‘We’re putting it there no matter what,’ Ald. Sposato says regarding possible stop sign at accident-prone Addison-Ozanam

by CHRISTOPHER BRINCKERHOFF

Will an accident-prone Northwest Side intersection receive a stop sign that residents have been clamoring for?

Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th) said he is reconsidering installing the sign at Addison Street and Ozanam Avenue despite a Chicago Department of Transportation study that found an all-way stop is not warranted there.

“We know it’s a problem,” Sposato said. “I don’t understand why the problem is there, but we know it’s a problem.”

Sposato held a community meeting on Sept. 3, at Saint Francis Borgia, 8025 W. Addison St., to discuss repeated crashes along Addison and possible ways to improve safety.

“I think the first start is to put a stop sign at Ozanam (on Addison), even though CDOT said it’s not warranted,” he said after the meeting. 

Asked about proceeding despite the traffic study, Sposato said, “I will override them and say we’re putting it there no matter what.”

City data show 103 crashes occurred at or near Addison and Ozanam from 2017 through July 2026, average of 10 each year. There were eight crashes in 2024, 17 in 2025 and 10 through July of this year. Nadig Newspapers reported the numbers earlier this year.

Residents described what they believe is a combination of motorists speeding on Addison and drivers entering or crossing the arterial street from Ozanam without adequately seeing or accounting for approaching traffic.

CDOT had studied one potential solution addressed at the meeting: an all-way stop.

The study was submitted in July 2025 and completed in February.

The department did not recommend placing stop signs at the location because traffic volumes on Addison are higher than those on Ozanam. Federal guidelines in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices advise multi-way stop control generally be used when traffic volumes on intersecting streets are approximately equal.

Recent crash history also factored into CDOT’s study of Addison and Ozanam. The department reviewed 16 crashes at the intersection from 2023 through 2025: 12 angle collisions, three turning-related crashes and one rear-end crash.

In addition to traffic volume, CDOT guidelines caution that a stop sign installed one block from a traffic signal can have low compliance because motorists heading toward the signal may focus on making a green light and disregard the stop sign. Notably, there is a traffic signal on Addison at Forest Preserve Drive about 1.5 blocks west of Ozanam.

For people who live and work on that part of Addison, however, the crash statistics reflect a problem they say they have witnessed firsthand for years.

Jiratt Phonlapat, who lives at the intersection, said motorists speed on Addison while drivers crossing from Ozanam sometimes cannot clearly see approaching traffic.

“It seems like in the past 5 years, it’s more and more and more,” Phonlapat said. “We have to fix something.”

Jonathan Duran-Rodriguez, who said he has lived a few houses from the intersection since 1998, recalled numerous crashes, including one in which he went outside after his niece saw an injured person lying in the street.

Duran-Rodriguez, a registered nurse, said he helped stabilize the person until paramedics arrived.

“These are all very scary situations,” he said.

He also described a crash in which his mother’s vehicle was struck while she was turning onto Ozanam from Addison and said he himself has almost been hit while walking near the intersection.

What to do about the crashes proved less clear. Residents introduced numerous possibilities during the meeting including an all-way stop, a traffic signal, speed hump on Ozanam, speed-feedback signs, removal of parking to improve visibility, changing part of Ozanam to one-way traffic and relocating a speed camera from the now-closed Saint  Francis Borgia School.

Others questioned whether enough information was available to determine which approach would impact the cause of the crashes.

“Where’s the actual data that says, hey, was there speeding, was it crossing, was it icy?” one resident said. “Without that kind of data, it’s a little hard to say what’s going to really solve it.”

When Sposato said residents already knew there was a problem, the resident responded, “We don’t know what’s causing it, that’s the problem.”

Sposato attributed many of the crashes to driver error and inattention. Speeding, restricted sight lines and traffic patterns were also raised as possible factors.

Sposato was receptive to some of the ideas but rejected others.

A bush at the northwest corner of Addison and Ozanam drew particular attention as a potential visibility obstruction. After the meeting, Sposato said he plans to contact the property owner about possibly removing it.

Among the proposals Sposato rejected were removing residential parking, redirecting traffic and converting part of Ozanam to one-way traffic. He also said he did not consider a new traffic signal at Ozanam realistic because of the existing signal at Forest Preserve Drive.

He also acknowledged that installing a stop sign could draw complaints about its proximity to the Forest Preserve Drive signal and questions about why stops were not installed at other Addison intersections.

Sposato said he expects to evaluate options over the next couple of weeks. Besides the stop sign and possible removal of the bush, he said he would find out whether the speed camera could be relocated.

“Our main consideration is a stop sign over there, see how it works, and find out if we could move the speed camera.”

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