Comment EI-5123
Received or sent (printed as 2/13/2008)
I would like to register my strong opposition to the acquisition of the EJ&E by Canadian National. The safety impact on the town of Barrington will be horrendous. The EJ&E runs within 1/4 mile of 3 schools, three park districts, our public library, the police & fire department, and a forest preserve here all with GRADE LEVEL crossings. With an increase of 5 freight trains to 20 per day, it will only be a matter of months until a child, bicyclist, or jogger is struck by a train. I can only imagine the lives lost by a fire truck or police response being delayed 15 minutes by a train at the level crossing at Hwy. 14 or on Lake Cook Road. Never since its original conception has this much freight been run on the EJ&E lines. They are simply not designed to safely handle this much freight traffic. By no means should this proposed purchase be allowed until the EJ&E is retrofitted with above or below grade crossings at each intersection along its path. To do otherwise is simply irresponsible. Our community has already had a school bus hit by a train on the Metra Commuter line 13 years ago. We do NOT want to go through that anguish again.
Submitted by: Annette Ryks Nikolich · 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.
1995 Fox River Grove level crossing accident.doc ↓
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35087/comment/EI-5123
File docketyard.org/document/a3b0c4148a8ac0425d5fa4f3fd9cd16f6ac9bcf967c12eb39d4a6b00e6b9faf7.bin · back to the docket sheet