Barrington staff outline pedestrian-gate plan that changes vehicle access at Main/Cook intersections

Village staff on Feb. 10 described a finalized design scope for installing pedestrian gates at three downtown railroad crossings and warned the project will change vehicle access at Cook Street and Main Street.

Deputy Village Manager Murray Hanson introduced the staff presentation and said the Illinois Commerce Commission approval process required for pedestrian gates is being led by the Illinois Department of Transportation and that Union Pacific Railroad will perform the installations. "This process is being led by the Illinois Department of Transportation, and installation will be completed by Union Pacific Railroad," Hanson said.

Marie, a village staff member who led the technical briefing, said the village compiled a detailed project scope with an engineering consultant and the ICC to speed the approval process for the Huff Street, Main Street and Hillside Avenue crossings. She said the Main Street and Huff Street crossings will be linked to the traffic signal at the Main/Huff intersection so signal timing can clear vehicles before trains arrive.

Marie said federal and state regulations and Union Pacific design standards set strict spacing and foundation requirements and that the angles of the railroad tracks and adjacent driveways make meeting those rules challenging. After initial reviews, staff said it appeared Cook Street might have needed to be fully closed to Main Street; the village-led design work found alignment options that preserve some connections but will eliminate others.

On the planned changes at Cook and Main, Marie summarized the design exhibit, saying: "Eastbound vehicles on Main Street will no longer be able to turn left onto North Cook Street. Westbound vehicles on Main Street will no longer be able to turn left onto South Cook Street. Vehicles traveling north on Cook Street will only be able to turn right onto Main Street. And vehicles traveling south on Cook Street will no longer have direct access to Main Street." She added that sidewalks would be offset from the pavement edge and pedestrian gates installed in every quadrant at some crossings.

Marie said the village conducted a traffic study and that nearby cross streets can accommodate rerouted traffic; the study also suggested extending the westbound left-turn lane from Main Street onto South Huff Street, which staff incorporated into the plan. She told the board the Illinois Commerce Commission recommended starting with a concept plan and obtaining preliminary state review before filing the ICC petition to expedite the process.

Staff said the Illinois Department of Transportation will own and permit work on Main and Huff Streets, the ICC will be part of the approval process and Union Pacific will install gates on its right-of-way. The board was told the village is seeking to design the project concurrently with the petition process: "[Designing] the project concurrently with the petition process, instead of waiting for the petition to be approved and then designing the project afterwards," Marie said, will shorten the time to construction if a Kimley-Horn contract for full design is approved in the Committee of the Whole and later by the board.

Board members praised staff work and asked questions about timing and about how the state-owned signal and Union Pacific rights-of-way affect project control. Staff reiterated that the state and Union Pacific retain final permitting and installation authority while the village has spearheaded the design to limit local access impacts.

Staff warned that some local access points will be eliminated because of limited space at the crossings, that short-term construction impacts are likely, and that the village would post exhibits and further details online when materials are available.