About 20 Villa Park and Lombard residents who contributed to writing a list of railroad safety demands known as Kristen’s Law hope Villa Park’s new committee on public safety will act quickly on their proposal.
"I want it passed. I want our children to live," said Sue Wilkinson of Villa Park, a mother of two daughters who lost one of their best friends, Kristen Bowen.
Bowen, 14, of Villa Park was hit by a freight train while crossing the tracks Feb. 11, a quarter-mile west of Addison Road. About a month prior on Jan. 8 Michael Christopher Mocarski, 23, also of Villa Park, committed suicide after a westbound train struck him while he was sitting on the tracks at Summit Ave.
Named after Bowen, one of the proposed measures in Kristen’s Law would require the railroads to erect 6-foot high, mile-long concrete fencing near schools and parks adjacent to railroad tracks. The proposal was brought to an April 20 meeting of Villa Park Village President Joyce Stupegia President’s Committee on Public Safety.
"Some said at the meeting that it would be like living in a prison," Wilkinson said. "But I’d rather live in a prison than lose another one. I just think the wall is a fantastic idea. I can’t lose another one."
The committee made up of 18 members from a cross section of regional governmental organizations is in its early stages, though, and some committee members were unwilling to commit to Kristen’s Law without further study.
Stupegia formed the committee April 10 after two fatalities occurred on the tracks a little more than a month apart form one another.
"At this pint, we’re still in the process of gathering information for the (Lombard) Transportation Committee," said committee member Wes Anderson, Lombard’s public works director.
Neither protective fencing nor how the cost of it might be split among towns and Union Pacific Railroad has been decided upon, said Tom Zapler, a committee member and a Union Pacific spokesman.
The railroad owns the right of way in Lombard, Anderson said, so the village has to have an agreement with Union Pacific before anything can be done in the way of fencing.
"It’s not fast enough for me," Wilkinson said. "I wish it was done long ago, but politics moves slow. I’m just glad they’re going to do something about it."
Other committee members said improving railroad safety along the tracks has become a top priority, ensuring that local government agencies are poised to act.
"What I saw was a great thing:
the residents and government coming together," said John Valle, York Township supervisor and committee member. "(The residents) want some action and they’re going to get some action. Like all thing it’s going to take some time, but it’s on the front burner."
Valle’s cousin, Jimmy, died after being hit by a train more than 30 years ago. Many options for improvements are on the table," he said.
"We looked at underpasses, overpasses and installing black boxes," Valle said. "The most efficient would be a barrier. But it comes down to cost. But just to save another Kristen or Jimmy is worth it."
Valle said fences with thorny bramble bush on them could keep children and adults from cutting across the tracks.
"I don’t think we’ll always solve the problem, but it will deter kids from cutting across," he said.
Fellow committee member and state Sen. Carole Pankau, R-23rd District, of Roselle said part of the safety problems could be due to the fact that Villa Park’s streets dead-end at the tracks instead of running parallel as in other communities.
Stupegia said the committee will likely meet again in September. In the meantime, she said thorny shrubbery will be planted along fences near North Terrace Park to gauge what kind of a deterrent the planting might be. Villa Park police officers also handed out tickets to commuters at the Villa Park train station April 27 for crossing the tracks illegally.
"We would like to set an example." Stupegia said. "And we’re on the way to doing that."
Reprinted with permission from the Villa Park Argus