District 68, 99 Bus Terminal Won't be in Lisle

Though Lisle village trustees called a 10-minute recess for the village attorney to make revisions to a document that would allow bus company Westway Coach to operate a terminal on Indiana Avenue, they ultimately decided against the special use request in a 4-2 vote Monday evening. 

This is the second time the board saw a presentation from the company, which begins serving Downers Grove school districts 58 and 99, and Woodridge School District 68 this school year.  In June trustees voted to through the planning and zoning process after accusations that the first public hearing had not been conducted properly.

District 68 and District 99 said the denied request wouldn't affect bus service for their students. The first day of school for both districts is next Wednesday.

"It is our understanding that while this setback poses an inconvenience to our new provider, bus service for District 99 students in the new school year will not be adversely impacted," District 99 Communications Director Jill Browning wrote in an e-mail.

Westway will run its routes out of its Lemont location for District 68, according to Kevin Wegner, assistant superintendent of business for the district.

Trustee Cathy Cawiezel said prior to a vote that she would remain “on the fence” unless a portion of the potential bus traffic was diverted from Yender to Indiana Avenue.

Trustee Mark Boyle suggested the village add a provision that allows the board to evaluate the terminal’s performance and impact on the area.

The request has drawn fire from locals since its in front of the PZC in May.

Several residents, including those living on nearby Yender Avenue and Hitchcock Woods, spoke on the terminal’s potential impact to their quality of life. Among the concerns stated were pollution, its potential danger to children, current traffic issues and the testing of bus horns over the course of an hour and a half each morning. 

Other residents insisted the item should be rejected based on prior, ‘flawed’ hearings. Business owner Brian McClure has repeatedly stated his intentions throughout the hearings to bring forth suit after he said his rights were denied, most recently when his attempts to subpoena several items at the were denied.

Early Monday the Citizens for Healthy Development issued a bulletin listing the code requirements for a special use permit.

While Westway representatives agreed to an altered traffic pattern, trustee Joe Schmitt ultimately feels the area is ‘approaching saturation.’ He was one of four opposing votes.

Contracts provided by Distrcit 68 indicate the company is seeking a site within five miles of the nearest school boundary. Another portion of the fleet is operated out of Villa Park, where Westway Coach is based.

In a phone interview with Patch, a representative with Westway's parent company, Cook-Illinois Corporation, said they’d examined other possible sites in Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Western Springs and Westmont.