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Public Comment Report Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission December 2, 2013

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Public Comment Report Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission December 2, 2013 Public Comment Report Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission December 2, 2013 The Indiana Department of Transportation proposed amendments to add the proposed Illiana Expressway from the Indiana/Illinois State Line to I‐65 and the expansion of I‐65 from US 30 south to US 231 to the following documents: 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan (2040 CRP) 2014‐2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Air Quality Conformity Analysis, a new version which includes the proposed projects These three items were subject to a formal 30‐day public comment period which commenced on October 14, 2013 and ended on November 20, 2013. During the public comment period, NIRPC hosted four public meetings to gather comments. The meeting schedule was: November 2, 2013: John W. Anderson Library, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, Indiana 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. November 5, 2013: Lowell Middle School, Lowell, Indiana 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. November 13, 2013: NIRPC Office, Portage, Indiana 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. November 19, 2013: Michigan City City Hall, Michigan City, Indiana 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The comments received at these meetings have been compiled into the following report, along with comments received on NIRPC’s telephone comment line at (219) 763‐6060, ext. 160, via email, and via the United States Postal Service. This report is also being provided to the Indiana Department of Transportation, who is the project sponsor. During the formal public comment period, NIRPC received about 720 comments through the aforementioned means. Since 2012, NIRPC has received several petitions relating to the proposed Illiana Expressway. The following is a summary of those received. The following online petition originated from https://sites.google.com/site/noilliana4us/. It was submitted with 240 signatures. We the undersigned do hereby certify that we are registered voters in the states of Illinois and or Indiana. As such voters we do hereby protest the construction of the proposed Illiana Expressway with possible P3 partnerships to make the road a toll road and are proponents of the 'No Build’ option of the Illiana Corridor project. We support the ‘No Build’ alternative to this project for the following reasons: • The manner in which this project has been fast tracked has resulted in not giving appropriate time & Environmental Justice(meaning to treat people groups equally on Environmental Protection Issues) to fully study the TRUE impact of multiple facets to be explored as well as not thoroughly studying ALL viable alternatives thus supporting the No Build alternative. • We feel that the current poor condition of multiple State roads & highways must be taken into account & that these road & highways should take priority in bringing them up to proper safe driving condition so as not to contribute to traffic congestion & problems. • To alleviate congestion we support repairing state roads Monee‐Manhattan Rd., Rt.52, Peotone‐ Wilmington Rd., Rt. 45 & Rt.50, adding turn lanes if needed to better facilitate traffic between I‐55 & I‐ 57. Also take into consideration the interchange already under construction at I‐57 at Stuenkel Rd. will help congestion at Monee‐Manhattan & I‐57 area. Traffic can then travel south on I‐57 to Rt.17 (which is already a divided 4 lane east of I‐57 to Rt.1) to head east towards I‐65. At Rt. 1 continue east with a much smaller and more affordable alternative is to design and construct a road south of Momence to meet up and connect with IN State Road 10, which would need to be widened to a 4 lane from the Stateline to I‐65. Also include the improving & widening US20 & US12 through Northwest Indiana. By facilitating these suggestions we fully believe this would result in a much better fiscally responsible solution to traffic concerns in these areas. • The preservation of thousands of acres of productive farmland that would be destroyed by the Illiana project. Along with affecting over 323 Ag parcels with over 346 Ag families affected as well as over 386 total parcels affected including homes, farms, business' & land. • Mainly an Illinois issue, until IL can be fiscally responsible with taxpayer monies & pay its past & current bills as well as repair the State infrastructure already in place not one penny should be wasted on politically motivated projects such as the Illiana. Since Illiana has stated as a meeting with municipalities that the Illiana project is directly tied to IDOT's Peotone Airport project. Taxpayer money MUST stop being wasted on these 2 white elephant projects. • We further feel that the Illiana would create horrendous financial burdens on townships & counties due to the removal of the land from tax roles, on fire protection districts due to having to service the Illiana as well as creating increased response times for fire/ambulance/police due to road closures thus creating a health & safety issue, & on school districts due to increased bus times & decreased tax dollars which are already severely distressed due to major federal/state funding cuts. The following petition was submitted with 898 signatures between both Indiana and Illinois residents. We, the undersigned, support a “NO BUILD,” for the proposed ILLIANA Corridor linking I65 and I55. The main argument for building this corridor is to streamline East/West truck traffic flow to current and proposed Illinois facilities, and to the proposed Peotone airport. Indiana has little to gain from the ILLIANA, and many issues: finance‐related, ownership‐related, environmental‐related, and study‐related need to be determined and made public before projecting any further plans regarding the ILLIANA. This road will ruin the lives of thousands of people who have invested in homes and property within several miles in any of the corridor’s paths. Statistically these roadways decrease property values, increase taxes, and bring noise, air, and light pollution to the area. Farmland, natural areas, and wildlife habitat will be paved over and lost. Please help the taxpayers stand up for the right to live their lives as the rest of us, in the homes and properties that they invested their lives in. The following petition was submitted with 289 signatures. At Issue‐Illiana Corridor Expressway Construction The hereafter listed homeowners and business owners are ADAMANTLY OPPOSED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE Illiana Corridor. We unanimously agree that the construction of a corridor would adversely affect our area. NO CONSTRUCTION OF THE ILLIANA CORRIDOR The following petition was submitted with 439 signatures. I support the proposed Illiana Expressway. The Illiana will create jobs, attract new economic development, and enhance freight mobility throughout our region. The 9,000 construction jobs and 28,000 long‐term jobs that this project will bring will aid Indiana's stagnant unemployment rate. The traffic on this new corridor will draw consumers into existing communities, creating new opportunities for commercial and industrial growth. This highway will also provide a more efficient route for the movement of freight from Will County's intermodal yards to the Gary Airport and the Port of Indiana. In addition to creating new employment, this new highway will protect one of our most important existing economic engines ‐‐ the freight industry. This is one of the only industries showing employment growth, and it is all dependent upon users being able to move goods quickly into, out of, and within the region. The Borman Expressway is among the worst freight bottlenecks in the United States, and our regional system needs to grow along with demand in order for our region to maintain its status as the Crossroads of the United States. When rail bottlenecks slowed traffic, routes moved to Memphis and Columbus, taking jobs with them. We are in a position to stop this threat, and I ask you to do just that. Please include the Illiana Expressway in NIRPC's long‐term plan. The following petition was submitted with 146 signatures. Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission To: Planning Commission, Please do not add the Illiana Tollroad to the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan. The road is inconsistent with the plan's core principles to invest in existing communities and modernize our current transportation and infrastructure assets. With road costs projected to be over a billion dollars, the Illiana Tollroad would siphon off funds for projects already in the plan which do fit the plan's principles. Located outside the existing urbanized area, it would foster sprawl rather than support existing communities. The Illiana is an example of an unsustainable project for the following reasons: ‐ INDOT hasn't shown how tolls could generate enough revenue to cover the $1 billion plus cost of the road. ‐ Cost estimates for the road are much lower than other similar major capital projects across the nation. ‐ If the remotely‐located Illiana tollroad does not generate needed tolls, the public will likely need to bail out the project. ‐ There are better investments for our limited transportation dollars than this speculative project. ‐ The Illiana tollroad will diminish the habitat value along the border of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, a globally significant natural wonder, and will degrade the high quality waters of the Kankakee River. ‐ The Illiana will pave over rich productive agricultural land and farms that have been owned by families for generations. The Northwest Indiana region cannot afford this expensive project that is inconsistent with the principles of the 2040 Plan. Continue to protect NIRPC's responsible and sustainable vision for the region, do not add the Illiana Tollway to the 2014‐2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and NIRPC's 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan (CRP). The following petition was submitted with 484 signatures. We the undersigned do hereby certify that we are registered voters in the states of Illinois and/or Indiana, and as such voters, we do hereby protest the construction of the Illiana corridor.
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