Comment EI-4682
Received or sent (printed as 1/29/2008)
Dear Ms Johnson-Ball, After attending the scoping meeting in Barrington I came away with a grave concern that the full environmental impact of the proposed Canadian National Railway Acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company was not addressed. Traffic studies were not presented for one. This alone is frightening when we consdier the amount of daily car and truck traffic (example: 24,000 daily on U.S. Highway 14; 32,000 daily on U.S. Highway 12; 15,000 daily on Illinois Highway 59; 12,000 daily on Lake-Cook County Road) currently stopped by the four or five freight trains crossing these roads in the Barrington area. These roads are the main comuter, commerce, school and emergency ways for Barrington and the surrounding communities. The proposed increase in rail traffic from the current four or five to twenty or thirty would not only create dangerous gridlock but also serious vehicular exhaust air quality issues. Knowing this area of of Northern Illinois well, I can only add that the issues noted above would likewise affect the other communities along the EJ&E line. The other environmental problem, noise pollution, is less obvious unless one lives, works, studies or prays close to the rail line. The current noise level, although unhealthy, has been accepted by most of us as way of life. A potential ten fold increase in noise level and frequency would be unbearable. Our health and safety are at stake. There should be a more humane way for CN and EJ&E to reach their business goal of rail traffic consolidation. We must insist that they do. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerely, Motoko Lawrence
Submitted by: Ms Motoko Lawrence · Barrington, Illinois
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-4682 · back to the docket sheet