Comment EI-12881
Received or sent (printed as 9/24/2008)
September 23rd, 2008 Jewel Park Resident Barrington, IL 847.387.3074 Ed.Guntin@comcast.net Members of the Surface Transportation Board: I have a home in a Barrington community known as Jewel Park. My home is situated not more than 100 yards from the EJ&E train tracks. When I purchased my home (prior to the CN proposed purchase of EJ&E), my wife and I took into consideration that trains did not travel on these tracks frequently enough to warrant concern for noise, vibration and more importantly safety for my family and the Barrington community in general. The proposed purchase by CN and its intent to increase train transport in the Barrington area by more than 400% changes everything. Members of the Board, I have three children (ages 8, 13 and 14) which attend local schools in Barrington. It was my family’s intent to frequently visit Citizens Park, a beautiful park recently finished, which is adjacent to the EJ&E train tracks and located around the corner from Jewel Park on Lake Zurich road. I am extremely concerned for the safety of my children and all children in Jewel Park and neighboring communities who need to cross the train tracks on Lake Zurich road to enter Citizens Park. With trains traveling as much as 20-25 times a day under CN’s proposal, it’s plausible that a child that veers away from a parent’s attention for just a moment to view a train crossing up close from Citizens Park can be injured or God forbid killed. I am also very concerned about fire rescue and paramedic assistance. As I’m sure you have been informed, the Barrington Fire Department is located near the train tracks on Route 14. If someone in Jewel Park or a neighboring community were injured or ill and needed immediate emergency attention or a home was on fire, it could be a life threatening situation or a complete loss of property if the fire department were unable to attend to the emergency due to an unfortunate circumstance of a train passing at the time of the emergency. The risk of this happening is already there with the current volume of trains. Raising the volume of train traffic by more than 400% substantially increases the probability that a life threatening situation or loss of property will arise. It goes without saying that increasing train crossings by more than 400% will also cause a disastrous bottleneck of traffic in Barrington. Many Barrington commuters including my wife and I will be severely impacted by traffic delays caused by this congestion. Not to mention the issues this will cause to commercially develop the Barrington Village. You may be aware that the Barrington Village is considering a redevelopment projection at Hough, Main and Station which could substantially bring commercial and cultural value to Barrington. I expect that if the CN proposal is accepted by this Board, the project will be in complete jeopardy since few commercial proprietors will desire to establish their businesses in the Barrington area due to congestion problems. Members of the Board, if you allow CN to proceed with its proposed volume of trains, CN’s actions will substantially devalue commercial and residential real estate throughout Barrington. Presently, Barrington is sought out by many families as a prominent place to raise young children. Some sources rank Barrington 25th in the nation in this regard. Barrington is known for great schools, public safety, culture, sports, and a wonderful hospital. CN’s proposal will change the view prospective families will have on Barrington as a premier area to live. If CN’s proposal is accepted, less families will want to move to Barrington, tax revenues will eventually drop from a decline in growth, schools will have less funds to provide the great education our children enjoy today, fewer doctors will want to live in Barrington to work at Good Shepherd Hospital—well, I think you get the picture. I, my family, and I’m sure my fellow residents in Barrington are counting on the Board’s wisdom and judgment to place health, safety, and environmental protection above commercial interests. You are our advocates. Please do not allow CN to destroy this precious community. I respectfully ask that this Board do everything in its power to stop CN or for that matter any buyer of EJ&E from increasing the volume of train traffic from where it is today. On behalf of myself and my family I thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Ed Guntin, Esq.
Submitted by: Ed Gimtom · Barrington, Illinois
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Surface Transportation Board.doc ↓
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35087/comment/EI-12881
File docketyard.org/document/9a179a07a6f1eee66f9ff9905056bd19d51ea9694f5027122ef7dc46d8659329.bin · back to the docket sheet