Roselle staff advance preferred plan for downtown 24-hour quiet zone; railroad to fund installation

Village of Roselle staff presented a preferred plan on Aug. 11 to establish a 24-hour quiet zone across three downtown grade crossings — Roselle Road, Prospect Street and Park Street — and said the railroads are expected to fund the installations needed to remove routine train horn use. The plan would pair physical safety improvements — a 100-foot nontraversable median at Roselle Road, closure of vehicular access on Prospect Street in favor of a pedestrian crossing, and four-quadrant gates at Park Street — with pedestrian gates, ADA upgrades and additional fencing along the right-of-way. Village staff said the railroad entities working on the plan (CPKC and Metra) produced a loose cost estimate of about $2.5 million for the recommended layout. Village planner Jason Blaskey, presenting the update, said the quiet zone work traces to a 2023 merger requirement and that CPKC is required to fund installation costs. “Currently, the quiet zone is basically a prerural quiet zone that is from midnight or maybe 11:07PM, between midnight and 5AM,” Blaskey said, explaining existing limited-hour quiet periods and why more trains after the merger prompted the push to a full-time quiet zone. He said Metra has urged treating the project under Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidance — which is why staff included the 100-foot nontraversable median at Roselle Road — even though the track is Metro-owned and the FRA process is not strictly required here. The recommended Roselle Road treatment would remove some left-turn movements, converting certain entrances (including the central auto body rear entrance and the BP gas station access) to right-in/right-out only; county staff earlier indicated no objection if the village supported the layout. For Prospect Street, staff said the concept would convert the crossing to pedestrian-only with curb and parking reconfiguration and new pedestrian gates; Park Street is proposed to receive four-quadrant gates to prevent vehicles from driving around lowered gates. Trustees asked about costs and timing. Trustee Alkin asked, “And is the 2 and a half million, required to be paid for by the village or by the, CP?” Blaskey replied that CPKC is required to fund the installation cost and that staff will pursue federal and state funding only if railroads try to back out. Blaskey also said timeline estimates vary: Metra has mentioned roughly 36 months in prior conversations, while CPKC told staff it could do the work in about nine months; Blaskey said he will meet with Metra to firm up a timeline. Blaskey said the next steps are to continue design work with railroad engineers, expand outreach to downtown businesses for feedback on curb/parking impacts, and provide periodic updates to the board. He said the village does not anticipate having to pay the installation costs but that staff will pursue reimbursements or legislative help if necessary. No final action or vote was taken; the board gave staff consensus to continue with the preferred layout and stakeholder outreach. The board scheduled further engineering and timeline discussions with Metra and CPKC and asked staff to return with more-detailed designs and cost/timeline clarifications.