Village officials say progress is being made, but more time is needed to bring pedestrian railroad gates to Barrington

Barrington officials said they are still going through the red tape needed to get the permits needed to install pedestrian gates at the Union Pacific railroad crossings at Hough Street, Main Street and Hillside Avenue in downtown Barrington.

However, officials said the process of getting safety gates designed to protect pedestrians from walking in front of an oncoming train is taking time because of the many encounters required to get through.

The move to bring in gates comes after a lawsuit was filed over the death of Marin Lacson, 17, of Barrington, who was struck by a Metra train while crossing those railroad tracks in January.

In a statement issued last week, officials said the village has received notice that the Illinois Commerce Commission has allocated $1.15 million in its Crossing Safety Improvement Program budget to install crosswalk gates in Barrington .

However, officials said the ICC has jurisdiction to administer and enforce safety requirements for tracks, facilities and equipment belonging to all Illinois railroads and must approve the installation of pedestrian gates.

Before the process can begin, a detailed project scope must be submitted to the ICC. ICC participated in several site visits and meetings with the Village, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and Union Pacific.

Village officials and experts said the proceedings could take at least another year with final permitting and construction, but they are working with an engineering consultant and ICC guidance to compile the various requirements needed to build the scope of the project.

The detailed scope is nearing completion and will allow for the filing that initiates the state-mandated CPI administrative process.

The family of 17-year-old Marin Lacson filed a lawsuit against the railroad and the village, saying the child’s death was “completely preventable.”

Lacson was killed by a train while walking to Barrington High School and crossing the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in the area of ​​Main Street and Hough Street around 7:45 a.m. on January 25.

The family is being represented in court by the Chicago-based law firm Clifford Law Offices, which 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 trying to cross the railroad crossing when she was hit by a Metra train.

Kyle Kinnamon told Lake and the McHenry County Scanner that he 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 stoplight at Main Street,” Kinnamon said, adding that the incident was not a suicide.

Kinnamon, who works in an office two blocks away from the Barrington train crossing, said he watched “the life leave this poor girl’s eyes” while on the phone with 911.

“She was going south and the westbound train had just passed and she must have assumed it was the only one coming because she didn’t stop on the pavement 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 hurt.

The 34-page lawsuit alleges negligence against the defendants for failing to adequately warn and protect pedestrians at the Hough Street railroad crossing in Barrington, despite at least two previous occasions when trains struck pedestrians.

Advocates say no engineering study was conducted after previous pedestrian fatalities to assess the risk of train collisions with pedestrians at the crossing, and no action was ever 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 discretion of the train operator.

“Marin’s death was completely preventable. Marin only tried to cross the sidewalk on his way to school after the first train passed through the crossing. “With no warning to warn her that an oncoming train was coming from the opposite direction and no notification that this oncoming track was what is sometimes called a ‘hot track,’ Marin was unaware that a second train was approaching,” the lawyer said James Pullos.

“Instead of showing urgency for the safety of the community, 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 Marin’s death, we are truly shocked and saddened by the lack of action by those responsible for the safety of our community. It is extremely worrying that basic safety precautions have been ignored for years and continue to be ignored. It is even more troubling to learn that no agency or company has ever conducted pedestrian safety studies for this crossing,” said Mike Lacson.

The father said his daughter’s death “will not be in vain” as the family vows to make a difference to prevent this type of accident from happening again.

Dr. Craig Winkelman, superintendent of Barrington School District 220, said Lacson was a junior at Barrington High School and in the Chinese Immersion Program.

Marin, who was also on the high school lacrosse team, 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 soul, full of life and full of love.

“Her light shines so brightly. She is strong, intelligent, fun-loving, loyal, generous and much more. Her compassion and empathy for others is evident in every act of kindness she shared,” Floyd said.

In February, the village of Barrington they said they asked the state for pedestrian gates to be installed at two railway crossings in the city center and an underpass for pedestrians to be built at another crossing following the fatal accident.