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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/1996 COW agenda COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AGENDA Meeting Location: Meeting Date and Time: Mount Prospect Senior Center Tuesday, April 23, 1996 50 South Emerson Street 7:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF APRIL 9, 1996 III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD IV. SPA-GOLF ROAD The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has over the past several years embarked on an aggressive long-range strategy to relieve traffic congestion in the Chicago metropolitan area through the identification of a number of Strategic Regional Arterials (aRA). The general premise behind the SRA concept is for these major arterials to serve as "relief valves" to the existing expressway/tollway system. The Village of Mount Prospect has portions of three SRAs within its corporate limits: Rand Road, Route 83 and Golf Road. As can be attested to from local experience (Route 83), the SRA concept has been met with a less than enthusiastic reception by many communities. The biggest criticism of the SRA concept to date is that IDOT's standard six-lane, limited access, roadway cross-section does not take into account local circumstances, especially in more mature suburbs like Mount Prospect where development patterns are well entrenched. Both the Route 83 and Rand Road SRA Studies suffered from this defect. Given the almost unanimous outcry from municipalities over early aRA Studies, IDOT changed its approach beginning with the Golf Road Study and sought local input from municipalities prior to developing initial design concepts. As a result, the Golf Road SRA in its totality has less negative impact on Mount Prospect than some of the predecessor SRA Studies. The preliminary Golf Road SRA Study has been issued by IDOT. Mount Prospect staff, along with a number of other municipalities, had an initial meeting with IDOT representatives to review the study and begin to discuss general concerns regarding the proposed improvements. Having learned a lesson from the Route 83 reconstruction controversy, staff believes it is imperative to be extremely proactive in communicating our concerns and issues to IDOT during the preliminary design phase. At this time, IDOT is asking for initial community comments. Thereafter, IDOT is planning to host a second staff meeting in early fall and a general Public Hearing before the end of the year. NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THIS MEETING BUT BECAUSE OF A DISABILITY NEEDS SOME ACCOMMODATION TO PARTIClPATE, SHOULD CONTACT THE VILLAGE MANAGER'S OFFICE AT 100 SOUTH EMERSON, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056, 847/392-6000, EXTENSION 5327, TDD #847/392-6064. The purpose of Tuesday evening's discussion is to provide Board members with an overview of the preliminary report. This overview will include a review of existing roadway conditions as well as what IDOT is currently proposing. Comments and concerns generated from this overview will be forwarded to IDOT immediately. Staff anticipates the need to identify key property owners along the Route who need to be advised of some of the specific proposed improvements and solicit their individual comments as well as arrange for a Village-sponsored community discussion to solicit input on the project generally. It is our desire to have the general Village population well informed about the project prior to the IDOT Public Hearing at the end of the year. The goal of this strategy is to fully communicate Mount Prospect's concerns and suggestions for any future roadway improvements well before the development of a final preliminary plan. We feel that our ability to influence design issues is greatest during this more fluid period rather than after elaborate plans have been developed. The information package for the Golf Road SRA contains only those sections pertinent to Mount Prospect (Meier Road to Mt. Prospect Road). The overall study is much larger and consists of some ten miles of roadway between Illinois Route 62 at its western terminus and Route 43 (Waukegan Road) on the east. Appropriate staff will be in attendance to answer questions and facilitate discussion. V. MANAGER'S REPORT VI. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Vii. ADJOURNMENT CLOSED SESSION Personnel 51LCS 120/2 (C)(1), (2) Property Acquisition 51LCS 120/2 (C) (5)