Letter to the Editor: Redo DGN Traffic Study

This is from the concerned citizens, home owners, tax payers and voters who live near Downers Grove North’s west side, encompassing the boundaries of Lincoln, Prince, Grant and Saratoga.

This E-Mail is being distributed to members of the District 99 School Board, members of the Village Council , staff representatives of the Village’s Plan Commission and Transportation & Parking Commission, neighborhood members and local media outlets.

As you are aware, we have spoken at many meetings dating back to October. These include the Plan Commission, District 99 Board meetings and Open House meetings, the Village Council and, most recently, the Transportation and Parking Commission.

We have repeatedly expressed our concerns regarding the lack of input into the District’s site improvement plan from its inception and its effects on traffic, safety, the aesthetic appearance of the Prince subdivision and the property values of the local homeowners most impacted by the west side planned parking lot location.

First of all, thanks to all of you who have courteously listened to our concerns. We also appreciate the recent outreach by Mr. Schack and Mr. Hiscock from the District and DGN who personally invited several local homeowners to have input into the landscaping bordering Grant and Saratoga of the planned parking lot.

We filed a Neighborhood Petition with the Transportation & Parking Commission and requested a neighborhood meeting with Mr. Dorin Fera to further address our concerns. One of the frustrating elements of the DGN Site Improvement Plan is that there are still several unresolved issues and lack of clear planning that need to still take place, despite the fact that the Village Council approved the vacation of Prince and construction is about to begin.

Our main contention is that the Traffic Study, paid by and contracted by District 99, instead of the Village, does not come close to representing the reality of the traffic volume on the effected streets.

• According to the Village Study done in 2011, 3100 vehicles traverse Saratoga in the affected area on a daily basis.
• According to the District’s traffic study conducted in the fall of 2011, approximately 1300 vehicles traverse the same path. How can there be a 2000 vehicle difference?
• Additionally, the District’s Traffic Study did not take into account the realistic volume of traffic given the following:

            o   At the end of the school day, Prince is closed between Lincoln and Sherman and Grant is closed between Saratoga and Prince. According to the site plan, this will no longer be the case.

            o   That infers that the already heavy traffic at Saratoga and Grant will significantly increase with the closure of Prince between Grant and Sherman. That was not simulated or its potential impact reported in the final recommendations of the District’s Traffic Study.

            o   The study did not take into account the full impact of after school activities on traffic, parking and safety. The planned egress from the new west side parking lot is within 100 feet of the intersection of Saratoga and Grant, in contrast to the current egress of the existing parking lot which is closer to Sherman. This will likely result in major traffic and safety issues when these evening activities end.

It should be pointed out that the Village of Downers Grove approved the vacation of Prince based on the recommendations of the Board’s traffic study that there would be no impact on traffic volume or safety.

This is clearly not the case. However, we are not asking that the vacation of Prince be undone. We are asking, however, that the location of the proposed west side parking lot be moved farther north. This would eliminate the dangerous egress onto Saratoga mentioned above, and it would allow an additional egress to be established onto Sherman, thereby creating an additional exit to Ogden and Saratoga Avenues. It would also help maintain the aesthetic appearance and property values associated with the bordering homeowners’ properties.

Finally, we are also concerned by the lack of accurate/final answers from the District concerning:

• proposed bus loading and unloading, possible mixed use (busses and cars) parking lot
• actual direction of traffic access for entrance and exiting into the proposed lot
• that one rationale for placing the lot to border Grant is to allow access for deliveries by semi-trailers, even though a District employee told us, and our own observations have confirmed, that only small sized delivery trucks are present.

We are aware that demolition of the homes will begin in the next two weeks, followed by the construction of the infrastructure to support the new parking lot and soccer field. We are concerned that by the time our petition to the Transportation and Parking Commission is analyzed and assessed, that it will be too late to make any significant change in plans.

This should not be allowed to occur, until the Village has re-assessed the reality of the traffic and safety impact based on the location of the new lot on the west side. Since the District will announce the awarding of construction contracts at its next Board meeting the end of February, it is imperative that the Village do what it must do to make sure the above listed concerns are properly addressed and resolved before construction makes it too late.

All of us support the overall concept of the DGN Site Improvement Plan. It will help generate increased revenue and help maintain District’s 99 solid reputation for student learning and achievement.

However, it must be carried out with foresight so that it does not create a set of unforeseen problems effecting the safety and quality of life surrounding the school. We will continue to voice our concerns at all appropriate meetings of the Village and School District.

Sincerely,

Thomas Eagan and the Concerned Citizens of the Prince Subdivision.