Letters to the editor: A Gateway Divider

Published: Wednesday, May. 05 2004, E. St. Louis Journal 

To the Editor:

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The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) claims population growth justifies building a four to six lane limited access highway linking Columbia
and Troy (the Gateway Connecter or 158 Outer Belt).

IDOT's plan divides neighborhoods, school districts, and towns, and paves over farm land, turning country roads into limited access highways.

STOP 158 is a growing number of more than a thousand citizens who oppose this for many reasons. Here are two:

Reason one: IDOT made faulty projections. IDOT predicted St. Clair County population would increase to 265,000 by the year 2000. Wrong. Population has
declined from a 1970 high of 286,000 to a low of 256,000 by 2000, says the U.S. Census Bureau. Population is relocating within the metro-east, with little or
no net increase.

Bad estimates make bad conclusions. This mistake would cost taxpayers more than a half billion dollars, just to build the road, let alone maintain it.

But this is IDOT's plan, despite a Brookings Institution report telling metro St. Louis that sprawling growth far exceeds our modest population expansion.

Reason two: outer belts encourage urban sprawl, weakening core cities and threatening quality of life throughout Metro-East communities and rural areas.

New housing, malls, and strip malls in the outer rim mean increasingly deserted inner cities. Greater tax burdens fall on all of us to fund two infrastructures, one old and one new (schools, police and fire protection, sewers, ground water control, and more). These costs are on top of $500,000,000 to build the road.

IDOT says "urban sprawl is a very broad issue which encompasses more than transportation." IDOT says it can't influence where people relocate, but merely
responds.

We disagree. IDOT is no passive party to sprawl. Sprawl is not possible unless enabled by car travel. IDOT is an enabler. IDOT aids and abets sprawl. "Build a
highway and they will come."

Respected organizations such as the Texas Transportation Institute, the Surface Transportation Policy Project, and the Center for Urban Transportation Research
all agree that widening roads causes congestion and sprawl.

Ordinary citizens, elected officials, persons concerned with zoning and transportation are part of the solution as well as the problem. This is particularly true of IDOT, who ought not pass the buck, saying "it's not in my department."

We do not consider IDOT's advice "go talk to your elected officials" a responsive answer, but an inappropriate effort to absolve itself of responsibility (which, by the way, elected officials we have talked with put squarely on IDOT's shoulders and vice versa). We believe IDOT is aware of the influence it could have, should it wish to exercise it.

When is the last time you heard a public official or agency say, "I made a mistake"? To be sure, saying you were wrong takes courage. But others have done it, and earned the respect of those they serve. Does IDOT have the courage to do the right thing?

For more information, visit the website: www.stop158.org. We even provide a link to IDOT, so you can see their point of view.