Comment EI-5003
Received or sent (printed as 2/10/2008)
We are extremely concerned about the proposed acquistion of the EJ&E line by CN Railway. We are opposed to this sale. Our reasons for opposing this sale are many. One reason is the safety of our children as they ride the bus to and from school daily via Shoe Factory Road in Hoffman Estates, which requires the bus to cross the tracks. If by chance the gates are down when the bus travels westbound on Shoe Factory Road, the bus will be required to stop on a blind hill, endangering the children. Just recently there was a very serious accident involving this exact scenario with cars. Another reason is the train tracks are located within the boundaries of Shoe Factory Woods Forest Preserve, which is Cook County protected land along with the wildlife within. Has anyone determined how many protected species of birds, trees or insects will be impacted by the pollution from the numerous trains? Yet another concern is the sheer number of homes in Hoffman Estates alone that have property adjacent to the tracks, where children play in their yards and could get hurt. What if a piece of debris were to become airborne from a train and injure a child that is playing innocently in his/her own yard. What precautions are being taken to provide them the safety they deserve? Another concern is what the pollution will do to our health. As a person who suffers from Asthma, I wonder how much the air quality will be diminished around my home from all the additional trains. Don't forget, we are used to approximately 2-5 trains per 24 hour period, and now you are asking us to accept 1 train per hour every day! Still another concern is our home itself. We are concerned about the additional structural stress from train vibrations as our home sits close to the tracks. Finally, what about our quality of life? The noise alone will keep us awake at night and disrupt our family life. We purchased our home near the Forest Preserver for the peace and trainquilty that it offers in our Suburban Chicago Community. The wildlife we enjoy watching will be impacted and the safety of my son walking into the forest preserve to enjoy the hiking trails is at risk. We would also like to mention that our home value will be reduced by the increase in train traffic. Is CN Railway being asked to subsidize the homeowners for the loss in property value along the tracks? As you can see, our concerns are many, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. We would welcome any questions or comments you may have on our input. Please feel free to call us at the number above or have a member of the STB stop by our home to see how the additional trains will impact our lives. Thank you David and Sue Jones
Submitted by: David and Sue Jones · Hoffman Estates, 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-5003 · back to the docket sheet