• The first Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting was held from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the College of Lake County on June 2, 1998.  Topics discussed were as follows: 
• Project overview  
• Roles and responsibilities of the TAG members 
• Report on findings from previous meetings with focus groups, municipal groups, and committees of the Lake County Board 
• Group exercise 
• Comments 

Municipal Group Representatives  

• Local input into the process is important. 
• Need to address future transportation needs. 
• Continuous local input throughout the process is important. 
• The project process should address realistic options relative to funding, and establish clear priorities for providing congestion relief. 
• Desire effective local input for the future of the area. 
• Better coordination. 
• The best transportation solution with consideration of community impacts. 

• Transportation solutions should be examined from a regional perspective. 
• Key linkages between land use and transportation should be analyzed. 
• Because corridor transportation plans cross boundaries, the expectation is that this study will provide an effective link between the counties. 
• Expect regional interface with other counties for a regional and comprehensive solution. 
• A solid plan that can be implemented. 
• To effectively integrate county efforts with those of the state and others. 

• Highway-based plan integration. 
• Effective coordination with Metra in the process. 
• Metra should be a part of the solution for the region. 

• A comprehensive analysis that leads to a “blueprint for action.” 
• Looking for the best overall solution for the area. 
• A smooth project. 
• Interested in finding/implementing a solution that is successful. 
• Looking for a process that considers effective input from many sources. 
• Good decisions and then implementation. 
• Interaction between land use and transportation; consideration of development at the local, county and regional level. 
• To develop a good mix of modes and strategies, with proper consideration of environmental impacts. 

Group Exercise

Following explanation of the study process and outreach efforts, a group exercise was conducted to solicit input and discuss transportation issues in the project area. Three break out groups were formed for discussion purposes in order to: (1) share information regarding planned improvements; (2) review and refine key issues and suggestions received at previous meetings; (3) brainstorm on additional transportation issues; and (4) consolidate all the comments into a summary of key transportation issues.  

Attendees were assigned to three working groups (each containing approximately eight people) with an assigned facilitator.  Within each group, a note taker was assigned, as well as someone who would report their group’s findings at the end of the session. Notes were recorded on display easels, so everyone in the group could provide input to what was being recorded.  Each group spent 45 minutes discussing issues before reconvening to the larger group to summarize conclusions.  The summary of each group’s comments is as follows: 

2020 Regional Transportation Plan Projects 

• Double tracking the Wisconsin Central Line (Metra’s North Central Service) & stations 
• Extension of IL 53 
• Widening of the Tri-State Tollway 
• EJ&E passenger service 
• I-90 add lanes west of the Kennedy 
• Elgin-O’Hare/West O’Hare Bypass 

• IL 21—from IL 137 to the Tollway 
• IL 22 – from IL 83 east 
• Willow Road 
• Washington Street interchange at I-94 and extension west to US 45 
• Lake Cook Road at the Wisconsin Central Line 
• Buffalo Grove Road corridor expansion 
• I-94 Reconstruction—Kenosha County 
• WI 50 east-west capacity improvements—Kenosha County 
• Interchange redesign in Kenosha County 
• Intersection of Fairfield & Midlothian at Old McHenry Road 

• Metra Extension to Wadsworth 
• County-wide congestion for east-west travel 
• County-wide congestion for north-south travel 
• Impaired access to commuter rail stations for automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians and buses 
• North and northwest Metra service expansion 
• Limited transit service from suburb-to-suburb; also limited service from Metra train stations to suburban job centers 
• Supportive land use to enhance transit usage 
• Not enough transportation system capacity to handle current & projected growth 
• Congestion of major arterials is creating a problem on secondary systems 
• Hard to build consensus with so many jurisdictions 

Cook County 

• Intersection improvements for Quentin road, north-south from Route 68  
• Widening of Lake Cook Road, from IL 21 to Weiland (1999)  
• Widening of Lake Cook Road, from IL 21 to I-294 (2000)  
• Northbound on-ramp for eastbound Lake Cook Road at I-294 (2001)  
• Widening of Lake Cook Road between I-294 and Waukegan Road (2001)  
• Widening of Sanders Road between Techny Road and Lake Cook Road (unprogrammed)  
• Improvement of intersection at Lake Cook Road and Arlington Heights Road with dual left turn lanes  

• Interconnection of traffic signalizations on Lake Cook Road between the Tri-State Tollway and the Edens Expressway  (1999)   
• General Lake County bikeway plan 
• Continuous right turn lane for westbound Lake Cook Road, IL 53 to Hicks Road  
• Bicycle trail across Lake Cook Road linking Cook County Forest Preserve and Lake County Forest Preserve (Tecumsah Trail, just east of IL 21) 

• Southeast bypass of City of McHenry with Bull Valley arterial, and connector of River Road to Chapel Hill connector (1998)  
• Feasibility study of west bypass of McHenry using Route 31  
• Widen Algonquin Road west of Route 31 (1999)  
• Environmental Assessment of Route 31 bypass of Algonquin (1999?) 
• Intersection improvement of Bay Road at Johnsburg  

• Reconstruction and left turn lanes for Route 14 from IL 68 to Lake Cook Road (2000)  

• Double tracking of the North Central railroad   
• On-going studies for passenger service on the EJ&E railroad 

• Optimization of signal timing for bus movements on arterials, system wide  
• Bus rapid transit enhancements (Park-and-Ride and stations) for tollways and freeways  
• Park-and-Ride lots for van pools, car pools, and bus service.  
• Express bus service north-south from Waukegan Transit Center to Lake Cook Road 

• More congestion—less likely that transit can solve it 
• Inadequate east-west Des Plaines River crossings  
• North-south travel in central and western Lake County 
• Very wide distribution of traffic due to sprawling nature of suburban area—no longer just inbound/outbound traffic patterns 
• Grid system, that could help to alleviate problems, does not exist 
• Route 12 as a “freeway” not plausible 
• Absence of collector routes with respect to development 
• Cut through traffic off collectors/arterials 
• If grid system is to work, there must be a unanimous decision by all communities to adopt it 
• Widening of roads may impact downtowns 
• People versus vehicle capacity 
• Development of “closed” subdivisions—that is, developments with only one access road  
• Projects may be fundable but not implementable, or implementable but not fundable 
• Environmental considerations—is traffic too bad to consider? 

Metra 

• Studying double tracking NCS (North Central Service) 
• Have studied an additional station at Prairie Crossing 
• Studying additional station for NCS line at Grayslake as an alternative for Prairie Crossing 
• Studying additional parking at Grayslake 
• Studying extending the Milwaukee Line north to Wadsworth 
• Have been asked about the additional station at Green Oaks 
• EJ&E Major Investment Study 
• Studying additional station at Glenview NAS (Naval Air Station) (Techny site) 
• Looking at ways to improve service at Grayslake station 
• Looking at ways to improve access to and from Metra stations (system wide) 
• Looking at Barrington as a hub facility 
• Union Pacific new line could be extended to Schaumburg (Blue Line) (the current RTA study range of influence includes southern portion of Lake County study area) 
• Have constructed a wetland bank at Antioch 

• SRA planning—prioritize (planning largely completed, needs to be prioritized) 
• Lack of highway grid county wide is a problem for improving transportation 
• Studying Buffalo Grove Road extension 
• Studying Rollins Road extension 
• Maintaining the existing system is the first priority for funding 
• Considering area wide intersection and roadway improvements: capacity, interconnections, transportation system upgrades 
• Constructing wetland banks 
• Active in storm water management (integrating county ordinance in planning) 

• Developing and refining Greenways plan for pedestrian and bicycle traffic 

• I-PASS expansions system wide 
• Deerfield Toll Plaza being removed 
• Widen the Tri-State to IL 22—an ongoing project as part of the Deerfield Plaza demolition 
• Study widening the Tri-State from I-90 to 60 as a long term project 
• Study a new interchange at Washington Street 
• Construct a new interchange at Devon  

Roadways 

• There is substantial evidence of congestion both in a north-south direction and an east-west direction 
• Lack of grid system, particularly in western portion of county, is a problem 
• Regional traffic is using the local system 
• There are diagonal routes rather than north-south or east-west routes 
• Consideration needs to be given to how much expansion is possible.  What is the realistic build-out for the existing system? 
• Don’t focus solely on capacity expansion; refine the existing system 

• Need to improve interface between modes 
• Increase parking capacity at stations 
• Barrington may have a role as a possible commuter rail hub 
• Metra needs to examine grade separations 
• Enhance the express bus system 
• Ways to facilitate suburb-to-suburb connections need to be considered 
• PACE needs to improve public recognition/education 

• Need to improve the local bike system 
• Improve the local connections to regional systems (local trains to regional trails) 
• Can’t take bikes on trains 
• Educate the public on the roles and responsibilities of the providers and their systems. 
• Coordination between different types of facilities and providers 
• Consider multi-modal uses of transportation corridors (such as I-90/Blue Line study) 

• Development/developers are not required to adequately consider the transportation impacts of their work or be financially responsible for it 
• Obtaining funding is a problem for all agencies/providers 
• Transportation and land use (development) needs to be balanced with environmental concerns (including direct vs. cumulative impacts) 

The project team then discussed “next steps” for Technical Advisory Group.  They described how they plan to focus on some of the technical tools that will be used in the project, such as the geographical information system (GIS) and transportation modeling. The project team will also present criteria with which to compare transportation system alternatives, for TAG members’ review and input.  Future TAG meetings will be structured like the first, with a presentation and break-out work groups. 

Comments

At the end of the meeting, comments were solicited from the public.  Two comments were received:   

1. The Village of Long Grove expressed concern for how Municipal Group #1 will be served by a single representative.  It was noted that this municipal group is comprised of 19 communities, some small and some large.  Their concern is that smaller municipalities, who do not necessarily have full-time staff to serve on this committee, are excluded from contributing or participating on the TAG.  Lidia Pilecky/ISTHA suggested that they sit down immediately following the close of this TAG meeting to explore options to resolve this issue. 
2. The Village of Long Grove’s planning consultant stated that his concern was that a careful analysis of the “problem” needs more emphasis; in particular, the relationship between land use/development and the transportation system.