Comment EI-4708
Received or sent (printed as 1/29/2008)
I am writing to voice my concerns about Canadian National’s Purchase of the EJ&E Railroad. The EJ&E tracks are directly south of my house and I am concerned about the increase in train traffic that will result if Canadian National acquires the tracks. Currently, if we are outside when a train comes by, we cannot carry on a conversation until the train passes. This is an occasional inconvenience, with only 6 trains coming through each day, but with 28 to 35 trains per day, as proposed, this will be a nuisance. My subdivision exits out onto Cedar road and with the proposed number of trains, getting out of the subdivision will be extremely difficult due to traffic back ups on Cedar Road. Also, in order to get to my elderly parents’ home, I must cross those tracks and I don’t even want to think of a “worst case scenario” of NEEDING to get to their house only to be held up by a train. In addition, with my parents living south of the tracks and all of the fire stations and hospitals north of the tracks, if they were in need of an emergency vehicle, the probability of them getting stopped by a train is very good. It would be a tragedy if something terrible were to happen to them because they couldn’t get the medical help that they needed because of a train. I grew up in New Lenox and didn’t have any hesitation building my home so close to the EJ&E tracks because I knew that there weren’t very many trains. Now I am concerned because I have small children and am worried that my property values will go down. The noise alone could prevent my kids from hearing me or another car while they are outside playing, whether they are near the tracks or not. Please consider putting a limit on the number of trains—28 to 35 trains a day is way too much! Quiet zones, berms or noise reduction walls and underpasses/underpasses on Cedar Road are also options. Thank you so much for your time.
Submitted by: Roxanne VanderVelde · New Lenox Liberty Square resident · New Lenox, ILL
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-4708 · back to the docket sheet