Tollway should stop spending on Route 53 study

Livable Lake County and its members agree with the editorial on May 24th ("Troubling Signs with Route 53's extension at a crossroads") that members of the Illinois tollway board need to get serious about stopping the environmental impact study for Route 53 before committing to squander up to $50 million on it.

The Illinois tollway has long maintained that it will not build roads in communities that do not support them. The withdrawal of support by Aaron Lawlor, Lake County Board chairman and co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee, is the latest voice against it.

Environmental groups all pulled their support last fall, joining the opposition by corridor communities and a growing uproar among Lake County residents.

An often-overlooked point in the Route 53 debate is that new roads increase traffic. Studies have shown that over time an increase in drivers overwhelms any new capacity, leading to more traffic congestion.

In addition, communities that are bypassed by the road receive little, if any, economic development benefits.

The Route 53 extension is bad medicine at this critical time when we need to invest in improving local roads like Route 83 and Fremont Road and identifying alternative ways to improve Lake County's transportation system.

We call on the Illinois Tollway Authority to do the right thing and not spend $50 million on a project that Lake County doesn't want and Illinois can't afford.

Evan Craig, Chair

Sierra Club Woods & Wetlands Group