Comment EI-3514
Received or sent (printed as 1/15/2008)
My wife and I are very opposed to the proposed CN acquisition of the EJ&E for several reasons: 1) safety - there have been several fatal accidents on the line recently, including one just a block from our home a couple of months ago. The EJ&E line was built when the area was far less urbanized. It makes no sense to increase the volume of rail traffic through heavily populated communities, greatly increasing the likelihood of more fatal accidents". 2) traffic congestion - at a time when our government is trying to reduce consumption of foreign oil and cut carbon emissions, it makes no sense to create many more massive traffic blocks at crossing grades. 3) noise - our home is one block from the Hillside/Eastern/N.W.Hwy crossing grade. This is a very populated community. We do not want more rail traffic noise. 4) property values - the increase in rail traffic noise, and the significant increase in the frequency of trains coming through our community will most assuredly cause a decrease in property values. 5) CN's withdrawal from, and competition with the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) Program for state and federal dollars proves CN is only interested in maximizing profits at the expense of the environment while giving lip service to being a good neighbor. A "neighbor" like CN we don't need, or want. 6) Long-term solution needed - develop a comprehensive, regional solution to the numerous rail issues in the Chicago area. Shifting problems from one area to another, only to have more problems develop in the absence of a regional plan, is no solution. CN will sell or lease its track rights in Chicago to other railroads. Any void created by CN through this proposed acquisition will be filled and the region's rail problems will be greatly exacerbated, not improved."
Submitted by: Don Evans
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35087/comment/EI-3514 · back to the docket sheet