Residents warn trustees a proposed truck‑stop/gas station could create traffic and safety problems; no application filed yet

Multiple residents warned the board that a proposed truck‑stop/gas station at the I‑55/127th Street corridor would create traffic and safety problems if pursued. Resident Sarah Alvestad said she obtained traffic counts and engineering input showing high traffic volumes (she cited an average annual daily traffic figure of 21,700 on 127th Street and 130,800 on I‑55) and told trustees the intersection and existing signal are not designed to handle heavy truck turning and stacking without major reconstruction. She said replacing the traffic signal could cost a quarter‑ to a half‑million dollars and that short weaving distances at ramp termini would create hazards for trucks merging into local traffic.

Resident Carol Loves noted petitions opposing a gas‑station plan and asked whether the proposal had been reviewed by the Environmental Commission; she said petition signatures (which she described as "probably at least 2,500") include residents of Lemont and Pleasantdale. Robert Peterson and others asked whether the village would seek information about potential uses for annexed parcels and said residents remained engaged in monitoring future proposals. The board and staff said no formal gas‑station application had been submitted; trustees reiterated that, if and when an application is filed, it would be accompanied by traffic, stormwater and environmental studies and formal public review.