Pedestrian-only underpass bad idea

Dear Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk, according to the Daily Herald, you are "looking forward to hearing what residents have to say about the proposal" to close Wheaton's Chase Street railroad crossing and replace it with a pedestrian underpass. I am pleased to respond.

You apparently have been told that this will be "a wonderful safety upgrade" courtesy of the railroad. However, it seems to me that it would only shift cars to another crossing and likely increase congestion and danger elsewhere in town. And while a pedestrian underpass may be safer in regards to the train, it may not be overall.

I have previously lived near two separate pedestrian-only underpasses that were closed due to criminal activity, and the difficulty of preventing it in an area that police cars cannot access. Do our police agree that this will be a good idea? I have to wonder why we have allowed the railroad to so quickly reject a full vehicular and pedestrian underpass. That would actually be an upgrade, particularly for emergencies, providing a crossing which would not be blocked by trains.

While I am generally against undue restrictions on businesses, if this is a benefit to the railroad, they should be asked to provide some reciprocal benefit to Wheaton. Otherwise, in my opinion, they can put their crossover elsewhere.

Brian S. Siegel

Wheaton