advertisement

Vote no on Barrington rail referendum

Based on recent communications from the Village of Barrington, the underpass and road realignment projects have been fast tracked with the Lake Zurich Road realignment beginning possibly as early as 2017 for early acquisition of right of way.

In reaching a decision on how to vote, consider the following:

1) At the Aug. 22 meeting of the Barrington Area Library Board, the entire leadership did not support the Lake Zurich Road realignment as proposed.

2) The Village of Barrington has presented the results of extensive studies on the intersection of U.S. Route 14 and the Canadian National line to the Surface Transportation Board. After protracted legal challenges, the village has not been successful in meeting the requirements for a mandatory grade separation. As a result, the STB has ruled that a grade separation is unwarranted, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C., has denied any further re-hearings on this case.

As a result, CN is not obligated to pay even one dollar of the estimated $60 million for the grade separation - leaving federal, state and local taxes as the source of funding for the underpass project.

3) Lastly, no attention has been given to how the 278-mile-long "outer, outer belt" rail line that the Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc. has proposed might help alleviate train traffic on the CN line through Barrington. The addition of this rail line would hold significant benefits for the entire region.

Vote "No" on the referendum on Nov. 8.

Marisel Guntin

Barrington

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.