Support of Route 53 Extension 'Discouraging': Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Jim Bland.

Lake County TV ads encourage the general public to come “boat in Lake County”. Clearly the aquatic resource in the County is “exceptional” and is important for drinking, swimming, boating, and fishing. It is significant for the economy and for all of the residents that currently live here. From a natural resource perspective it is also exceptional; it has the largest number of endangered and threatened species (most of which are found in aquatic habitats) of any Illinois county.

It’s discouraging then to see so many mayors support a Rt. 53 tollway project that will clearly degrade Lake County’s aquatic resource. One of the most highly studied relationships across the country is the relationship between impervious cover (e.g. road surfaces, roofs, driveways, sidewalks, etc.) and biological integrity of streams. Research concerning the impacts of Impervious cover (IC) indicates that: “... hydrological, habitat, water quality, and biological indicators of stream health decline at around 10 % total IC in small subwatersheds...” . Furthermore, as the percentage of IC increases streams are graded as impacted between 10 and 25%, non-supporting between 25 and 50 % and urban drainage above 50%. Between 10% and 25% waterways show clear signs of declining stream health and reduced biological integrity. While the IC model focuses on streams it will also have impacts for local lakes and ponds.

The IC created by the tollway project is not limited to the highway surface itself, rather it is part of the induced growth that will come with the urban development surrounding the tollway corridor and the County at large.

Most small communities will want to attract industrial and commercial growth since this will give a bigger tax advantage. Notably this type of land use has the largest fraction of IC and typically involves large parking lots and large size building complexes. Whatever the growth formula IC will be important to track and to project as part of highway planning. It is surprising then that, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has not determined the percentage of IC in the tollway corridor, they have not projected the increase in IC contingent on projected land uses, and they have not determined the county-wide impacts of the new tollway.

Peak usage for this tollway is estimated at 63,000 vehicles/day; it will NOT stop east/west congestion. Cost for the new tollway are projected at 2.8 billion dollars. Lake County has the highest tax burden of any county in Illinois. There are less costly reasonable alternatives. We hate to borrow lines from the old Joni Mitchell song but it is so appropriate: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot...”. Let’s keep Lake County exceptional, veto the 53 tollway.

Jim Bland

Adjunct Professor, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee