The Chainlink

Anyone heard about the campaign below or seen this sign?

Website is - http://www.dontchangebarringtonhills.com/

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I lived in Barrington Hills for 7 years and this doesn't surprise me in the least. Despite the fact that it is the perfect place to ride bikes, it is the most insular, homogeneous, stagnant place. All the kids called it Borington.

When my son was a 11-year old, baggy pants skate roller blader (so adorable), the town of Barrington wanted to ban roller blades on town side walks so that kids would either have to blade in the streets or take their skates off and walk in their socks through town. I'm not kidding. These are the important issues of the day that these elected officials focus on.

They would rather have cyclists (or 11-year-old roller bladers) killed on the streets rather than put in bike lanes. I totally know where this is coming from!!!

I have been reading the thread and following the links, thanks, but hopefully someone will benefit from your summary.

Reboot Oxnard said:

The folks in Barrington aren't saying who can and can't pass through their community, nor are they dictating what mode of travel can be used. What they are saying is that they like their community just the way it is and that they don't want to change it to suit you - a non-resident.

Haegers Bend is a quiet little country road that connects nothing to nothing. It's not a shortcut to anything and nobody passes through the community on this road trying to get somewhere else. Nobody - nobody - who doesn't live there ever uses this road unless they are there to enjoy the rustic quietude. Insisting that the community should upgrade the road and install bike lanes so that you can enjoy it is...something special. Indeed, the community doesn't own the land the road sits on, it's literally private property and the road can not be altered or expanded without the approval of the landowners who gave the community a conditional easement to build it.

As to supporters of the project, Barrington Hills held a community meeting to discuss the project a couple of days ago and there was one supporter. One. Everyone else was in opposition, most strongly so. This project isn't supported by the community, it's supported by tourists and the politicians that brought it up have already been voted out of office or are backtracking on it as fast as they can. Look through the posts here on chainlink and you'll see the scope of the problem - Barrington Hills is a small community of about 4000 people yet many chainlinkers - of whom, few if any are residents - ride the roads out there with some regularity.

Barrington Hills doesn't need outside money to repair the existing road. According to reports, they have never taken any outside money for road work. A couple of years ago they asked for some outside money to repave this road and were turned down, at least in part because they didn't include bike lanes. In response to that denial, the proposal was expanded to include the bike lanes but the community has clearly decided that they don't want the outside money badly enough to accept those terms.

h' 1.0 said:

How does this work exactly? You draw lines around an area and decide who can and can't pass through it and by what mode of travel? Every little feifdom decides separately what sort of infrastructure there will be, no potential for an area or regional plan with consistency from place to place?

I have no say in what happens 2 blocks from my home because there's a ward boundary in between?

Is it inappropriate for me to get involved in a campaign to shape the way Wrigley Field is developed because I don't live on the corner of Wilton and Waveland?

Also... odd framing of Barrington Hills as being single-mindedly against this project.  No single BH resident actually wants bike lanes? Not a one?

Sounds like we have a fun map of the N. Suburbs shaping up here.  Borington Hills... Buffalo Grave.... any others?

Mary Kay McCaw said:

I lived in Barrington Hills for 7 years and this doesn't surprise me in the least. Despite the fact that it is the perfect place to ride bikes, it is the most insular, homogeneous, stagnant place. All the kids called it Borington.

When my son was a 11-year old, baggy pants skate roller blader (so adorable), the town of Barrington wanted to ban roller blades on town side walks so that kids would either have to blade in the streets or take their skates off and walk in their socks through town. I'm not kidding. These are the important issues of the day that these elected officials focus on.

They would rather have cyclists (or 11-year-old roller bladers) killed on the streets rather than put in bike lanes. I totally know where this is coming from!!!

Of course! Fartlet, Rolling Ghettoes. M T Prospects, Scumburg, Hawful Mistakes, Puke Ridge,
The list goes on and on

This game is easy to play...

Disdain for anyone who doesn't live and think you do is unseemly, at least. The hard part to believing in diversity and tolerance is learning to actually tolerate diversity and to value your differences. Just remember, most of the folks who live in Borrington or Fartlet are very grateful that they don't have to live in Shitcago, especially neighborhoods like Fucktown, Wicked Pork and the Best Poop. The list goes on and on. Or not - we could tear up the list and stop Othering people who aren't just like us.

David Lieb said:

Of course! Fartlet, Rolling Ghettoes. M T Prospects, Scumburg, Hawful Mistakes, Puke Ridge,
The list goes on and on

"Reboot Oxnard," shining beacon of tolerance.


Reboot Oxnard said:

This game is easy to play...

Disdain for anyone who doesn't live and think you do is unseemly, at least. The hard part to believing in diversity and tolerance is learning to actually tolerate diversity and to value your differences. Just remember, most of the folks who live in Borrington or Fartlet are very grateful that they don't have to live in Shitcago, especially neighborhoods like Fucktown, Wicked Pork and the Best Poop. The list goes on and on. Or not - we could tear up the list and stop Othering people who aren't just like us.

David Lieb said:

Of course! Fartlet, Rolling Ghettoes. M T Prospects, Scumburg, Hawful Mistakes, Puke Ridge,
The list goes on and on

But Mr. Pot, didn't you yourself decry the gratuitous use of "ghetto" in another recent Chainlink thread?

Hi, Barrington (village) resident checking in here

Here's a quick primer on the many Barringtons for you urbanites:

  • Barrington Village - Reasonably sized houses, sidewalks, walk to coffee shop, restaurants, and Metra
  • Barrington Hills - 'Gentleman Farmers', really, really, rich people, old & new money, horses, anger issues
  • North Barrington - Barrington Hills with smaller lots
  • South Barrington - Gigantic McMansions, largest concentration of ethnic diversity in all of the Barringtons
  • Lake Barrington - Retirees, industrial park

I do 90% of my riding in Barrington Hills, the quiet roads, rolling hills, long stretches without stop lights, and large properties make it an ideal place to ride. I usually ride by myself, during the week, so I'm not really part of the "packs of spandex clad professional bikers" - However this year I have seen a significant uptick in the anti-bicyclist mentality. From early in the season it was clear that the BH police were stepping up harassing bicyclists. No other words can describe what they are doing. Hiding behind trees around rural stop signs and writing tickets for cyclists not putting a foot on the ground is IMO harassment. A woman driving around BH and taking pictures of the cyclists and calling the police, who actually respond to this sort of nut-case is harassment. This latest no-bicycle lane movement is just a continuation of what's been happening all year (and for a number of years).

Bottom line is that BH doesn't want people driving or riding through their town. Unfortunately for them, the horse is out of the barn so to speak. People have discovered and enjoy the roads of BH and will continue to do so. BH residents can choose to embrace it, or continue to fight it, but the wheels of progress are on the side of bicyclists, not people who hate bicyclists.

LBS is a gated golf course community mostly in North Barrington. Tower Lakes is a large neighborhood on the far north end of North Barrington, and has it's own village government, yet is still part of Barrington. And there's Port Barrington too which used to be called Fox River Gardens or something. They aren't really part of Barrington.

North Barrington has some decent routes, but the roads are a bit more dangerous to ride.

Duane Waller said:

Isn't there also a Lake Barrington Shores? And a resident of Tower Lakes once told me they were "part of Barrington", whatever that means.

This is my first post in the forum, so please forgive a brief introduction.  I'm Tom Garritano, communications director at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).  We are responsible for the region's comprehensive long-range plan, which is called GO TO 2040.  Everything you could want to know and more is at www.cmap.illinois.gov.

Next I'd like to say that CMAP supports multi-modal transportation (that's planner-speak for "not just cars, but also transit, cycling, walking, etc.") and in particular supports citizen engagement in how important regional and local decisions get made, including decisions about infrastructure like the one being discussed in this thread.  And as an agency, we always respect and uphold the long tradition of local autonomy over land-use decisions.

Regarding the Haegars Bend project, CMAP is not involved, and there is no "CMAP plan" for that road.  I believe that project has been conflated mistakenly elsewhere on the Internet with a completely different project that will be starting soon through our Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program.  We have not yet selected a consultant to do the work described in this LTA request for proposals, which describes a collaboration among several communities (Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Hoffman Estates, East Dundee, and Carpentersville) to determine the best bikeway connection between Crabtree Nature Center and the Fox River Trail.

Thanks for reading this, and best wishes.

Tom



Reboot Oxnard said:

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Clybourn in Chicago and the answer is that it is public property. When the city wants to expand the road or add bike lanes, there is a process in place for it to purchase more land from the neighbors. They talk to the neighbors, give them a chance to comment and have input in the decision and, if needs be, they pay them for any land they take.

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Haegers Bend Road in Barrington Hills and the answer is that it is private property. The property that the bobcat is sitting on actually extends all the way to the middle of the road. Indeed, the neighbors actually pay property taxes on the road. The plan involves rebuilding this road to handle more and heavier traffic, including adding 8 feet of width (including a bike lane) and converting the road to a major north/south artery.

Barrington Hills has a master plan for their community that conflicts with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning plan. OK, stuff happens, but the CMAP plan for Haegers Bend Road is being implemented over the objections of local residents and without any compensation to the landowners for property to be taken. It's also being implemented not for the benefit of the local residents but for the benefit of people who want to drive (and bike) through their community. If something like that was tried in Chicago - say, installing bike lanes on Sheridan road without giving the neighbors any input and without compensating them for the land taken, there would be blood in the streets. I'd say that the folks in Barrington Hills are being fairly well behaved, considering.

Yeah, denizens of chainlink want more bike lanes The denizens of Barrington Hills do not - actually, they don't want more cars or trucks, either. Considering that the number of chainlinkers that regularly ride in Barrington Hills has to approach zero, we don't have much of a dog in this fight. Hating on them because they're happy with what they have (ain't money wonderful) isn't right and taking from them like the proposed plan does isn't fair.

Tom,

Thanks for clearing up what Reboot Oxnard posted below.

CMAP said:

This is my first post in the forum, so please forgive a brief introduction.  I'm Tom Garritano, communications director at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).  We are responsible for the region's comprehensive long-range plan, which is called GO TO 2040.  Everything you could want to know and more is at www.cmap.illinois.gov.

Next I'd like to say that CMAP supports multi-modal transportation (that's planner-speak for "not just cars, but also transit, cycling, walking, etc.") and in particular supports citizen engagement in how important regional and local decisions get made, including decisions about infrastructure like the one being discussed in this thread.  And as an agency, we always respect and uphold the long tradition of local autonomy over land-use decisions.

Regarding the Haegars Bend project, CMAP is not involved, and there is no "CMAP plan" for that road.  I believe that project has been conflated mistakenly elsewhere on the Internet with a completely different project that will be starting soon through our Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program.  We have not yet selected a consultant to do the work described in this LTA request for proposals, which describes a collaboration among several communities (Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Hoffman Estates, East Dundee, and Carpentersville) to determine the best bikeway connection between Crabtree Nature Center and the Fox River Trail.

Thanks for reading this, and best wishes.

Tom



Reboot Oxnard said:

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Clybourn in Chicago and the answer is that it is public property. When the city wants to expand the road or add bike lanes, there is a process in place for it to purchase more land from the neighbors. They talk to the neighbors, give them a chance to comment and have input in the decision and, if needs be, they pay them for any land they take.

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Haegers Bend Road in Barrington Hills and the answer is that it is private property. The property that the bobcat is sitting on actually extends all the way to the middle of the road. Indeed, the neighbors actually pay property taxes on the road. The plan involves rebuilding this road to handle more and heavier traffic, including adding 8 feet of width (including a bike lane) and converting the road to a major north/south artery.

Barrington Hills has a master plan for their community that conflicts with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning plan. OK, stuff happens, but the CMAP plan for Haegers Bend Road is being implemented over the objections of local residents and without any compensation to the landowners for property to be taken. It's also being implemented not for the benefit of the local residents but for the benefit of people who want to drive (and bike) through their community. If something like that was tried in Chicago - say, installing bike lanes on Sheridan road without giving the neighbors any input and without compensating them for the land taken, there would be blood in the streets. I'd say that the folks in Barrington Hills are being fairly well behaved, considering.

Yeah, denizens of chainlink want more bike lanes The denizens of Barrington Hills do not - actually, they don't want more cars or trucks, either. Considering that the number of chainlinkers that regularly ride in Barrington Hills has to approach zero, we don't have much of a dog in this fight. Hating on them because they're happy with what they have (ain't money wonderful) isn't right and taking from them like the proposed plan does isn't fair.

Thanks, Tom, and sorry none of us caught Reboot's error.


CMAP said:

This is my first post in the forum, so please forgive a brief introduction.  I'm Tom Garritano, communications director at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).  We are responsible for the region's comprehensive long-range plan, which is called GO TO 2040.  Everything you could want to know and more is at www.cmap.illinois.gov.

Next I'd like to say that CMAP supports multi-modal transportation (that's planner-speak for "not just cars, but also transit, cycling, walking, etc.") and in particular supports citizen engagement in how important regional and local decisions get made, including decisions about infrastructure like the one being discussed in this thread.  And as an agency, we always respect and uphold the long tradition of local autonomy over land-use decisions.

Regarding the Haegars Bend project, CMAP is not involved, and there is no "CMAP plan" for that road.  I believe that project has been conflated mistakenly elsewhere on the Internet with a completely different project that will be starting soon through our Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program.  We have not yet selected a consultant to do the work described in this LTA request for proposals, which describes a collaboration among several communities (Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Hoffman Estates, East Dundee, and Carpentersville) to determine the best bikeway connection between Crabtree Nature Center and the Fox River Trail.

Thanks for reading this, and best wishes.

Tom



Reboot Oxnard said:

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Clybourn in Chicago and the answer is that it is public property. When the city wants to expand the road or add bike lanes, there is a process in place for it to purchase more land from the neighbors. They talk to the neighbors, give them a chance to comment and have input in the decision and, if needs be, they pay them for any land they take.

Who owns the road in the image below? This is Haegers Bend Road in Barrington Hills and the answer is that it is private property. The property that the bobcat is sitting on actually extends all the way to the middle of the road. Indeed, the neighbors actually pay property taxes on the road. The plan involves rebuilding this road to handle more and heavier traffic, including adding 8 feet of width (including a bike lane) and converting the road to a major north/south artery.

Barrington Hills has a master plan for their community that conflicts with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning plan. OK, stuff happens, but the CMAP plan for Haegers Bend Road is being implemented over the objections of local residents and without any compensation to the landowners for property to be taken. It's also being implemented not for the benefit of the local residents but for the benefit of people who want to drive (and bike) through their community. If something like that was tried in Chicago - say, installing bike lanes on Sheridan road without giving the neighbors any input and without compensating them for the land taken, there would be blood in the streets. I'd say that the folks in Barrington Hills are being fairly well behaved, considering.

Yeah, denizens of chainlink want more bike lanes The denizens of Barrington Hills do not - actually, they don't want more cars or trucks, either. Considering that the number of chainlinkers that regularly ride in Barrington Hills has to approach zero, we don't have much of a dog in this fight. Hating on them because they're happy with what they have (ain't money wonderful) isn't right and taking from them like the proposed plan does isn't fair.

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