Municipal Group 2 Meeting #1 - May 18, 1998
 
MEETING SUMMARY 
The first meeting of Municipal Group #2 was held at the Barrington Village Hall on May 18, 1998 at 7:00 P.M. The following municipalities were invited to attend:  
  • Village of Barrington  
  • Village of Barrington Hills  
  • Village of Deer Park  
  • Village of Fox River Valley Gardens  
  • Village of Island Lake  
  • Village of Lake Barrington  
  • Village of Lake Zurich  
  • Village of North Barrington  
  • Village of Tower Lakes  
  • Village of Wauconda  
  • Village of Inverness  
  • Village of South Barrington  
  • Village of Holiday Hills  
  • Village of Prairie Grove  
  • Village of Oakwood Hills  
This meeting focused on the following topics:  
  • Overview of the project process and schedule  
  • Overview of the public involvement program  
  • Selection of the Municipal Group representative to the Technical Advisory Group  
  • Findings from the project focus groups  
  • Discussion of transportation issues  
  • Next Steps  
The project team provided an overview of the project process and schedule, the role and responsibilities of the representatives and reinforced the importance of Municipal Group representation for the project.  The public involvement program—intended to provide opportunities for groups and individuals to contribute to the decision-making process—was also discussed.  The modes of participation for the general public, interest groups, and policy/technical/regulatory leaders were specified.  The opportunity to provide technical input—through the Technical Advisory Group (TAG)—was also outlined.  After qualifications for TAG membership were suggested, the attending municipal officials chose a TAG representative and an alternate.   

The findings from focus groups were presented, including perceptions of transportation problems in the county. The project team then solicited comments from the municipal representatives on what they believed were significant transportation issues.  The municipal representatives* voiced the following concerns during this exercise: 

  • Quit studying and start making some improvements.  IL 53 has been studied for 27 years, with little action.  Building IL 53 will take through-traffic out of the communities (e.g. IL 59 boat traffic going north)  
  • Improvements to IL 22 and IL 59 will divide the North Barrington into four quarters.  U.S. 12 also bisects the community.  
  • Establish right-of-way for transportation improvements, then the villages will need to follow the rules and not allow developers to build in it.  
  • Improve IL Route 22 to Rainbow to Cuba—to avoid IL 22/US 12.  
  • Any thought to including employers in the process, if they have a large number of employees?  
  • Improve Route 176 capacity problem.  It is currently 2-lanes with 3-lane improvement through downtown—there are bottlenecks.  
  • Recommend a balance between roadway (auto) and public transportation (high growth area).  
  • Widen Route 22 (U.S. Route 14 to Quentin Road)  
  • Install a traffic signal at Kelsey and IL 22.  
  • Be sensitive to natural features.  
  • Relieve “total” congestion in Lake Barrington.  
  • U.S. 14 is a major arterial for the area, some improvements planned (south); however, there is concern about time and nature of improvements for U.S. 14 to the north.  
  • Maintain IL 59 as a 2-lane section through Barrington--don’t encourage more traffic.  
  • Improve Rand Road corridor: (1) alleviate congestion Rand Road to Lake Cook Road; (2) Put in a high capacity intersection.  
  • Quentin Road has potential Strategic Regional Arterial needs (i.e. at least 4 travel lanes are needed)  
  • A 330 acre parcel is being developed, bounded by Quentin Road/Rand Road/Lake Cook Road.  
  • Improve IL 22 through downtown: there is gridlock—widening IL 22 is a high priority.  The community has seen a 25% increase in traffic in the last 5 years.  
  • U.S. Route 12 has seen a 33% increase in traffic in the last 5 years.  
  • Quentin Road, not presently a truck route, is a potential future truck route.  
  • Agree on the improvements for Old Rand Road— (i.e. reduce truck traffic, make it a scenic route)  
  • Barrington (Village Board based) is currently conducting a survey on transportation issues, that will be available in June.  
  • Concerned about implications of expansion of the EJ&E for commuter trains—what are the implications to other ground transportation?  Concerned about at-grade crossings.  
  • Maintain the residential character of Lake Cook Road through Barrington.  
  • Use Lake Zurich Road for access into Barrington.  Development pressures will increase traffic.  
  • Midlothian Rd needs improvements at McHenry Road.   General improvements are needed.  
  • Widen U.S. 12 to the SRA cross section (6 lanes)  
  • Widen U.S. 12 at Lake Cook Road, and U.S. 12 at Quentin Road.  
  • Accommodate a large development that is to be constructed at U.S. 12 and Long Grove Road.  
  • Ease the difficulty of travel from north to south.  
  • Increase capacity in improvements to Routes 176, 22 and Lake Cook Road: there are enough east/west corridors, but they lack capacity.  
  • Complete proposed network of bicycle trails—on Roberts Road and other 2-lane roads, bicyclists ride 4 abreast,  which is a safety issue.  
  • Install a traffic signal at the intersection of Center Street and Roberts Road.  Center Street is the only access for approximately 650 residents to Roberts Road. It is very congested (from Rawson Bridge Road and Route 176) during morning and evening rush hours.  
  • Alleviate IL 31/US 14 intersection congestion; Ross/Roberts Road intersection congestion  
Project activities that will be taking place over the next six months (illustrated on a display boards) were discussed.  At the conclusion of this meeting, the project team thanked the municipal group representatives for their comments and suggestions, as they are vital for the success of the project.  The project team informed the representatives that there would be similar meetings in the future, and encouraged the municipal representatives to attend.   

*  The representative for the Village of North Barrington attended the meeting for Municipal Group #4 on 5/20/98, due to scheduling conflicts. For the sake of clarity, because the village is a member of Municipal Group #2,  his concerns have been listed here to group similar geography specific comments.