Cook-DuPage Corridor

March 2008 Public Comment Period Results and Outcomes

Public input in the transportation planning process leads to better solutions and more informed decisions about alternative futures and ultimately, a more broadly supported program of public investment. The goal of the public involvement program for the Cook DuPage Corridor is to enable the general public, government agencies, businesses and other stakeholders to receive background and technical information in order to provide meaningful input to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) during the planning process.

In February 2008, the Cook DuPage Corridor study reached an important milestone. The Policy Committee unanimously agreed on a future transportation system to serve the more than one million residents and over 750,000 workers of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Their decision was released for public comment during March 2008. The Cook-DuPage Policy Committee will carefully consider the public input and finalize their decision in May. In June, the RTA Board will be asked to forward the results to CMAP for consideration in the next Regional Transportation Plan. The RTA staff will start the third study phase, a detailed evaluation of the transportation recommendations.

The second formal public comment period of the Options Feasibility study phase was held from March 1 - 31, 2008. The purpose of the public comment period was to provide an opportunity to review and comment on the Preliminary System Recommendations and the Preliminary Supporting Recommendations of the Options Feasibility study.

During the public comment period, the RTA hosted five public meetings at different locations in and around the corridor to obtain public input on the recommended transportation scenario. These meetings were conducted in downtown Chicago/Loop, Cicero, Oak Park, Lombard and Addison. The preliminary recommendations and public input events have received extensive media coverage in print and radio. Over 150 people attended the five meetings and approximately 900 individual public comments were submitted and reviewed. The raw comments are compiled in the downloadable .pdf files below.

If you are interested in learning more about the Policy Committee’s February 13, 2008 decision, you can download the preliminary recommendations presented below:

The preliminary transportation system recommendations present a recommended system framework and eight specific, major transportation projects to further evaluate through a very detailed, follow-on study.

Interactive Map - Cook-Dupage Corridor Recommendations

Click for interactive map

The preliminary supporting recommendations are essentially a set strategies to advance mobility improvements in the Cook DuPage Corridor in the following topics:

Policy Issues
Major Capital Investments
Smart Corridors
Connector Services
Circulation/Distribution Services at Employment Centers
Strategic Roadway Improvements

You may want to check out the following information before formulating your comments:

The complex travel patterns and the six, dispersed employment centers impacting the corridor.
The approved Problem Statement succinctly lays out the mobility problem that the Cook DuPage Corridor aims to address.
The approved Goals and Objectives for Corridor Mobility Improvements collectively express what is critical for potential transportation improvement options to achieve in addition to addressing the Problem Statement. The Goals and Objectives provided the basis for our technical evaluation.

If you’re interested in what alternatives the Policy Committee considered when developing their recommendations, you can download the three alternative system recommendations forwarded by the Technical Committee that served as the basis for the Policy Committee decision on February 13, 2008:

Further technical background and materials are available from the Committees page in the Technical Committee section.

Thanks for your great ideas and input!