Road safety is a growing worry to the community in the McHenry County area. The last thing someone should have to worry about is whether or not they are going to make it to their destination because of another person’s actions.

There are a handful of areas that specifically come to mind when asking the community about dangerous roadways in the county. Collecting feedback from many kinds of people, students (both high school and college), homeowners, and business owners in the area showed something they all have in common — a desire for a solution.

While some roads have had action taken, others have not. A popular road in the county mentioned by an MCC student A.K., was South Lily Lake Road. This road is a popular short-cut for many community members as it is a quick way to get from the Lakemoor area to the Island Lake and Wauconda area. Many crashes have occurred on this road over the years, a couple leaving individuals severely injured or even deceased. Driving down this road, many compare it to a brief rollercoaster if you are going fast enough. As this road consists of mostly large hills and bumps, it is hard to see anything oncoming.

In 2020, the city of McHenry worked on South Lily Lake Road to make it safer after much protest from community members. Approximately six feet was taken off of the top of the hills and added to the valleys to level out the road. Retaining walls were put up to support the hills that were broken into by the construction.

A homeowner residing on this road, expressed frustration that, “there was much disturbance to individual land.” Many front yards and driveways needed to be redone due to being torn into, leaving more than just a back road under construction.

While it was explained in warning letters left on the homeowners’ doors, the reason for the change on this road was not entirely for the dangerous accidents but also because of the frustration expressed by the local sewer services. There were issues with the public sewer system at the time, due to forced mains. The sewer system had been too shallow and posed a possibility of freezing. Considering the sewer system problem combined with the accident risks, the city saw enough reason to take action on South Lily Lake Road.

Since the construction, the number of accidents happening on Lily Lake have been decreased. So though the city was able to kill two birds with one stone with this construction, there has yet to be a solution for other dangerous roads in the area.

A great example of a road in the county that has yet to be seriously looked at by the city and also mentioned by A.K., is Mason Hill Road, off of Crystal Lake Road in McHenry.

Mason Hill Road connects McHenry to Crystal Lake and is a common road used by McHenry County College commuters in the area.

Driving down Mason Hill Road, many will notice the rapid change in direction and the quick,  immediate turns. Many community members have driven down this road and seen at least one accident or if not an actual accident, most have seen either physical blockage or posts on local pages, like this one displayed on the right from June of 2023.

Anyone driving down this road can easily see the lowered speed limit signs ahead of them, yet many cars fly by way over the limit. A local nurse in the community, described coming up to a bend in the road on the way to work, a car with a young woman driving came flying around the corner.

“She started to lane split and I thought she was going to hit me,” stated the nurse. The young woman realized her mistake at the last minute and tried correcting but was going too fast and flew into the trees on her side of the road.

Many people, as well as the nurse that was almost hit, pulled over to assist the young woman out of the vehicle. She was able to walk away with minimal injuries. Unlike the young woman in this accident, many have not been so lucky. So many drivers have not been able to reduce speed or avoid others quick enough, and many drivers are not able to walk away.

“How do we fix this,” is a question our community has been wondering about for a while, yet no changes have been made.

While we wait for a solution from the county, we as drivers, as community members, as somebody’s loved one, need to remember that our actions can put other people in danger. The speed limit is not a suggestion, putting your phone away while driving is not a suggestion, putting your seatbelt on is not a suggestion. While we cannot physically make changes to our county’s dangerous roads, we as a community can do our part to be safe and prevent the worst case scenario. Your fast drive could also be your last drive, so drive safe.