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Aurora Beacon-News
May 24, 2002
Decision coming: State's alignment to be released soon
By Dave Parro
STAFF WRITER
NAPERVILLE ó With a decision on the Prairie Parkway's alignment expected in the next few weeks, the president
of one of the region's top planning councils said Thursday that the proposed highway doesn't come close to meeting
the criteria for proceeding with a major transportation project.
Crucial stages in planning the 33-mile outer belt through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties have been ignored
as the Illinois Department of Transportation has proceeded with corridor designation, said MarySue Barrett, president
of the Metropolitan Planning Council.
In particular, she said, the state has taken a "shortcut" by not studying traffic and population projections
to justify the need for such a road, nor has it considered environmental and land-use impacts.
"The Prairie Parkway, even at surface-level review, doesn't meet the straight-faced test as far as a thorough
analysis," Barrett said at the Conservation Foundation's annual spring luncheon.
Barrett spoke about the outer belt during a speech on major regional transportation plans, including expansion
of O'Hare International Airport and the proposed Peotone airport, and proposed toll road extensions. The Metropolitan
Planning Council is a nonprofit group of business and civic leaders seeking to implement sensible growth policies
in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Though no date has been set for a decision on the Prairie Parkway's alignment, local IDOT officials planned to
submit their proposal to Springfield this month. A public announcement will come after final approval, which could
come as soon as early- to mid-June.
The vision for a project such as the Prairie Parkway has to come from local officials and the public in order
to gain regional consensus, Barrett said. Too often people get a sense that a project has been decided before the
public even hears about it, she said, and feel like residents haven't had a chance for real input.
Transportation officials have to consider the desire of local jurisdictions as they plan regional roads, Barrett
said.
"We need to be proactive as a region about where we want to grow," she said.
Barrett also said devoting funds to such a preliminary project takes money away from other more pressing regional
transportation needs. All projects will be competing for inclusion in the 2003 federal transportation bill, which
outlines funds over a six-year period.
Barrett's comments echoed written statements from the council to IDOT that were submitted in December as part
of the official input. In it, the council called for a better overall perspective of what the region wants and
needs.
"I don't think projects can just be clouted anymore," Barrett said Thursday. "We need to have
regional discussion."
Contact Dave Parro at (630) 801-5495 or dparro@scn1.com.