Upgrades planned for train station
By MARK LAWTON
mlawton@pioneerlocal.com
Four years after a child was killed
by a train at the River Grove Metra station, a plan
to make the pedestrian area of the station safer is close to fruition.
Ten-year-old Michael DeLarco, formerly of Schaumburg, was killed Feb. 23, 2004,
after taking the train with his mother and sister to visit his great
grandmother.
According to police reports, an
eastbound train had just left when Michael started crossing the tracks to greet
his father, who waited on the other side. He did not see the westbound express
train coming into the station that hit him.
In April 2004, his parents Michael
and Linda DeLarco formed a foundation to increase
train safety. The DeLarco Foundation has raised
around $40,000, mostly through an annual golf outing at the Schaumburg Golf
Course (the next outing is scheduled for Aug. 6).
The DeLarco
family also approached the Village of River Grove, asking if improvements could
be made to the pedestrian area around the Metra
station.
Those improvements include closing a
gap in the chain link fence that runs along the south side of the tracks and
eliminating the cross walk. That means people who want to get from one side of
the tracks to the other will have to walk slightly east and cross at Thatcher
Avenue.
The plan also calls for crossing
gates across the street and sidewalk at Thatcher Avenue.
The village approached State Rep.
Angelo "Skip" Saviano (R-77) who helped
secure a grant for nearly $300,000 from the Illinois
Department of Transportation.
Intergovernmental agreements have
been signed between River Grove, IDOT and Metra, said
Thomas Potinkas, attorney for the DeLarco
Foundation.
Once equipment is ordered -- which Metra has not yet done -- the project is expected to take
six weeks. Potinkas said he hopes it will take place
before winter, though River Grove Village Attorney Bart Smith thinks its more likely to happen in spring or summer 2009.
The money raised by the DeLarco Foundation will either be used to offset cost
overruns on the project or for a memorial at the station.
"We're happy we're at the point
where we can see this will be completed," Potinkas
said.
To register for the golf
fund-raiser, contact Linda DeLarco at lindadelarco@comcast.net.