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Aurora Beacon-News
January 23, 2003

Outer-belt open house aims to clear confusion

New IDOT analysis of needs is independent of Prairie Parkway

  SUGAR GROVE — It's called the Prairie Parkway Preliminary Engineering Study, so people came to an open house here Wednesday night to talk about the Prairie Parkway.

  When they got there, they were told the state is actually starting a transportation-needs study for the region, which Illinois Department of Transportation officials say is different than the Prairie Parkway corridor-protection study they did in the first half of last year.

  No wonder there's some confusion.

  By midway through the three-hour open house at Kaneland South Elementary School, about 125 people had come to look at exhibits, watch a 10-minute slide show and talk to state officials and consultants about the one-year part of the study that will evaluate the current transportation system and needs in the region.

  But the questions kept coming back to the Prairie Parkway and the 400-foot-wide corridor IDOT recorded six months ago through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties to protect land for a future 36-mile highway against future development.

  That's a different issue, IDOT officials responded to some skepticism.

  "It's all smoke," said Big Rock resident Richard Shimkus, who lives about a quarter mile from the proposed road. "Blowing smoke."

  The first of two IDOT open houses was the kick-off for the state's Phase I engineering study, a potential $18 million, five-year study that eventually could outline solutions to congestion in the area.

  The second open house will be held tonight at The Fountains of Minooka.

  IDOT officials knew they'd have a tough time trying to get the public to distinguish between the $3 million "Part A" of the engineering study that addresses transportation needs and the study for the controversial outer-belt highway corridor, which was completed in July.

  It was a point stressed over and over again, with even the voice on the slide show saying multiple times that the Prairie Parkway is not a done deal.

  Plano resident Joe Foerner, who lives about a mile from the proposed highway, said he was surprised when he was told the new study starts with "a clean slate."

  "It's interesting," he said. "They're just kind of throwing the cards up in the air again."

  The first year of the study will be spent determining future land uses and traffic patterns in an area that includes all of Kendall County and parts of Kane, Grundy, DeKalb, LaSalle and Will counties. The information will include traffic, accident, population, employment, zoning and current road systems data.

  In addition to using local information, IDOT will also use statistics obtained from regional organizations such as the Chicago Area Transportation Study and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

  The result will be a transportation performance report in fall 2003 and an initial needs statement in spring 2004 that make projections for the year 2030.

  Once the needs are assessed, IDOT will determine whether to proceed with further engineering and environmental studies or end the study altogether.

  If the state finds a need for transportation improvements, they will look at a number of different options, including the Prairie Parkway connecting Interstates 80 and 88.

  If no need is found, the corridor for the highway could even be vacated, said Rick Powell, project manager for IDOT.

  Powell said the study was named after the Prairie Parkway because people are already familiar with it, though there was some internal discussion to call it by a different name because of the confusion it could cause. Contact Dave Parro at (630) 801-5495 or dparro@scn1.com.