Pedestrian safety gates at Barrington railroad crossings would change village traffic patterns

Barrington officials Monday looked at the proposed layout for pedestrian safety gates at its Union Pacific railroad crossings, including the one at Hough Street where 17-year-old Marin Lacson was struck and killed by a Metra train last year.

Peter Stoehr, project manager with the engineering, planning and design firm Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., explained the design would affect more than pedestrian safety — it would have a ripple effect on downtown traffic patterns.

It would especially influence turning movements at the Cook and Main streets intersection. Vehicles on Main Street would no longer be able to turn left onto Cook Street. Northbound Cook Street vehicles wouldn’t be able to turn left onto Main Street. Southbound Cook Street vehicles would no longer have access at all to Main Street.

The drawings presented Monday detail the scope of the project as the village works to petition the Illinois Commerce Commission for the safety gates at the Hough Street, Main Street and Hillside Avenue crossings.

Last year, Lacson was killed at the Hough Street crossing while on her way to classes at Barrington High School, fueling demand for the gates.

Deputy Village Manager Marie Hansen said the village conducted a traffic study to assess current traffic patterns and evaluate alternate routes.

“While we acknowledge that it will take time for the community to adjust to these access changes, the study indicates that nearby cross streets can accommodate the rerouted traffic,” she said.

Village President Karen Darch said the current proposal is a compromise after input from the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Illinois Department of Transportation initially leaned toward closing off both sides of Cook Street to Main Street.

In addition, Hansen said, plans call for the extension of the westbound left-turn lane from Main Street onto South Hough Street.

Hansen explained IDOT is leading the petition process, largely due to the need to connect the safety gates at Hough and Cook/Main to the traffic signal at Hough and Main streets.

This will ensure the timing of the signal provides adequate time to clear all vehicles that may still be on the tracks before trains come through those intersections.

Barrington officials said construction won’t begin until 2026 at the earliest.