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Where are we in the study process?
We are continuing Part C of the study. Part A, which analyzed current conditions and determined if a need existed, is completed. During Part B, we looked at a wide range of alternatives, analyzed the alternatives to determine if they addressed the identified needs and presented the results of this work to the public. Two build alternatives and a “no action” alternative are being carried forward for further study in Part C. The build alternatives include combinations of new freeways, arterial improvements, and transit and traffic management strategies.
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The corridors that you are evaluating vary greatly in their relative land acquisition costs. Can IDOT seriously consider doubling or tripling the cost of acquisition for some of these corridors?
We are analyzing these corridors to see how well they address the purpose and need and are conducting both a functional and locational evaluation. Conceptual costs for each alternative will be developed during the locational analysis, and will be one of many factors (including environmental impacts, displacements, traffic congestion, land use, access, safety, etc.) that will be considered.
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How many alternatives will be studied?
A wide range of alternatives will be studied. These alternatives will be developed from several sources, including suggestions from the public, meetings with county and municipal officials and meetings with advocacy and civic-minded groups. In some cases, similar proposals will be combined so that each alternative is significantly different from other alternatives.
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How will IDOT evaluate the alternatives?
The overall consideration is how well the alternatives address the purpose and need, which has four broad categories: improving regional mobility, addressing local system deficiencies, access to regional jobs and safety. To address the purpose and need, there are many potential evaluation factors, including mobility, accessibility, safety, economic development, and environmental issues as examples. IDOT has grouped these factors into two areas: function and location.
Functional screening factors include measures such as level of service, volume-to-capacity ratio (V/C), travel times, travel speeds, vehicle miles of travel (VMT), vehicle hours of travel (VHT), person miles of travel (PMT), person hours of travel (PHT), travel desire lines, accessibility to jobs, accessibility to major activity centers, and crash rates. Locational screening factors include environmental and community impacts, cost, public acceptance, economic development opportunity and refined system performance measures.
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How many alternatives will be selected for further study?
The number of alternatives selected for further study depends on how well the alternatives perform during the various evaluation steps. In the functional analysis, the alternatives will be rated on how well they meet the study’s purpose and need goals. If many alternatives perform well, they may be carried forward for further study and refinement. Conversely, if only a few of the alternatives perform well, they may be carried forward and other alternatives dropped from consideration.
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Could Illinois Route 47 be upgraded to address transportation needs?
Because of its heavy use, some upgrades to Route 47 are already underway. In addition, upgrading IL 47 and other key routes in the study area are being considered as alternatives for additional analysis. The two "build" alternatives (B2 and B5) include upgrading a portion of IL 47 from Caton Farm Road to I-80 to four lanes, to complete the link from I-80 to I-88 in combination with other planned projects.
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The Prairie Parkway has been identified as one of the state's top three transportation priorities, but the current study is still analyzing existing and future transportation needs in the corridor. How is this possible?
The state (IDOT) has identified several transportation projects for federal funding in the reauthorization of TEA-21, the federal highway and transit-funding bill. Three of the top priorities are a new bridge over the Mississippi River in the St. Louis area, Wacker Drive in Chicago and the Prairie Parkway. All three of these projects will require significant new federal funding.
It is unclear when the federal legislation will be enacted. Because the lead time for preliminary engineering and other pre-construction activities is so long, we are advancing these projects, including the Prairie Parkway, during this reauthorization cycle instead of waiting for the next cycle which is six years away. It should be noted that even if these projects are included in the new bill, no federal construction funds could be spent until the needs are assessed and the environmental studies completed.
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What has been accomplished thus far?
Since January, the study team has met with all of the municipalities in the study area – a total of 32 communities. In addition, we’ve met with all six counties and a number of organizations and associations, including the American Farmland Trust, the Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, and Will County farm bureaus, the Big Rock Watershed Committee, Citizens Against the Sprawlway, the Conservation Foundation, the Oswego, Yorkville and the DeKalb County Economic Development Commissions. We have also established a Technical Advisory Group, with 14 members and have met with the group to review the 2030 population and employment forecasts developed for the study.
In addition to these meetings, we’ve conducted traffic counts along key roads and intersections in the study area, gathered data on existing and proposed transportation investments and developments, formulated population and employment forecasts and expanded the Chicago Area Transportation Study’s computerized travel demand forecasting model to encompass the entire study area.
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What else is there to do in Part A?
- The study team, in an effort to identify issues and perceptions about transportation in the region, conducted four focus groups in late September and early October. The analyses of the sessions are due to be announced in November 2003.
- Based on the 2030 population and employment projections, the travel demand model will be used to develop the forecasts of future traffic conditions.
- An analysis of existing and future traffic conditions and the identification of transportation needs will be performed and summarized in a transportation system performance report that is anticipated to be released in early 2004.
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Why was a protected corridor recorded before a formal needs study was performed?
Corridor protection is a common planning tool used in Northeastern Illinois and throughout the country. Much like many communities have some form of a future transportation corridor included in their Community Master Plan; the corridor protection does the same for a regional plan. Such a designation doesn't necessarily indicate a current need for an improvement, but the corridor protection process is used to preserve a possible location for a transportation investment when and if that investment is needed. The current preliminary engineering study will evaluate the ability for the region's transportation systems to handle the future travel demands and identify if improvements may be needed. The preliminary engineering study is not bound by the results of the previous corridor protection study.
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How do you know what is needed - and who needs it?
There will be a number of factors involved in determining need. These factors could include, but are not limited to:
- Mobility (congestion, service levels, travel times, travel speeds, reliability, etc.)
- Accessibility (access to jobs, activity centers, inter-modal facilities, etc.)
- System Connectivity (regional facilities, through trips, etc.)
- Safety (crashes, grade crossings, consistency with current highway design standards, etc.)
- Support for Economic Development (mobility and accessibility for passenger and commercial vehicles, etc.)
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How soon do you expect to complete the "needs" portion of the study? What are the next steps in the process?
The Transportation System Performance Report that will analyze the current and future performance of the transportation system is expected in the fall of 2003. A draft needs statement is expected in the spring of 2004.
After the needs analysis is completed, a decision will be made whether to continue the study or suspend it. If a need is demonstrated, further study could occur, including identifying alternatives, selecting a recommended alternative and performing further engineering and environmental analysis. In addition, public involvement will be key component throughout the entire study. The entire study process may take up to five years to complete.
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Where are people currently traveling to and from in the area and what methods do you use to find that out?
To estimate both current and future travel, the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) travel demand forecasting model will be used. The CATS model is a computerized that uses statistical relationships between trip making and land use to forecast travel. These statistical relationships were developed from household travel surveys, census data, transit travel surveys, commercial vehicle travel surveys, external travel surveys, and special generator (airport, regional shopping centers, etc.) travel surveys. After the CATS model was estimated based on this data, a model validation was performed to ensure replication of existing travel patterns. This included comparisons of modeled volumes to actual traffic counts. For the Prairie Parkway Study, a further validation will be performed for the general study area that will include a comparison of modeled volumes to new traffic counts and a comparison to the origins and destination from a video license plate survey on IL-47 that will be conducted this spring.
The CATS model will then be used to develop traffic forecasts based on 2030 population and employment estimates. The CATS model is a proven forecasting tool that had been accepted by the federal government for use in developing the northeastern Illinois region's long range transportation plan, for demonstrating the region's air quality conformity, and for use in major transportation projects.
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