Genoa police, in an attempt to convince the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) that the speed limit needs to be lowered on Route 72, are stopping more speeders near the area high school.

The speed limit is 55 mph in front of the school, which opened this school year.

“We’d like to see the speed limit get lowered,” said Don Billington, principal of the Genoa-Kingston high school. “We’d like to have signs with flashing lights that lower the speed limit to 20, ideally, at the high-traffic times.”

One accident has occurred in front of the school since it opened. Billington said a car was stopped behind a loading school bus when another car hit the first from behind.

Genoa police Sgt. Ty Lynch said officers have stepped up enforcement in the area. He said he has noticed that people are responding to the increase.

“Local people see that we are out there as much as we are out there,” Lynch said. He said there is very little leeway when it comes to changing IDOT’s mind concerning its study.

Residents have been circulating petitions asking the state to lower the speed limit, at least during peak times.

“We aren’t allowed to to arbitrarily lower the speed limit,” said Scott Kullersterand, IDOT operations design and planning engineer. “It’s a concern we don’t want to make light of; we do care about safety.”

He said IDOT is required by law to conduct speed studies before changing a speed limit.

The department is required to set an enforceable speed limit, which is one that 85 percent of drivers will follow under normal conditions.

IDOT did conduct such a study earlier this year, but did so in the summer, when school is not in session.

Kullersterand said the state cannot change the speed limit just for the 181 days school is in session or just during the busier times of the day.

“The law doesn’t allow a part-time speed limit,” he said. “There are special provisions that allow us to put in a school zone, but you have to have high pedestrian traffic.”

Police are recording the average speed of vehicles in front of the school at busy times to send the results to IDOT.

“It’s a struggle we’ve had,” Kullersterand said. “We don’t have any other way to handle it.”