New Park-and-Ride Lot Open at Route 31 and Virginia Road

The area’s first formal park and ride lot has opened in Lake in the Hills at the corner of Illinois Route 31 and Virginia Road, according to a McHenry County Department of Transportation press release. 

The 105-space parking lot will give area residents a place where they can meet up with other people who want to car pool to areas such as the major employment centers in places like Schaumburg and Chicago.  

For years, areas residents have been using roadsides and shopping center parking lots to fulfill this need.  This parking lot offers a convenient, secure, lighted location to leave vehicles while people are car pooling, according to the news release. 

The park and ride lot also offers a bike rack to accommodate those users who may want to access the park and ride lot via the shared-use path, which is planned to connect the Prairie Trail parking lot near the Village of Algonquin Public Works facility to the existing shared use-path in front of the Crystal Lake Wal-Mart at Illinois Route 31 and Rakow Road.  

The hope is that encouraging carpooling will help ease congestion on area roadways, according to the news release. 

The design and construction of park and ride lot was made possible by federal funds secured in partnership with McHenry County, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Illinois Department of Transportation, according to the news release. These funds paid for 100 percent of the design and construction costs for the park and ride lot.