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Chicago Tribune
04-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Chesterton takes initial steps for pedestrian safety at downtown tracks
The new parking lot on Grant Avenue is popular with those visiting the European Market on Saturdays in downtown Chesterton, but now there are heightened concerns about the safety of pedestrians when crossing railroad tracks on nearby Calumet Road. It's why the town is considering both long-term and short-term measures to improve pedestrian safety around the 60-space lot. Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek at the Redevelopment Commission meeting in June presented three options, developed by the Lochmueller Group, which the town retained, that would help direct pedestrians safely across the tracks. The Redevelopment Commission, made up of all five Town Council members, may decide at the July 14 meeting. The most extensive and expensive option would be Z-gates. A Z-gate crossing would cause pedestrians to walk zig-zag when approaching the tracks, forcing pedestrians to look both ways while crossing. The Norfolk Southern Railroad has two sets of tracks at the crossing, so there are occasions when two trains simultaneously pass each other. A 70-year-old bicyclist was killed at the Calumet Road crossing while two trains were passing each other on Feb. 28. The Z-gates would either be set up perpendicular to the railroad tracks or parallel to Calumet Road, Gavelek said. Gavelek said the cost would be around $350,000, and it could take up to two years for construction to occur, in part because of the railroad permit process. The more economical option would be to place a concrete barrier on Calumet Road to funnel pedestrians to a striped crosswalk at the track. Gavelek said that option could be finished within a year and would cost $125,000. Councilman James Ton, R-1st, said that they need the time to consider the options. 'I would like it done sooner, but I would want to have it done safe,' Ton said. Meanwhile, the town of Chesterton has taken some temporary steps to ensure pedestrian safety. After the Grant Avenue parking lot opened, some chose to go on private property and jaywalk across the tracks. Chesterton Street Department Superintendent John Schnadenberg has installed orange snow fencing from the west end of the Grant Street parking lot to 4th Street to prevent jaywalking across the railroad tracks. Signs direct pedestrians to cross at either Calumet Road or 4th Street. There are also signs on the fences that point those who park in the Grant Avenue lot to the Calumet Road crossing.
Chicago Tribune
04-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Chesterton looks to improve railroad crossing pedestrian safety with new parking lot
Chesterton will soon install signs to alert pedestrians about the railroad crossing on Calumet Road with the town's opening of a parking lot nearby on Grant Avenue. The sign is a temporary first step toward making more extensive pedestrian safety improvements at the downtown Chesterton crossing. Town officials have been talking with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials about making pedestrian safety upgrades. Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek said the town is hoping the safety upgrades can be installed at the crossing within the next 6 to 18 months. The cost will depend on the option that the Town Council chooses. Chesterton has been looking at improving the safety of the crossing ever since a bicyclist, Frank Remm, 70, was killed at the crossing on Feb. 28. It was the third pedestrian killed — the others occurred at 8th and 15th streets — at a Chesterton railroad crossing since May 2023. Meanwhile, the lots on Grant Avenue and East Indiana Avenue are now open for parking during daylight hours from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will eventually be available after nightfall when the lights are installed in the upcoming weeks. A formal dedication will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, June 13 at the Grant Avenue parking lot. Town officials decided in February 2023 to pursue developing the additional parking spaces after downtown businesses had stated the lack of parking hampered business. Additional parking spaces were particularly needed for the Saturdays between May and October when the European Market is held in downtown Chesterton. This Saturday will be the first time the lots will be available to the public for the European Market. The Grant Avenue parking lot will add 60 parking spaces while the Indiana Avenue site creates 28 new parking spaces. There is fencing around the Grant Avenue site as a safeguard for pedestrians from wandering onto the tracks. The project cost the town $1,420,000. One issue that the town ran into during construction was the discovery of unstable soils at both parking lots, which cost an additional $153,313.42.
