Fact & Fiction

The Route 53 extension won't affect me because I live in Eastern Lake County.

The Route 53 extension will improve the quality of life for you and all Lake County residents. Lake County has few major arterial roads and those are clogged at rush hour and other times during the day. Route 53 will balance the traffic load and allow you to move more quickly throughout the county. Specifically, it will relieve tremendous pressure on the I-94 Tollway and US 41 -- AND all of the other North-South Lake County options including Route 43, Route 21, US 45, Route 83, US 12 and Route 59. Plus, a Route 53 extension will give you more convenient access to the Northwest suburbs and other parts of the Chicago area. The solution is to Build 53 and Vote YES on April 7th.

The Route 53 extension has been talked about for years - there is no reason to believe it's going to happen this time.

Political leaders on the local, state and national levels are looking for evidence that residents are in favor of this project. A "yes" victory in the April 7 referendum will provide that evidence. Never before has the public had a chance to weigh in on the extension. With your "yes" vote, you can tell these leaders that you want them to get started on this project. They all know Lake County congestion has hit critical mass and that the time to build this extension is now. The extension is needed - there is no doubt about that. You have the power to spur these leaders to act, and make it clear that you want this project to happen. The solution is to Build 53 and Vote YES on April 7th.

"Building 53 will cause more congestion. It will only fill up with traffic. The 53 extension will cause 'urban sprawl'."

Congestion is here - Route 53 will help it, not expand it. Many vehicles will use Route 53, and that's a good thing. That means it will decrease congestion elsewhere in the county. As for urban sprawl - it's here. Right now, all the houses and businesses that were built in smaller towns are causing the roads to get clogged throughout the county. Route 53 will improve the county's ability to handle all the growth. The solution is to Build 53 and Vote YES on April 7th.

"It will encourage development."

Lake County needs new business development. That is a good thing. We also need to help the businesses that are here and are hurt by the antiquated and congested road system. Development generates important tax revenues for local governments. People want to come to Lake County because they perceive the quality of life is high compared to the cost. If your community wants to control or limit residential development, it can - at the local village level. Local village boards can pass ordinances limiting development. But it is intolerable to allow the entire Lake County infrastructure to become so poor that all of Lake County becomes undesirable for development. The solution is to Build 53 and Vote YES on April 7th.

"Public transportation is the solution to traffic problems."

The Route 53 extension and mass transit improvements will both ease current traffic congestion. Better commuter rail, bus, senior and service to persons with disabilities will help reduce some traffic congestion. Lake County officials, along with RTA, Pace & Metra, are working on such improvements. Most commuters in Lake County, however, travel by car will continue to travel this way. Many areas of Lake County are low density developments that support auto use and improving transit use may not be cost effective. The Route 53 extension will provide a solution to Lake County commuters now stuck in traffic and help relieve arterial traffic congestion. The solution is to Build 53 and vote YES on April 7th.

"Money would be better spent fixing or widening the roads we have."

Existing roads in need of repair, obviously, should be repaired or widened. Voting Yes to building Route 53 is a separate issue. But part of the reason why existing roads are crumbling and crowded is overuse - overuse that can be alleviated by building a much-needed additional arterial like Route 53 and voting YES on April 7th.

"The extension is bad for the environment."

No road can be as environmentally friendly as untouched land. If this were the only consideration, there would be no roads at all. A more sensible approach is to compare the costs to the benefits. The environmental cost of building a road in an already well-populated and congested area is minimal. Meanwhile, the benefit of providing sorely needed transportation infrastructure is huge. Besides, there will also be a significant offsetting environmental gain from building Route 53. The carbon footprint of freely moving traffic is far less than the literally thousands of tons of exhaust produced by vehicles standing still in ever-increasing traffic jams. There will be many environmental studies performed, as with any major construction project. The solution is to Build 53 and Vote YES on April 7th.