The deal with Deerfield Parkway

Pardon my posting lag. The Memorial Day weekend was delightfully exhausting, and I spent precious little time with the computer.

But commuting carries on, as does road construction.

Commenter Rob asked, “Anyone know what project is planned at or near Deerfield Rd. & Milwaukee. EXPECT DELAY flashing signs appeared on both roads last week. Unable to find any info about what to expect?”

Filed under: Roads, Berenesa Plaza, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield Parkway, Milwaukee Avenue

Road Week Ahead – April 28 – May 2

Here’s what’s on tap for Lake County commuters this week: Railroad crossing improvements in Buffalo Grove, rain’s on the way, and Gurnee residents get their say.

Filed under: Road Conditions, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield Parkway, Gurnee, Metra, Pace

Road Week Ahead: March 31 – April 4

Here’s what’s on tap for Lake County commuters this week: A (temporarily) two-lane Tri-State for Monday morning’s commute, the last of the Lake County Community Forums, a Town Hall meeting, and a 60-degree exit for March.

Filed under: Road Conditions, Aptakisic Road, Brandywyn Lane, Buffalo Grove, Fremont Center Road, Fremont Township, Gilmer Road, Tri-State Tollway

Gilmer Road: More "stop", less "go"

A new traffic signal was recently activated at Gilmer and Schwerman Roads in Hawthorn Woods.

This is one of three new traffic signals designed to regulate traffic coming onto, leaving from, and passing along Gilmer. Coming soon are a signal at Diamond Lake Road in Long Grove, and a signal at Liberty Lakes Boulevard in Wauconda.

I’m sure the residents who use these intersecting roads are happy to have these signals. I wonder how much these signals will slow the morning traffic along Gilmer. Having only a handful of traffic signals, Gilmer is one of the fastest routes from the Volo area to Buffalo Grove and is a two-lane road for most of its run. I worry about backups a la Route 120 bubbling up around these new signals. The biggest backups occur at Gilmer’s signaled intersections, such as Hawley.

Fortunately, a left turn lane was constructed at Schwerman to accommodate possible backups due to the traffic signal. I wish Grayslake would’ve taken a similar pro-action with the signalization of Allegheny Road and Route 120.

Filed under: Roads, Allegheny Road, Buffalo Grove, Diamond Lake Road, Gilmer Road, Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Liberty Lakes Blvd, Long Grove, Route 120, Schwerman Road, Volo, Wauconda

The new congestion: Freight trains

Driving north on Route 83 as of late, I’ve noticed red white and blue signs popping up in Mundelein yards. The signs list the slogan “People before Freight” and the Web address FightRailCongestion.com.

FightRailCongestion.com is maintained by the Barrington Communities Against CN Rail Congestion, a committee protesting Canadian National Railroad’s intent to increase rail traffic along EJ&E lines from 5 trains per day to 20. They have included Mundelein, through which the EJ&E tracks also run, in their campaign.

The EJ&E tracks cross several roads that may factor into my commute: Route 83, Gilmer Road, Fairfield Road. I don’t know what times of day this traffic would be heaviest, but increased train traffic during rush hours will slow my commute and I am not a fan of that idea. In my experience, commuter trains don’t cause as long of a delay as freight trains and thus any delay might be manageable, but freight trains are another story.

Filed under: Rails, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, CN, EJ&E, Metra, Mundelein, railroad