Road Madness

Promoting bicycle riding as an alternative to cars seems a good thing, right? The fewer cars we have on the roads, the less wear and tear on the roads, and the less need for widening them in the future.

There is a great informational video from the McHenry County Bicycle Advocates about the need to include bicycle lanes when planning to expand local road like Rakow Road!

If you have driven on Rakow, you know that it is a major east-west route in one of the most congested parts of the county, allowing people to drive from Randall Road to Route 31 as an alternative to Route 14.

Currently, Rakow can also be used for bicycle commuting because there is a sizable shoulder. However, plans to widen the road would mean that the shoulder would be eliminated, and bicycle commuting would be effectively eliminated as well.

The last reason I heard for this change was "cost." It costs more to include a bicycle lane, both in terms of design and pavement installation, because it means there is additional pavement to allow for both bicycles and cars to use the road safely.

Now, what if there were some highway funds that could be moved from a different project in the county and used for this one?

I know just the project: the proposed Alden Road widening project in Hartland and Alden Townships. The County Highway Department wants to add 8 foot shoulders the length of Alden Road because of safety concerns, and that will cost millions of dollars.

Alden Road does not have a lot of traffic - I've driven it several different times of day and days of the week recently just to see, and I can say that traffic is sparse. The impact of the widening would be huge, however. Landowners along the road have flagged trees and structures that would be affected by the increased shoulders -- it looks like at least 100 trees, a barn and portions of a couple of houses would be destroyed to add a wider shoulder to this rural road.

Alden Road also does not really provide an important travel alternative in this largely rural portion of the county, as Rakow does in a congested area. Nor does Alden Road make sense as a commuter bicycle route, as Rakow does... In terms of priorities, where would those road construction dollars best be spent?

So, here's a thought: why not reduce the speed limit on Alden Road to 45 miles per hour to improve safety, skip the expensive engineering and widening, and shift the Alden Road funds to the bicycle lane on Rakow Road? It would save lots of trees, a couple of houses and a barn, and would ensure that commuters can opt for riding their bicycles instead of driving their cars in a densely developed area of the county.

The MCBA website has more information, including a petition asking the county to include a bicycle lane on Rakow Road. Also, the Alden Road Alliance webiste has more information on the proposed Alden Road project.