Board looking for ways to ease traffic on roads

If you've driven in Lake County, traffic congestion isn't news to you.

As the county continues to grow, municipal governments make efforts to bring transportation up to speed, if you'll pardon the pun.

But the candidates in the Lake County Board District 16 race say they have even more ideas about how the county can lower the frustration index for local drivers.

"Everybody knows it's difficult to get around in Lake County," said Jeanne Goshgarian, a Republican candidate from Round Lake. "There has to be some creative thinking on trying to resolve this."

She said she favors a combination of options, from working with towns to encourage them to improve their own roads to using the advanced traffic monitoring equipment the county already has.

Bob Powers, the Republican incumbent in the race, said he favors expanding the traffic monitoring system throughout the county.

"We're constantly working on it," Powers said, adding that just building more roads can get cost-prohibitive. "How long can you keep building roads and afford to build them?"

Powers, of Round Lake Beach, said two referendum requests to increase tax money for roads failed, meaning voters don't support paying for them.

"Taxes are a big issue, too," Powers said.

Terry Wilke, a Democrat from Round Lake Beach, suggested the referendum requests failed because they weren't detailed enough about what projects would be funded with the additional tax money.

"I don't think taxpayers really considered that viable," Wilke said. "You really need to be very specific. Then, I think, people will be more amenable to (a referendum request)."

But Douglas Williams, a Democrat from Hainesville, said road-building projects are temporary solutions.

"You're just really shifting the congestion," Williams said, naming the Route 120 corridor specifically. "Those (new) roads will become congested."

He said the county board should focus on helping expand public transportation, particularly Metra.

"That's key to people getting to work from my district," Williams said. More roads and traffic just take away from the "country" feeling some moved to Lake County to enjoy, he said. "We lose that ruralness."