I applaud the decision of the Oak Park Plan Commission to vote down the petition from QuickTrip to allow them to build a gas station and convenience store at Harlem and Garfield. It was a four-hour meeting, and the commission members deserve praise for their decision and insightful questions. The committee chair did an excellent job of managing a boisterous crowd and one particularly rude participant. Our neighbors who spoke did so clearly and made cogent points.
Although the company may have become familiar with village zoning law and IDOT regulations, they did not do their homework when it came to our neighborhood and to Oak Park. They seemed unaware of our concerns about traffic, crime, or the environment. For example, they had to be prompted about charging stations and rooftop solar for their structures.
The design was very generic and cookie cutter. Why do they need so many parking spaces? How would they avoid overnight parking? The entrance and egress, for customers coming from and going south on Harlem, would clog traffic on Garfield and have a high potential for accidents. I would challenge their traffic engineer at 5 p.m. to either attempt to make a left onto Garfield from the current strip mall and/or make a left off southbound Harlem onto Garfield. The proposed entrance on Lexington was also problematic, given that it was directly across the street from the park, would have increased traffic, and was in clear violation of the relevant building code.
I understand the desire of the Mohr family to move on. The current site (including the ugly strip mall) clearly needs attention. I suggest that the village commit substantial funding toward environmental cleanup to help attract new developers (after all, they found funds for streetscaping elsewhere in the village!).
Roy Plotnick
Oak Park