Transportation news, Take health survey, Maple syrup hikes, and More
Dear Neighbors,
Happy belated President's Day. I hope this finds you, family and neighbors well.
Even though it's been nippy and somewhat muddy, I've been thrilled to get out and see neighbors and talk about some of the county projects we're working on. Thanks to the Grayslake Exchange Club and several other organizations for inviting me to update them. County projects are in various stages of development, but here's a short list of our ongoing transportation plans:
Hainesville Road Improvements. I was gratified to work with our Springfield delegation to land a half-million dollar-plus grant for an improvement project on Hainesville Road from Washington Street to Shorewood Road. Our excellent Division of Transportation (LCDOT) has been busy surveying residents to gather comments on this project. Our transportation planners will schedule a webinar soon to openly discuss the project, which is slated for construction in 2024. Look for a LCDOT announcement in the coming weeks. Sign up for updates on this project.
Ride Lake County: This new paratransit program is the first, seamless way for mobility-challenged folks to get from one end of the county to the other. Even residents who need to go to some areas in Eastern McHenry or Northern Cook County will be able to get to doctor's appointments and other destinations. PACE will provide buses and will charge from $2 to $6, depending on how far you need to go. Thanks to a great array of partners from townships to LCDOT who pulled this together after a decade and a half. The program will be up and running on May 1.
Railroad Crossing Back-Ups: We've been working with Canadian National Railroad (CNRR), the Village of Grayslake, LCDOT, Sen. Melinda Bush and Rep. Brad Schneider's office to unknot some of the worst freight train delays in Lake County. The 6th District has more than a half-dozen CNRR and Metra grade crossings, so you know how frustrating it is sitting behind a freight train. Progress is at hand. We're hoping that CNRR will greenlight their plan to do double tracking through Grayslake to eliminate stoppages (they will pay for all of it). We've also requested funding from the state and federal authorities for building an at-grade crossing on Route 120 and Route 83. Sen. Bush has received a $30 million commitment from Springfield to start this project. We're hoping federal dollars will close the gap, estimated at another $10 million or so.
Multi-modal Transportation: One of the biggest barriers to getting around in Lake County is unrelenting traffic congestion. Many of the major state routes like Route 120 and Route 83 were never modernized in this area, so they are in poor shape and inadequate for handling tens of thousands of vehicles a day and untold tons of new truck traffic. There's been more than 1,000 accidents in recent years along Route 83 (Barron Blvd.) in Grayslake in recent years. Unfortunately, Lake County, until recently, has never received enough money from Springfield and Washington to update our highways. LCDOT tells us we have a $1 billion backlog of road repairs. A commitment to multi-modal transportation, which was embedded into our county strategic plan three years ago, will help us get folks where they need to go. It's a buffet approach: How do we best use roads, buses, trains, sidewalks and trails to get us on our way? How do we make roads smarter, so that we can automatically enhance traffic flow through our high-tech Lake County Passage system? This is a complex problem involving many partners, but we're buckling down to brainstorm. We're working with our friends Linda Soto at PACE, Pat Carey at the RTA and Norm Carlson at Metra to find better, more sustainable transportation options. The one thing we know is that building mammoth highways isn't the solution. They increase traffic, pollution and have a monstrous carbon footprint. So we need to be creative. Stay tuned. Let me know your thoughts on some new ideas!
Forest Preserve News
It doesn't matter what the weather looks like, the Forest Preserve has something for the entire family all year round. Check out their late winter events, especially their popular Maple Syrup hikes.
Forest Preserve staff and committee members will also be reviewing an environmental assessment from the Federal Aviation Administration soon regarding the expansion of the Waukegan Airport. The Waukegan Port Authority has asked the Forest Preserve to sell it land to extend a runway. Along with many of my colleagues, I have asked the Port Authority to prepare detailed evaluations on countywide noise, air and water pollution, including carbon dioxide emissions. The report should be available by early March.
Enjoy the increasingly warmer weather in your community and Forest Preserves. It's a good time to reconnect with neighbors. It's my honor to serve you. Feel free to invite me to speak before your community group. I relish listening to what you have to say.
Can I leave you with a quote from my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, who actually visited and spoke in Waukegan on April 2, 1860?
"Government is a combination of the people of a country to effect certain objects by joint effort..."
Honest Abe is talking about working together to build what he called "internal improvements." If we've proven anything in the past few years, we've shown how we can collaborate to not only beat back COVID, but more fully discovered how potent and compassionate we are when we work together in community.
(BTW, if you or someone you know needs a vaccine, you can get a shot for free at any county health clinic and most pharmacies).
Be well!
John
