Fees For Proposed Trolley Rankle Aurora Residents
(CBS) -- Dozens of residents in Aurora are not happy about a proposed trolley in one neighborhood. That's because even if you don't use it, you'll still be charged for it.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports the proposed trolley would run from several new subdivisions to the Route 59 Metra Station, but the alderman who represents those areas says not a single resident she's canvassed wants the trolley.
Construction is still booming in the subdivisions along Aurora's Station Boulevard, but residents are fighting a proposed trolley service that would be paid for, not with fares, but with a tax.
"The mandated tax and fee would start at 20 dollars initially and go up annually based upon the city of Aurora's determination," said Alderman Lynne Johnson.
Twenty bucks per household, per month, whether you use the trolley or not and most here say, they won't.
"We estimate that 80 percent, possibly 90 percent, don't use the train," said Russell Gallagher of the Lehigh Station Condo Association. "So the overwhelming majority wouldn't even use it anyway."
But, they'd still have to pay.
The proposed trolley would run little more than a mile to the Route 59 Metra station and even though they oppose it, residents along Station Boulevard admit, the fee isn't exactly a surprise.
"When we originally bought, it sounded like it would be a good idea, a nice option to have," said resident Laura Brady.
But the shops and stores developers envisioned for the residents and for the trolley to serve haven't been built, making the trolley, in their eyes, more of a folly.
"I don't want to be paying for something that I'm not going to use," Brady said.
In a statement, the city of Aurora says it's fulfilling a promise it made to attract developers that it would develop transit in the area.
They say no decision has been made on the type of system, or the cost and that Alderman Johnson's cost estimates for residents are "purely speculation and wildly misleading."
