SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) — The Illinois Tollway has begun listing motels and attractions by interchange, with the information on its Web site.
But as WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Dahl reports, not everybody is impressed.
Tollway spokeswoman Wendy Abrams says the new information is user-friendly and easily accessible.
“You can go online. It’s interactive; there’s an interactive table of contents. You can also access the guide from your BlackBerry,” she said.
Abrams says the relevant portion of the Web site, which links to a series of PDF files, would be a good resource for drivers and a boon to business.
“We do have blue board signs along some of our roads – mostly in rural parts of the system out west. But for areas where those signs aren’t posted, we really think that helping to promote local businesses at each of these interchanges through this guide is really going to be helpful,” Abrams said.
But state Rep. Al Riley (D-Olympia Fields) says the Web-based system is not good enough, and the Tollway should have created apps instead.
“Something like a series of PDFs or anything on the Internet, it’s a sort of a self-selected population to go on there and use it, would have to know something about it,” Riley said. “You wonder whether or not it’s been publicized or not. Clearly, some sort of application would be much better if the intent is to really serve the public.”
Riley adds that the blue signs are what local chambers of commerce really want.
The guide does not include gas stations or restaurants. Abrams says space, and not fear of competition with Tollway oases, is the reason.
News article link: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/12/28/state-lawmaker-not-impressed-with-tollways-traveler-information-offering/