, and with Best management Practices in general;
3. Be consistent with safe traffic flow because of the complete lack of side friction in this open area (wetlands to either side and park district grounds) and lower traffic levels;
4. Meet IDOT’s statements in the 12/24/2002 Brown to Cronin letter that

• "The department is committed to enhancing the use of context sensitive principles in our project development process." (paragraph 5); and
• "the reevaluation of Phase I would include coordination with Glen Ellyn and Lombard" (paragraph 5).

Safe Routes to School Bill

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Last modified: 09/24/11