Connecting Communities
DuPage Region Caucus
July 8th, 2003
A Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission project in partnership
with: Citizen Advocacy Center DuPage Babysitting Co-op Mothers and More
Illinois Prairie Path
Connecting Communities caucuses are a public involvement
follow-up to the Connecting Communities summits that involved
over 500 people from throughout northeastern Illinois. The
caucuses are designed to take a "snapshot" of a community's
perceptions of the implemention of recommendations
formulated during the summits. Some recommendations were
major projects that could only be accomplished over a long
time period. Others were practical, short term, and inexpensive
solutions to community mobility deficits.
A strong desire for choice and change was identified
during the DuPage County Connecting Communities
summit in February 2002. Over a year and a half
later some summit participants reconvened for a
Connecting Communities caucus to discuss progress
made over the past year and a half. While many of
the summit recommendations were capital projects
that may not be instituted for another twenty to
thirty years, there were suggestions that could be
addressed in a shorter time frame:
decision-makers need to take a meaningful look
at incorporating bus service into communities
to connect people's homes to downtowns and
train-stations;
pedestrian infrastructure needs to be accessible
and not an afterthought to roadway projects;
more attention and money needs to be directed
toward preserving open space.
Maximize Use of Transit
While there have been several improvements in
transit, participants felt that there were still many
opportunities for improvement. Participants noted
that train stations and grade separations have
recently been planned and discussed. Bus shelters
are still absent in various communities and access
to Pace buses has decreased in places like Wheaton.
Metra's refusal to allow bikes on their trains impedes
residents from using bikes to connect to stations.
One participant noted that local governments appear
to place more emphasis on cars than transit and
more emphasis on transit is needed! Twenty-four
hour access to train stations would maximize use by
allowing transit riders to wait in stations during
inclement weather. Additionally routes should be
advertised and promoted by businesses located near
bus and train lines.
Make Our Communities Safe for all Travelers
Pedestrians, pedestrians, pedestrians. While there
have been new sidewalks, trails, and bikeways built
in places throughout the county, there are still some
impediments to pedestrian travel. This group was
adamant that more grade separations at railroad
crossings are needed. Intergovernmental cooperation between
the different cities in DuPage County on sidewalk issues is crucial
for this part of the region. Cooperation would allow better
connections between sidewalks and increase pedestrian access
between each city. Poor snow removal policy was one complaint.
Also, sidewalks are only built on new road widening projects
Excerpt from DuPage Region Connecting
Communities, February 2002:
"Although DuPage County is the most built-up county outside
of Cook County, its population still grew nearly 16% from 1990-
2000. More than 900,000 people, about a third of all collar-
county residents, live in DuPage County. A once homogenous
population is now accented with diverse neighbors.
Transportation options must diversify to meet new needs. The
county was 15% minority in 2000, with communities like Addison,
Oak Brook and Wood Dale having minority populations of 20-
50%.
DuPage County was originally home to various Native American
communities. Trappers and traders made up the first wave of
Europeans in the early 1800s. Early American settlers came to
the area in the first part of the 1830s and lived near present-
day Naperville, DuPage County's oldest city. The farmland areas
that dominated DuPage County at the turn of the last century
have largely disappeared. The DuPage River bisects the county
with two branches meandering through communities such as
Warrenville, Downers Grove, Naperville, Wheaton, Lisle, and
Glen Ellyn. An extensive bicycle and pedestrian trail system
that stretches through the county is another asset drawing
visitors and residents to explore the beauty of the area and
reminding us even now of the natural features that drew early
settlers."
