advertisement

What residents are saying about Lake-Cook Road corridor plans

Possible redevelopment of the Buffalo Grove Golf Course into open space, relocation of the village hall and campus to the area around the Buffalo Grove Town Center, and an east-west road connection between Buffalo Grove Road and Arlington Heights Road were just a few ideas presented during an open house for the Lake-Cook Corridor Market Study and Plan.

Residents attending Tuesday's event at the Buffalo Grove Community Arts Center viewed a video and then milled about viewing exhibits offering three alternatives floating ideas in such areas as traffic movement, open space and land use.

Representatives from the village as well as consultants were on hand to answer questions.

Village Planner Nicole Woods emphasized that nothing has been chosen.

"We're here to get any and all feedback," she said.

The ideas, developed by a steering committee working in conjunction with a team of consultants, include proposals for internal traffic flow designed to coax traffic off heavily congested Lake-Cook Road.

One alternative calls for an east-west connection from Arlington Heights Road to Buffalo Grove Road via Weidner Road and Church Road, which currently dead ends at the village hall at Raupp Boulevard. Another alternative suggests connecting Raupp Boulevard to Arlington Heights Road, with secondary connections to Old Checker Road and North Buffalo Grove Road.

"We have looked at creating a connection along Lake-Cook Road between essentially Buffalo Grove Road and Arlington Heights Road. The idea behind that is to create a local traffic corridor so that people who live in the village don't necessarily have to traverse Lake-Cook Road to utilize the (surrounding) commercial areas," said Village Manager Dane Bragg.

Addressing the area in and around the golf course, which had previously been targeted for redevelopment, the plan outlines a variety of open space options, including a community garden, athletic fields and a sensory park.

Bragg said the village board has not made any decisions about the future of the golf course.

Land use and development suggestions included a cluster of retail and residential uses around the current village hall, as well as the relocation of village hall and the municipal campus to McHenry Road as part of a civic campus that would include the Community Arts Center.

"The idea was to create kind of a civic plaza/civic campus (involving) the park district and the village," Bragg said, adding the concept is still very much in the idea phase.

Reaction varied.

Resident Marc Spunt said he agreed with the open space and park aspects of the plan.

Giovanni Perez, who works for a firm near Lake-Cook Road and Arlington Heights Road, said he found the suggested changes "refreshing."

Resident Fred Dibbern said he is opposed to development on the golf course and would like to see the village focus on addressing its current needs, such as fixing Lake-Cook Road and filling vacant properties such as the Dominick's store at Arlington Heights and Lake-Cook roads.

Pam Yeager, who lives in the Manchester Green neighborhood near Church Road, did not like the idea of turning that road into a primary road.

"It's going to create a lot more traffic," she said.

Her neighbor Diana Lewis said, "It has always been a concern. It was a concern with the last developer (Chuck Malk, who proposed the Buffalo Grove downtown). It's a concern now. We already have a lot of people cutting through (the subdivision). We don't want more noise, more congestion, more traffic."

  Buffalo Grove Community Development Director Christopher Stilling talks to resident Marc Spunt, left, and others Tuesday night. Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
  Buffalo Grove residents study maps showing alternative proposals for development along the Lake-Cook Road corridor. Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.