Politics & Government
Burlington and Maple Crossing to Get Revamp
The direction of traffic on Burlington Avenue will be changed as part of a plan to make travel over the crossing smoother.
Traversing the Burlington and Maple railroad crossing will be smoother, thanks to action the Downers Grove Village Council took Monday.
The council voted 6-1 to spend $365,469 on a grade reduction project at the crossing. The village will pay $50,000; grants will pay for the rest of the project.
The Village Council also passed an ordinance to convert Burlington Avenue to an eastbound one-way street for a 300-foot section near the crossing.
Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Commissioner Bob Barnett was the only dissenting council member, saying he was concerned about investing so much money in a project that doesn’t provide a long-term solution. He stressed that the village needs to look at a comprehensive plan for the crossing, which may include building an underpass or closing the crossing altogether.
“I’m just really against this. The biggest thing in my mind is this issue of timing,” Barnett said. “My fear is that we’re going to, like I said last week, give ourselves some permanent features here.”
Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The only concern Commissioner Marilyn Schnell has with the project is the possible increased traffic on Grand Avenue. She requested that an evaluation be done six to 12 months from now to assess the impact the one-way alteration has on Burlington, especially as it relates to the safety of students at nearby Whittier Elementary School.
Discussion about “grade separation” (building an underpass or overpass at an intersecting road and railroad) at that Burlington Maple crossing is continuing, Village Manager Dave Fieldman said, but it doesn’t affect the current proposal.
“We’ve determined that if we were to pursue [a grade separation] it would be a 10- to 15-year project, as we know, and that this project of reducing the slope would not hinder or obstruct us form pursuing a grade separation in the future,” he said.
That said, there are no current plans to close the crossing.
Mayor Martin Tully said that while he appreciates the concern that if the village fixes the grade at the crossing, the council will never “look back at it again.” But that’s not true, he said.
A long-term solution such as an underpass isn’t an option right now, and this project won’t hurt future solutions, he added. “I actually think this is a no-brainer.”
