Carpentersville residents take chance to oppose Fox River bridge

When it comes to a proposed Fox River crossing project, Carpentersville officials and some local residents are headed in opposite directions.

Though the village's planning and zoning commission had asked for resident input in developing guidelines and policy for the Longmeadow Parkway Corridor Plan, attendees vociferously opposed the project during a special meeting Monday.

"We are going to have all of these people using Carpentersville as a footpath," said Dennis Carr, a Carpentersville resident. "They're not going to bring anything to the village."

After hearing similar sentiments from other residents, village staffers attempted to steer discussion back to planning for the proposed corridor.

"We want to make sure the impact is mitigated," said Carpentersville Community Development Director Cindy McCammack. "We need to be prepared so we don't get haphazard development and immediately congest the corridor."

Representatives from Naperville-based urban planning and community development firm Houseal Lavigne presented an interim report outlining current environmental, geographic and zoning conditions in the proposed corridor area between routes 25 and 31. Terry Jenkins, managing director of Business Districts Inc., also discussed potential uses along the area, including retail, industrial and open space.

John Houseal, president of Houseal Lavigne, said though development of the bridge is still far in the future, the village needs to be ready.

"We can't assume the bridge is not going to be built because the village won't be prepared when a massive bridge comes on line," said Houseal, who added the discussion as to whether the bridge would be constructed had already taken place.

Still, residents continued to express opposition to the 5.6-mile roadway connecting Route 62 and Huntley Road.

"Why don't we wait for Algonquin to build a bridge?" asked John Keller of Carpentersville. "It was their development that caused the problems."

The Longmeadow Parkway Toll Bridge would create a new four-lane Fox River bridge designed to move some of the traffic burden off I-90, Route 72 and Route 62.

The cost of the project is yet to be calculated.

The village plans to hold similar community forums in the future. A copy of the interim report is available at village hall.