Resident urges Buffalo Grove to hold second Weiland Road hearing
A Buffalo Grove resident urged village leaders Monday to hold a second public hearing on plans for a new connector road included in a $100 million project to relieve congestion along Weiland and Lake-Cook roads.
Marge Foss, who lives on Carlyle Court near the path of the proposed connector, said consulting engineers gave conflicting information and nonanswers at last week's public hearing and excluded an alternative plan that eliminated the connector.
“We expected a fair and transparent presentation of the alternatives. This was not at all what we found,” Foss told Buffalo Grove trustees at their village board meeting Monday.
The new connector road, which would link Weiland and Prairie roads, north of Aptakisic Road, has been the main source of opposition to the $100 million road plan.
The plan also includes widening Weiland from two to four lanes between Lake-Cook and Aptakisic roads, and widening Lake-Cook from Hastings Lane to Raupp Boulevard from four lanes to six lanes.
Foss and residents who live near the roads are unhappy that planners appear to have eliminated an alternative proposal that would see further improvements along Aptakisic rather than the proposed connector. The connector, they say, will not solve existing traffic problems and will displace residents of seven homes.
“Many of us attending (last week's hearing) received, ‘I don't know' as an answer to questions that we consider to be very important,” Foss said.
She asked that the village board schedule a follow-up public hearing — one that would provide residents with a chance to view alternatives and have their questions answered in a transparent manner supported by data.
Village Manager Dane Bragg said he would be happy to review federal guidelines to see what options are available for scheduling another hearing, but that would come only after an ongoing public comment period is complete.
Village President Jeffrey Braiman reminded Foss that there will be an opportunity for the board to discuss the matter after the conclusion of the public comment period.
“I'm sure there will be many members of this board who will ask the same type of tough questions,” he said. “I don't want you to think that we're not cognizant of your concerns.”
Trustee Jeffrey Berman said he was troubled by Foss' comments about the consultants, saying he did not understand why the experts, if they didn't know the answers, didn't take names, addresses and phone numbers with the intention of getting back to the residents and providing answers.
“And that to me is a fundamental problem,” he said.
Officials say funding for the project will come primarily from state and federal sources, and construction would take place over several years.