Growth conference will focus on area transportation issues

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Transportation will be the major topic discussed during the third annual growth conference, scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at the First Christian Church. The conference will in-clude two general sessions and two one-hour break out sessions. Topics to be covered include planning for in-termodals, planning for railroad traffic, bike trails and comprehensive transportation plans. Rick Powell, region 3 Il-linois Department of Trans-portation engineer, will, during the first general session from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m., discuss major road projects. Topics will include widening of Illinois 47 and U.S. 6, the Brisbin Road interchange and the Prairie Parkway. Bike trails and planning for railroad traffic will be the topics for the break out session from 9:20 to 10:20 a.m. Ed Barsotti of the League of Illinois Bicyclists will talk about existing trails, future trails and how bike trails can be incorporated into the transportation plans. Eric Pitcher of the Bur-lington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and Mike Stead of the railroad safety division of Illinois Commerce Com-mission will talk about the impact of more train traffic and how towns and the county can benefit financially while ensuring safety. Planning for intermodals and transportation plans for small towns and townships will be discussed during the second break-out session from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Jason Ander-son, economic development director for Ro-chelle, Rob Adams of Tran-Systems Corp., and Steve Laz-zara of the Will County Land Use Depart-ment, will discuss planning for intermodals and their impact on local roads and congestion. Anderson will talk about Rochelle's planning for the Global III intermodal development and the effect it has had on their area. Dan Draper of Chamlin and Associates will discuss how small towns and townships can plan for their transportation needs and the role they play in planning the regional transportation system. The second general session, from 11:35 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will include a panel discussion of all presenters with Lou Haus-smann of Baxter and Woodman considering comprehensive transportation plans. The Grundy County Growth Conference is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Grundy County through its Con-necting the Visions program.