“Go Lake County!” – Promoting a more efficient, sustainable, forward-thinking and achievable  transportation system in Lake County

Lake County, IL has both traffic congestion and is vastly underserved by public transit. We believe that there is a unique opportunity in Lake County to modernize our transportation system and create a more sustainable plan while positioning Lake County to be competitive in a modern economy. Rather than plow billions of dollars into a tollway extension that will bring even more traffic and degrade our communities, we have found many better, less expensive, quicker and sustainable alternatives. These include strategic road improvements at choke points, incentivizing shorter commutes, active transportation and Complete Streets planning, harnessing ride sharing to connect to improved mass transit, and transportation demand management (TDM) techniques such as businesses incentivizing their employees to live near work, enabling carpooling, flextime and telecommuting.

Our plan for a better transportation system for Lake County would include the following:

• Model ordinances for sustainable community design in Lake County, including:
• • Complete Streets walkable & bikable communities
  • Active Transportation policies
  • Transportation enterprise zones (including TOD)
  • Strategic routes linked to county urban centers.
• Improvements for our current roads and infrastructure such as:
• • Widening intersections and improving current roads (Rt. 83, 120, 60, 45, 22, 12, Midlothian, 176 and 173)
  • More grade separations such as at 120 & 83, Rt. 60 and Diamond Lake Road, Rt. 60 near Butterfield Rd. and both Gilmer and Old McHenry Roads near Midlothian Rd.
  • Modernizing and improving transportation technology
  • Creative traffic flow enhancements like no left turns during certain hours
• Improved and increased public transit options, considering:
• • Increased access to public transit: on-demand ride services and other new technologies.
  • • Implementing park-and-ride bus connections and bus connections from Metra stations to local commercial and office park centers
  • Extended options, operating times and increased routes
  • Improved facilities such as bus platforms, shelters and train stations
  • Electrification of all transit 
  • Bus Rapid Transit
  • Increased train service, considering:
  • • EJ&E commuter service
    • Expanded North Central Metra Service
    • Routes extended up to Winthrop Harbor and Zion
    • Electrified rail
    • Expanding CN rail line to establish Metra Commuter Service in the southwestern part of the county (Near south end of corridor and current 53 terminus)
  • Support non-vehicular modes of transportation
  • Support policies to reduce SOV’s
• Subsidizing on-demand ride services (like Über and Lyft) for those underserved by paratransit
• Creating regional intermodal infrastructure improvements such as connections between modes of transit, bicycle infrastructure and walking paths
• Transportation Demand Management, considering:
• • Incentivize employees to live within 5 miles of where they work
  • Incentivize ride-sharing and public transit use
  • Offer more telecommuting
  • Offer staggered shifts
• Creation of Transportation Corridors and Enterprise Zones
• • Greater impact fees on developments that fall outside of transportation zones
  • Focus limited transportation spending in constrained Enterprise Zones.
• Increased access to vehicle charging stations 

Transform the Rt. 53/120 extension corridor into a non-motorized corridor with protected natural resources, an intact ecosystem and a corridor trail

The over 50-year-old Route 53/120 corridor is a de facto intact open space corridor with highly valuable wetlands and ecosystems. Over the years, the corridor has been built up and zoning has been approved to put residential communities, schools, playgrounds and a hospital directly adjacent to the tollway corridor. 

Our goal, now that we have stopped the Rt. 53/120, is to decommission and protect the corridor so the good people of Lake County can move forward with modern, efficient and achievable plans to relieve congestion. We would like to see the extremely valuable and sensitive ecosystems and wetlands protected, keep the corridor non-motorized, create a corridor trail and possibly include outdoor amenities such as parks and community gardens for the corridor village residents to enjoy.  Ultimately, we will protect as much of the corridor as possible and connect it to the Liberty Prairie Reserve, Volo Bog and Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge as an urban greenway. 

The Chicago River Trail Campaign

Midwest Sustainability Group is a coalition partner with Active transportation Alliance in the Chicago River Trail Campaign.

Many world class cities have invested in developing waterfront parks and trails to connect residents with the myriad quality of life benefits they can bring, such as improved health, cleaner environments, and economic opportunity.

While Chicago’s lakefront park and trail system is second to none, the Chicago River has not yet reached its full potential as a community recreation and alternative transportation asset.

A continuous Chicago River Trail system would help meet this potential by transforming a neglected asset into a vibrant open space and active transportation corridor that will connect Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods to the river and to each other in a way they have never been before.

For more information: http://activetrans.org/our-work/bicycling/chicago-river-trail