Barrington officials said they continue to climb through necessary red tape to obtain permits needed to install pedestrian gates at Union Pacific railroad crossings at Hough Street, Main Street, and Hillside Avenue in downtown Barrington.
However, officials said the process of obtaining the safety gates designed to protect pedestrians from walking in front of an oncoming train takes time due to the many meetings needed to get through.
The move to bring in gates comes after a lawsuit was filed because of the death of Marin Lacson, 17, of Barrington, who was hit by a Metra train while crossing those railroad tracks in January.
In a statement issued last week, officials said the village received notice that the Illinois Commerce Commission allocated $1.15 million in its crossing safety improvement program budget toward installing pedestrian crossing gates in Barrington.
However, officials said the ICC has jurisdiction to administer and enforce safety requirements for track, facilities, and equipment belonging to all railroads in Illinois, and must approve the installation of the pedestrian gates.
Before the process can begin, a detailed project scope must be presented to the ICC. The ICC has attended multiple site visits and meetings with the Village, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and Union Pacific.
Village officials and experts said the proceedings can take at least another year with final permitting and construction to follow, but they are working with an engineering consultant and ICCโs guidance to compile the various requirements needed to build out the scope of the project.
The detailed scope is nearing completion and will allow for the filing that initiates the state-dictated ICC administrative process.
The family of 17-year-old Marin Lacson filed a lawsuit against the railroad and village, saying that the child’s death was “entirely preventable.”
Lacson was killed by a train while walking to Barrington High School and crossing the Union Pacific Railroad train tracks in the area of Main Street and Hough Street at about 745 p.m. on January 25.
The family is represented in court by Chicago-based law firm Clifford Law Offices, who filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of the family.
The suit names Union Pacific Railroad Company, Metra Railroad, and the Village of Barrington as defendants.
Lacson was attempting to walk across the railroad crossing when she was struck by a Metra train.
Kyle Kinnamon told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he was the one who called 911 to report the collision between Lacson and the train.
“This was a devastating accident that happened right in front of me on Route 59 before I got to the light at Main Street,” Kinnamon said, adding that the incident was not a suicide.
Kinnamon, who works at an office two blocks away from the Barrington train crossing, said he watched the “life leave this poor girl’s eyes” as he was on the phone with 911.
“She was walking south and the westbound train had just gone through and she must have assumed that was the only one coming because she didnโt stop at the sidewalk, and as soon as she passed the gate the eastbound train came out of the fog and hit her,” Kinnamon said.
“It was all over in seconds,” he added. A dense fog advisory was in effect at the time of the incident.
Officers and paramedics arrived and confirmed Lacson was dead at the scene, officials said. No one else was injured.
The 34-page lawsuit alleges negligence against the defendants for failure to adequately warn and protect pedestrians at the Hough Street railroad crossing in Barrington, despite at least two prior occasions where trains struck pedestrians.
Attorneys say no engineering study was performed after the prior pedestrian casualties to assess the risk of train collisions with pedestrians at the crossing and no action has ever been taken to improve pedestrian safety at the crossing.
The crossing is also located in a “quiet zone,” meaning that train horns are not to be sounded except at the train operator’s discretion.
“Marinโs death was entirely preventable. Marin merely attempted to cross over the sidewalk on her way to school after the first train passed through the crossing. Without any warnings to alert her that an inbound train was coming from the opposite direction and without notice that this inbound track was what is sometimes called a โhot rail,โ Marin was unaware there was a second train approaching,” attorney James Pullos said.
“Instead of showing urgency for the community safety, no action was ever taken to address the long-standing safety concerns at this crossing,” Pullos said.
Mike Lacson, the girl’s father, said his daughter’s death was preventable and the crossing lacked pedestrian gates and other pedestrian safety warnings that would have saved his daughter.
“As we learn more details about Marinโs death, we are truly shocked and saddened by the lack of action by those responsible for the safety of our community. It is utterly distressing that basic safety measures were ignored for years and continue to be ignored. It is even more troubling to learn that no agency or company ever performed any pedestrian safety studies for this crossing,” Mike Lacson said.
The father said his daughter’s death “will not be in vain” as the family is committed to making a difference to prevent this type of accident from occurring again.
Barrington School District 220 Superintendent Dr. Craig Winkelman said that Lacson was a junior at Barrington High School and in the Chinese Immersion Program.
Marin, who was also on the lacrosse team at the high school, previously attended Countryside Elementary School and Station Middle School.
Barbara Floyd, a close friend and one of Lacson’s favorite teachers, described the girl as a “vibrant, bubbly, vivacious soul” that was full of life and love.
“Her light shines so brightly. She is strong, intelligent, fun-loving, loyal, generous and so much more. Her compassion and empathy for others is evident in every act of kindness she has shared,” Floyd said.
In February, the Village of Barrington said they asked the state for pedestrian gates to be set up at two rail crossings downtown and a pedestrian underpass to be built at another crossing following the fatal accident.