Comment EI-4672
Received or sent (printed as 1/29/2008)
As a resident of the Herons Landing subdivision, located on West Bartlett Road just west of Gifford Rd, I am concerned about the impacts of this proposed transaction on my neighborhood. West Bartlett Road is a two-lane street which already experiences significant traffic congestion at certain hours of the day. There is a grade-level crossing of the EJ&E tracks approximately 2000 feet east of Gifford Road. At times when a slow train blocks this crossing, traffic can back up to the east as far as Naperville Road, which is about 1 mile east of the tracks. CN indicates that train traffic on this line will increase from about 5 trains a day to about 25 - a five-fold increase. My primary concerns, and those of my neighbors, are as follows: 1) Significant traffic congestion increases that were not anticipated when people moved into this developing neighborhood 2) Increased safety risks to the schoolchildren who attend the two elementary schools located on West Bartlett Road; and to numerous school busses that cross these track several times a day 3) Impeded access to emergency services - there is no reasonably quick way to the western end of West Bartlett Road when a train is at the crossing. In fact, Bartlett village residents recently approved an increase in property taxes to build a new, much-needed fire station which is now under construction - but which lies east of the crossing - thus making those services unusable to those of us in Herons Landing and Westridge subdivisions (including an elementary school) when a train is crossing. Clearly if this plan moves forward, mitigation measures are critically necessary at the track crossing on West Bartlett Road to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, reduce the impact to safety and access to emergency services, and ameliorate any impact on property values. While I understand the need to facilitate interstate commerce, CN cannot benefit at the cost of the safety, well-being, and quality of life of the people who live in our communities. If this plan is approved, we expect CN to be a good corporate neighbor and remedy the problems their business activities create in our region. Given the current status of our state finances – and in particular, those dedicated to transportation, as witnessed by the recent “bail-out” of the CTA, and resulting deficit of other transportation-related funds - any acceptable mitigation proposed by CN must be accompanied by a realistic plan to achieve full funding prior to implementation so that our region is NOT left footing the bill for infrastructure improvements that are forced upon us by its actions. Thank you for taking these comments into consideration as you prepare to complete your Environmental Impact Statement.
Submitted by: Michael T Lambert · Bartlett, IL
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-4672 · back to the docket sheet