Illinois 53 Extension

[Konza]

"After six decades, the record is clear: Grassroots opposition to the project is staunch; money to build it is too scarce; and the irreparable damage it would inflict on Lake County's treasured, but fragile, natural areas is severe."

If they were so worried about Lake County's "fragile natural areas" they wouldn't have allowed mass development zoning in the area to begin with.

They speak with forked tongue. If they truly valued the environment, they wouldn't have allowed so many people to move there.

Can't have it both ways.

This may soothe peoples social justice consciences, but it won't deal with a core issue of transportation in the NW Metro.

Besides, people are leaving Illinois anyway (a little over 10,000 annually). People in Inverness are having problems selling their houses due to the crippling real estate taxes. Double the income tax, double the fuel tax.

So long Illinois!

Well said. 

I'm quite pleased that I sold my home in 847 before Sears went belly-up.

Let them spend their money for the benefit of the public employees unions.

Let's have more Pace buses with no riders.

By all means, let's further subsidize the CTA.

It is said that people get the government they deserve, and that's reason number one that I no longer live in Illinois.

[quickshade]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

[SEWIGuy]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

Driven it hundreds of times.  It's largely fine the way it is. 

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

[Brandon]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

Driven it hundreds of times.  It's largely fine the way it is. 

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

I've driven it off rush hour.  12's a piece of crap from another era.  If IDOT would ever see the light, one could make it more like Telegraph around Metro Detroit, & it would actually function as a road.

[Revive 755]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

[ChiMilNet]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

Route 12 absolutely needs 3 lanes each way up through Fox Lake, and then 2 lanes to the WI border. I still feel it would be easier to get consensus on the IL 120 Bypass. If that were at least built and connected to Route 12, this would leave open the possibility of connecting to the freeway over the state line in WI still at a future date. 53, even though many would still make a strong argument to have it built, seems to be dead thanks to Long Grove and Hawthorne Woods. The state needs to start picking up the slack on 12... I would look a bit at what they did with North Ave in DuPage County, though maybe not with quite the super wide median. 

[SEWIGuy]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

Maybe we should just build it right to your driveway so you can get anywhere with minimal inconvenience.  Because God forbid you actually are inconvenienced when YOU decided to move a significant distance from work.

US-12 is largely fine the way it is.  Extending the tollway was always overkill. 

[I-39]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

Maybe we should just build it right to your driveway so you can get anywhere with minimal inconvenience.  Because God forbid you actually are inconvenienced when YOU decided to move a significant distance from work.

US-12 is largely fine the way it is.  Extending the tollway was always overkill.

How so?

So was extending I-355 overkill too?

[Joe The Dragon]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

Route 12 absolutely needs 3 lanes each way up through Fox Lake, and then 2 lanes to the WI border. I still feel it would be easier to get consensus on the IL 120 Bypass. If that were at least built and connected to Route 12, this would leave open the possibility of connecting to the freeway over the state line in WI still at a future date. 53, even though many would still make a strong argument to have it built, seems to be dead thanks to Long Grove and Hawthorne Woods. The state needs to start picking up the slack on 12... I would look a bit at what they did with North Ave in DuPage County, though maybe not with quite the super wide median.

or they can pull an West Dodge Expressway and stack up parts of us-12

[Joe The Dragon]

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people. 

A properly designed extension without excessive tolls would likely have several thousand users each day - I would not call that a few.

And one should not have to live in Cook County when a slightly better quality of life (excluding transportation options) is available in the other counties.

And I third the notion that US 12 is not fine - it needs to be at least six lanes for much of its length, needs fewer stoplights (many of which have red light cameras), more outer roads, and a bypass of the congested, slow section through Fox Lake.

Route 12 absolutely needs 3 lanes each way up through Fox Lake, and then 2 lanes to the WI border. I still feel it would be easier to get consensus on the IL 120 Bypass. If that were at least built and connected to Route 12, this would leave open the possibility of connecting to the freeway over the state line in WI still at a future date. 53, even though many would still make a strong argument to have it built, seems to be dead thanks to Long Grove and Hawthorne Woods. The state needs to start picking up the slack on 12... I would look a bit at what they did with North Ave in DuPage County, though maybe not with quite the super wide median.

Randall road could be been something much better.

[Revive 755]

Maybe we should just build it right to your driveway so you can get anywhere with minimal inconvenience.  Because God forbid you actually are inconvenienced when YOU decided to move a significant distance from work.

I am not the only one who would use such an extension of IL 53.  It would probably pick up some traffic which otherwise uses I-94 and I-294 currently.  It would be very useful for a number of non-work trips, particularly for events at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

[Konza]

I can't imagine how much inconvenience upgrading and widening US 12 in Lake and McHenry Counties would cause.  How many years would it take?

The 53 extension would be a new terrain highway, so most of the construction would take place on said new terrain, and most of that new terrain is already owned by government agencies.  It would pull traffic off of existing roads- not add to it.

When was this highway first proposed?  How many people lived in Lake County then?  How many people live there now?

Following the dictates of those who shout the loudest often has its perils...

[I-39]

Sadly, I think it's safe to say the idea of a N/S controlled access highway in central/western Lake County and Eastern McHenry is dead forever at this point.

[3467]

The best you could hope for is maybe getting rid of some lights off 12 . 39 is right. It is over. I will try to find links on its history.
It's old but it and the supplementary freeway assumed a much higher population.

[quickshade]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

Driven it hundreds of times.  It's largely fine the way it is. 

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people.

Not all of us can afford to live in Cook County because of the high taxes and outrageous house prices. Much like a majority of people who commute to work. Tired of this well you chose to live there it's your fault. Not all of us are lucky enough to live right next to their work.

[SEWIGuy]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

Driven it hundreds of times.  It's largely fine the way it is. 

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people.

Not all of us can afford to live in Cook County because of the high taxes and outrageous house prices. Much like a majority of people who commute to work. Tired of this well you chose to live there it's your fault. Not all of us are lucky enough to live right next to their work.

Then get a new job.

[tribar]

I can tell a lot of people never drove 12 daily, I did and would have to plan my start and leave times around rush hour because it could take an hour from Waconda to Palatine. There were plenty of days I stayed at work an extra hour to avoid traffic. Thankfully I moved out to northwest Illinois with a new job and don't have to travel 12 anymore. However I did recently visit some friends and they have built 3 new strip malls buy the Whole Foods and I sat in lines of traffic going in and out of all the malls around there. And this was during the day, not even rush hour. If 53 were built I could have cut 15-20 minutes off my drive and not had a headache with having to deal with that much traffic and red lights.

I don't understand how people can just wave this off, but then I remember the people didn't wave it off, they voted clearly for the plan, the political and rich people have shut this project down.

Driven it hundreds of times.  It's largely fine the way it is. 

No one made you live an hour from work.  Just can't pave something to make it easy for a few people.

Not all of us can afford to live in Cook County because of the high taxes and outrageous house prices. Much like a majority of people who commute to work. Tired of this well you chose to live there it's your fault. Not all of us are lucky enough to live right next to their work.

Then get a new job.

Yeah that's so easy to do.

[Plutonic Panda]

They need to extend this freeway and that person telling others not to live an hour away from work and to get a new job needs to get their head out of their ass. I hope this freeway is eventually extended.

[SEWIGuy]

They need to extend this freeway and that person telling others not to live an hour away from work and to get a new job needs to get their head out of their ass. I hope this freeway is eventually extended.

My head is completely out of my ass.  Sorry but the freeway isn't needed.  Paving everything doesn't solve problems.

[edwaleni]

They need to extend this freeway and that person telling others not to live an hour away from work and to get a new job needs to get their head out of their ass. I hope this freeway is eventually extended.

I remember people who live in Vallejo, but work in SF complaining about their work/life balance. That they spent too much of their time commuting to and from their job, that they didn't get to spend times with their family.

I suggested he move closer to his job, or get a job closer to where he live and he got all enraged with me.

Gave me this large baloney about how there were no jobs that made that kind of money where he lived.

I told him you get the work/life balance you deserve.  He chose to live in Vallejo when his job was in the city.

What do you want? Time with your family, or life with a bigger bank account.

I get baffled by people who move 30, 40 even 60 miles from their work to take advantage of a more rural, ex-urban life, then bellyache about how they don't have any work/life balance because the commute is too long.

If you want to live in Lake Zurich or Grayslake, but work in Schaumburg, where taking public transport is near impossible, then you need to be comfortable with the fact you don't have an expressway on your Google Map and its going to take some time.

You should have moved closer to your work or somewhere public or toll highways were more accessible.

Personally, I think the road should be extended because its the right thing to do based on the current regional transportation needs, the reasons given for not building it are total bs.

But if you want the road built because you want to reduce your driving commute to work, you probably chose the wrong place to live to begin with.

[inkyatari]

Disconnect the IL-120 project from this and try to build that.

[Joe The Dragon]

 FAP 420 !

[3467]

Looks like they are dusting off old 120 ideas.

[ET21]

Disconnect the IL-120 project from this and try to build that.

That'd be a start

[3467]

https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/2050/draft/mobility/regionally-significant-projects