Rick Kuner, AICP Citizens for Appropriate Transportation September - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Rick Kuner, AICP Citizens for Appropriate Transportation September 30, 2013 Rick Kuner - September 30, 2013 1 An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does two things: 1. Recommends a Preferred Alternative 2. Identifies Mitigation Measures to

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Rick Kuner, AICP Citizens for Appropriate Transportation September 30, 2013

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1. Recommends a Preferred Alternative
2. Identifies Mitigation Measures to limit negative

environmental impacts. NEPA Policy is Avoid – Minimize – Mitigate

1. Avoid negative impacts.

2. Minimize negative impacts if you cannot avoid them.

3. Mitigate negative impacts if you cannot avoid or minimize them.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does two things:

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1. Purpose and Need
1. Document the need for the project
2. Explain the purposes of the project

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2. Prudent & Feasible Alternatives

 Build Alternatives do little to reduce congestion in the

General Purpose Lanes

 Design Ramps no higher than grade level  Use some of the CSX track space  CTA Blue Line can transport more persons than

expressway lanes

 Transportation and Land Use should work together  Consider all Crash Mitigation Factors

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18 16.5 16.25 16.5 16.75

5 10 15 20 2040 No Build + EXP GP & EXP & HCT HOV 2+ & HCT HOT 3+ & HCT TOLL & HCT Hours

2040 No Build and Round 3 Build Alternatives

Daily Hours of Congestion (Weekday) for General Purpose Lanes

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CSX Right-of-Way

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1. High Traffic Volumes decrease space between vehicles,

so crash frequency is higher

2. Lane Widths are usually 12 feet, but IDOT is proposing

11 foot lanes at the Oak Park Avenue Pinch Point

3. Shoulder Widths
4. Speed Differential among Lanes
5. Extent of Recurring Congestion

Crash Mitigation Factors

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3. Rigorous Analysis of Impacts
a. Air Quality
b. Noise
c. Social / Economic
d. Environmental Justice
e. Parks – Barrie, Rehm, Conservatory, Wenonah
f. Historic / Architectural – Gunderson District
g. Energy
h. Property Acquisition
i. Construction Mitigation

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4. Comprehensive & Fair Evaluation of

Alternatives

Economic development, environmental, financial, and

social criteria are not considered yet. IDOT rejected alternatives in Round 2 prior to considering these criteria.

NEPA sets minimums. There is no reason IDOT cannot

do more.

Small differences among performance scores projected to

Year 2040.

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5. Meaningful Citizen Participation
1. 10 months to respond to June 2012 IDOT

requested

2. Three “Connections” News since October

2009 (four years into IDOT’s Study)

3. Flawed planning process

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How an EIS Process Ends

1. Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS)

2. Public Comment Period
3. Final Environmental Impact Statement

(FEIS)

4. Record of Decision (ROD) Issued by the

U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

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1. We are not seeing the best alternatives from IDOT.
2. If we do nothing, we will get a poor solution.
3. The decisions we make will have long-term, significant

impacts.

Concluding Comments

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