Comment EI-8420
Received or sent (printed as 8/8/2008)
I'm writing to express my opinion about the Canadian National Railroad's bid to buy out the Elgin line. I don't see this purchase to be in any way an advantage to our community and if fact I see it as a potential detractor. First, let me say, that I don't live in an adjacent neighborhood, so my comments are not emotionally tied to fear of noise, or decrease in property values. I simply am aware of how easy it is to tie up traffic without foresight and planning and how hard it is to fix it afterward. Aurora currently has a bottle neck that is due to a train overpass that is too small. This bottle neck ties up traffic in both directions on a major north south route, Hwy 59. When transportation projects, even small ones cost into the hundreds of millions, it is imperative to determine who will bear the cost of improving traffic flow once the train traffic increases before the sale goes through. I don't think our community should have to be responsible for this cost which is most definitely looming in the near future. I furthermore, don't think the general public should bear the cost through tax dollars either. If Canadian National wants those tracks, they should make the improvements and pass the cost off to their users. America needs to wake up and start to understand that other countries are taking advantage of us and that our middle class can no support the world. The STB needs to do a better job of looking at the real impact of a sale and it needs to make sensible determinations before granting other countries the right to inconvenience me and other commuters in our city. And all of America's leaders need to look hard and fast at what they approve. I can't afford any more leaching of money from my pocket. I'm tired of it.
Submitted by: Donna Zine · Aurora, 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-8420 · back to the docket sheet