Fairfield Road/Route 176 plan draws heat

A public forum to outline options is scheduled for next week, but residents near the Lakewood Forest Preserve in the Wauconda area already are critical of a proposed road improvement at Route 176 and Fairfield Road.

With the Web site protectlakewood.com outlining its concerns and a petition drive in progress, residents say any change to the intersection, which is bordered on all sides by Lake County's largest forest preserve, is ill advised.

"It's being questioned because it's a massive road project with four corners of allegedly protected land," said Loraine Ray, a Fremont Township resident and periodic activist on local issues.

The area deserves special consideration because it is irreplaceable taxpayer land and there is a duty to protect it, she added.

"I believe we need to work on the traffic congestion problem all over the area but we need to do it in a responsible way."

Possible improvements are being proposed by the Lake County Division of Transportation, which is hosting the information meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 25 at Wauconda High School, 555 N. Main St.

Also, a special meeting has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 23 to present the concepts to members of the Lake County Forest Preserve District's planning and restoration committee.

The intersection, which is rated as being among the worst in the county to navigate, was identified as a "consensus" project in 2005 at a Lake County transportation summit. It subsequently was included as one of four "challenge" projects vying for county funds made available as a result of a sales tax increase in 2008.

"We're in Phase 1 on all of them," said Marty Buehler, head of the transportation division. "We don't know what the project is yet or if we have a project."

There's no cost estimate yet for the project. Three alternatives are being considered: Widening the intersection to six lanes, building a roundabout or a creating an overpass or underpass. All the options would require the acquisition of 3 to 9 acres of the more than 2,600-acre forest preserve property.

Another consideration is the confluence of the Fort Hills and Millennium trails at the intersection.

"We are very open to hearing the concerns of users," said Buehler, adding that Lakewood was his personal favorite forest preserve.

Ray contends there are less invasive options, such as using the PASSAGE computerized traffic management system to control traffic flow.

Chuck Gleason, the division of transportation contact for the public forum, said the signals at the intersection already can detect when cars are lined up. PASSAGE only works when there are a series of such signals at adjacent intersections, he added.

Ray said the alternatives being proposed are oversized and expensive. Attempts to get information regarding traffic, environmental and other studies have been unsuccessful, she said.

"They're not releasing any data so the public can review it and ask meaningful questions," she charged.

A Freedom of Information Act request was denied because the information was considered to be preliminary, an exemption under the law.

Buehler said information for exhibits was being compiled for the open house. A group of stakeholders, of which Ray will be included, will be assembled afterward to consider the comments, he added.