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Provide higher speed roads for longer trips
Motorists understand that some roads are designed to move people
and goods through a region quickly and safely. Other roads are designed
for slower speeds, allowing more driveways and intersections so
that motorists can make short trips for errands or to reach the
highway for a longer trip. This important balance of road types
is needed for efficient local and regional travel. However, this
balance doesn’t exist in the study area, and will be an even
poorer balance in the future.
For example, Kendall County is one of the only county in northeastern
Illinois without any interstate facilities. There are no north-south
interstates or multi-lane roads between I-55 and I-39, a distance
of nearly 50 miles. An overwhelming majority (85%) of the roadways
within the study area are two-lane roads. The beautiful Fox River
also presents another barrier to easy travel in the region due to
limited crossing points.
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a larger image of the Prairie Parkway Thrulanes Map [956kb]
Planners also warn that regional mobility for people and goods
is expected to worsen in the future. The existing low speed roads
weren’t intended to handle the high demand for long trips.
Population growth alone will push traffic demand past the capacity
of most low speed roads. High speed, longer trips will be difficult
for north-south travelers because of the limited number of higher
speed or multilane highways, and the obstruction of the Fox River.
Keep the local roads safe and accessible
Parts of the study area are undergoing rapid change from rural
agriculture to suburban residential and commercial. From 2000 to
2030, Kendall and Will counties are projected to more than double
in population and Kane County is anticipated to add more that 250,000
residents. Even now, traffic is growing on the local roads, with
increased commuting and truck travel. Traffic on east-west roads
leading to existing major highways is expected to increase by 163%.
On similar north-south roads, traffic is expected to increase as
much as 232%. Compounding this increase is the fact that planners
must account for traffic flowing from major roads back onto the
minor roads, not just at the end of trip, but also from drivers
who divert from congested major roads in an attempt to bypass the
congested sections. This heavier use of minor roads will not only
leads to longer travel times, but will also increase the number
of accidents.
Previous goals to limit driveways and intersections and maintain
higher speeds for longer trips on some of the major roads in the
study area have been compromised as access has been created for
commercial development. With the rapid development in the area,
safety and mobility for longer trips is being lost.
Click to open a larger image of the Prairie Parkway VMT Map [956kb]
Area development has and will continue to increase the volume of
local trips within the study area, as well as increase trips from
local areas to regional job centers and other regional destinations.
The limited capacity of the existing two-lane network of roads results
in congestion, increased travel times and reduced safety. Furthermore,
the addition of regional trips onto the local roads resulting from
the limited number of major highways for north and south travel
within the study area has resulted in conflicting use between local
and regional travel and has further led to deterioration of safety
and increase in travel times.
Most of the highways in the eastern and central portions of the
study area are expected to operate under extremely congested condition.
Since most of these roadways are not multi-lane, the impact on safety
and existing congestion will be even more pronounced.
New job locations will worsen congestion
Historically, the Chicago Loop was the region’s job center.
As such, the region’s transportation system developed in a
radial pattern to provide good access to downtown Chicago. However,
job concentrations have developed in suburban Cook County and other
surrounding counties. These new job centers have created fundamental
travel problems in certain locations in the region, such as the
study area.
Based on the 2030 household and employment forecasts, a large portion
of the study area will gain more new households than new jobs. However,
within the study area, the highest increase in jobs is forecasted
to be in Kane and Will counties. Travel from the center of the study
area running north-south is projected to increase by 119,000 trips,
while east/west traffic will increase by 69,000 trips.
Since existing roadways within these areas are experiencing heavy
congestion and others are two- lane, roads built years ago for rural
travel, it will be difficult to accommodate the increased travel
forecasts. It will take longer to get to the current and new jobs
within the study area due to increased traffic congestion and the
locations of the jobs. Additionally, increased travel times will
develop due to the limited number of bridge crossings over the Fox
River, particularly for north-south travel. When the commute takes
too long, the job loses its attraction, affecting the individual
driver and the region’s economy.
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Click to open a larger image of the Prairie Parkway VMT Map [956kb]
