Residents urge council to reject Governors Parkway and press for Grand Avenue rail crossing solution

Dozens of residents spoke during public expression to urge preservation of Briar East Woods and to oppose the Governors Parkway proposal, arguing the plan will not solve documented train-safety hazards at the Grand Avenue crossing and would instead open the woods to housing development.

Anne Sedlacek, a resident and member of Hessville Dune Dusters, told the council she supports preserving the entire 32 acres of Briar East Woods and urged the council to “say no to the Governor’s Parkway project.” Sedlacek said the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recommended a Grand Avenue overpass as the effective solution for the crossing where children climb over stalled trains — the same crossing where a pedestrian fatality has occurred, she said. Sedlacek called an overpass on Grand the direct solution and said Governors Parkway would be built about a mile away from that crossing and therefore would not be used by pedestrians.

Sedlacek and other speakers also presented a budget comparison during remarks: she said that with a $7 million supplemental pedestrian bridge on Grand added to Governors Parkway, the total public cost rises to roughly $21 million; she said Hammond taxpayers would still cover about 20% (which she estimated at $4.2 million). She said an overpass on Grand had been estimated at about $8 million and an underpass would be even less, and argued those targeted fixes would better address the documented safety incidents.

TJ Geriting said he reviewed the grant application (dated Aug. 29, 2018) and read that Governors Parkway seeks to develop about 34 acres for roughly 30 residential lots and 4 acres of commercial property, projecting an assessed-value increase of $10,400,000 and an annual tax-levy increase of $251,000. He urged the council to note the stated development goals in the grant documents and said the project’s stated purpose on some documents is residential development as well as a crossing solution.

Multiple speakers also expressed concern about the mayor’s response to public participation. One speaker alleged that video from a prior meeting where community members testified had not been released and that the mayor had made threatening comments on a podcast; those assertions were made by speakers during public comment and are reported here as allegations. City officials did not respond during the public-comment period to verify the claims at this meeting.

Other testimony emphasized public-safety impacts and community well-being: speakers noted children climbing or crawling under stopped trains on Grand Avenue, urged a Grade-separated crossing at Grand instead of a remote parkway, and said the woods provide ecological and educational value for the region.

No council action on Governors Parkway or related engineering alternatives took place at the meeting; residents said they will continue to press the council and share materials including FRA contact notes, grant applications and cost comparisons.