UPDATE: Blind Spot at East Crystal Lake Avenue and Main Street Almost Causes Crash of Bicycle and Highlander RESPONSE FROM CITY

A Friend of McHenry County Blog shares this letter to members of the Crystal Lake City Council:

Suggested safety improvements at the intersection of Main St. & Crystal Lake Avenue

Hi,

I am contacting the mayor and City Council to highlight recommended safety enhancements at the intersection of Main St. & Crystal Lake Avenue.

The incident that thankfully didn’t occur on 5/24/25 made me acutely aware of a serious risk situation at the above intersection.

On the above date, I was driving in my Highlander on Crystal Lake Ave., planning to turn right onto Main St. 

It was only because the right turn green arrow was “stale,” having been illuminated approximately 10 seconds, that I approached the intersection with extra caution, anticipating the potential need to stop that I avoided a potentially catastrophic accident.  

A tandem bicycle was traveling northbound on the bike path. 

Due to the construction of the Enclave apartments, neither the bicyclists nor I could see each other. 

[Enclave Apartment corner before construction.]

The couple on the bike zipped through the intersection without stopping to execute a left turn. 

Had they been in the street, that would’ve been fine, however they were on the bike path on a direct collision course with any vehicle turning right. 

In other words, we both had green arrows, and all believed we were safe to proceed.  

Again, thankfully, I approached the intersection with heightened caution as the right turn green arrow was “stale,” and I slammed on my brakes at the last second to avoid a collision. 

But had that not been the case, either the bike would have plowed into the side of my vehicle, or I would have struck them and hurdled them into the intersection just as the lights on Main Street turned green. 

Due to the construction of the Enclave apartments, this intersection now has a dangerous blind spot. 

While I think the fault would have been the cyclists executing a left turn from the bike path vs. the street, I strongly urge you to minimally post signs that alert both drivers and cyclists to avoid a tragedy.

While we might eliminate the green arrow for right turn on red that is synced with the left turn arrow off Main St. to Crystal Lake Ave., I think a sign on Crystal Lake Ave. requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians or cyclists and/or a caution sign on the Main St. bike path warning of the right turn arrow might be sufficient. 

I would have been devastated had my vehicle struck or been struck by the cyclists that resulted in their serious injury or death. 

Again, the current situation presents a scenario in which vehicles turning right have a green arrow and people on the bike path may errantly believe that they also have a green arrow for left turns. 

This needs to be corrected to save lives and prevent injury. 

I urge you to act promptly as we enter the summer season

On a final note, after crafting this email, I found it incredibly disappointing that despite multiple searches, I was unable to find direct email addresses for the mayor or Council members. 

I would suggest that is both gutless and shameful. 

Public officials should ALWAYS have direct contact points to be available to their constituents. 

I am reaching out to you all to address a serious potential safety issue. 

I have no assurance that my email will reach you in a timely manner or quite frankly at all. 

Regardless, there is no question that you will each be personally responsible if due to your deliberate limited communication avenues or failure to act an injury occurs.

UPDATE:

Thank  you for your e-mail. I also left you a voicemail. Please return my call so we can make sure we understand your concern. The City is always interested in improving safety.

With respect to your last point, the City’s website https://www.crystallake.org/ has contact information for staff such as myself. On the home page under “Your Government” you can click on “Public Works” that brings you to our Department’s page with my contact information in the upper right. My name is a blue hyperlink that you can click on to send an e-mail. There is also a phone number. Under the City Council page, also under “My Government”, there is a blue hyperlink “email” to send an e-mail to the City Council.

Looking forward to speaking with you.

Regards,

Mike Magnuson