Barrington residents press board for faster pedestrian gates after teen's death; village cites regulatory limits

BARRINGTON — Dozens of students, family members and residents urged the Barrington Village Board on Monday to speed installation of pedestrian gates and other rail-safety measures near Barrington High School after the Jan. 2024 death of Marin Laxon.

“Wehave seen a year of resistance and difficulty with the village,” said Roma Khan, founder and president of the Barrington Student Safety Organization, saying the group will press the issue in Springfield. “I will be filing FOIA requests focused on this matter only.”

The comments came during an extended public-comment period. Village staff earlier reported progress on multiple rail-safety projects, including a recently held pre-construction meeting for the Route 14 grade-separation project and a proposed Phase 1 study to evaluate a pedestrian grade separation at the Canadian National Railway crossing on Main Street just east of Barrington High School.

Why it matters: Hundreds of students cross railroad tracks near the high school each school day. Residents said the loss of a student was preventable and demanded short-term measures such as crossing guards or reactivated warnings while longer projects proceed.

Village staff member Scott said the village has coordinated design and petition work with the Illinois Department of Transportation to seek Illinois Commerce Commission authorization for pedestrian gates and that the railroad — which owns the property where gates would be installed — is responsible for installation. He said Canadian National will install pedestrian gates at the Main Street location and that the village has created a web page to post project updates.

“We understand and often share the publicfrustration, but remain committed to doing everything in our control to keep this project moving forward,” Scott said in the staff report.

Public comments: Dozens of speakers addressed the board. Many were high-school students and close friends of Marin Laxon; several spoke emotionally about grief and urgency.

“Marin was our best friend,” said Alexis Homan. Katie Morris said Laxon was “trying to go to school” when she died at 17. Student speakers repeatedly urged the village to reintroduce signs, crossing guards or other immediate protections while permanent infrastructure is developed.

Some commenters pressed the board on prior incidents. Angelina Fasolo and others noted a 2013 accident near Huff Street that left a child with severe injuries and said the community should have acted sooner.

“Pick up your **** feet and please, God, we implore you, get to work,” said Daniel McCoppin, speaking for several outraged residents.

Board response and constraints: President Darch and other trustees expressed sympathy and said the board and staff are actively pursuing safety work but are constrained by multiple agencies and railroad ownership. Darch described the process for pedestrian gates: petitions that must be authorized by the Illinois Commerce Commission, coordination with railroads and the Illinois Department of Transportation, and engineering and funding steps for more complex grade-separation projects.

“Only the railroad can do that. Itis on their property,” President Darch said, arguing the villageis participating in the petition process and seeking approvals.

Darch and other trustees also explained two separate underpass efforts: a large Route 14 vehicle underpass (a long-term federal highway project) and a separate pedestrian underpass near the high school intended to remove pedestrian crossings of the tracks.

Short-term steps: Speakers and multiple trustees said crossing guards have been used at times and urged reinstatement or increased coverage; staff and commenters said there are currently four staffed railroad crossing posts at specified intersections and that residents should report gaps in coverage.

Actions taken at the meeting: The board approved a consent agenda that included a preliminary engineering services agreement with Civil Tech Engineering for Main Street pedestrian grade separation improvements and several personnel and equipment authorizations (see "Votes at a glance"). The board also approved the warrants list of $1,530,313.16, approved minutes from Jan. 13, 2025, and tabled a staff wastewater-treatment presentation to the next meeting.

What remains unresolved: Speakers asked for greater transparency about the villagebehind-the-scenes coordination and the timeline for the petition to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Roma Khan said the village did not disclose that it had been approved for a $1,150,000 grant to install two gates; Khan said she would seek that confirmation through public-records requests. Village officials did not confirm the exact grant amount during public comment, but President Darch later said there is money coming for pedestrian gates and described ongoing funding and engineering work.

The board confirmed it will continue to coordinate with CN, IDOT and the Illinois Commerce Commission and to post updates on the village website. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2025.