The new parking lot on Grant Avenue is popular with those visiting the European Market on Saturdays in downtown Chesterton, but now there are heightened concerns about the safety of pedestrians when crossing railroad tracks on nearby Calumet Road.
It’s why the town is considering both long-term and short-term measures to improve pedestrian safety around the 60-space lot.
Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek at the Redevelopment Commission meeting in June presented three options, developed by the Lochmueller Group, which the town retained, that would help direct pedestrians safely across the tracks.
The Redevelopment Commission, made up of all five Town Council members, may decide at the July 14 meeting.
The most extensive and expensive option would be Z-gates.
A Z-gate crossing would cause pedestrians to walk zig-zag when approaching the tracks, forcing pedestrians to look both ways while crossing.
The Norfolk Southern Railroad has two sets of tracks at the crossing, so there are occasions when two trains simultaneously pass each other.
A 70-year-old bicyclist was killed at the Calumet Road crossing while two trains were passing each other on Feb. 28.
The Z-gates would either be set up perpendicular to the railroad tracks or parallel to Calumet Road, Gavelek said.
Gavelek said the cost would be around $350,000, and it could take up to two years for construction to occur, in part because of the railroad permit process.
The more economical option would be to place a concrete barrier on Calumet Road to funnel pedestrians to a striped crosswalk at the track.
Gavelek said that option could be finished within a year and would cost $125,000.
Councilman James Ton, R-1st, said that they need the time to consider the options.
“I would like it done sooner, but I would want to have it done safe,” Ton said.
Meanwhile, the town of Chesterton has taken some temporary steps to ensure pedestrian safety.
After the Grant Avenue parking lot opened, some chose to go on private property and jaywalk across the tracks.
Chesterton Street Department Superintendent John Schnadenberg has installed orange snow fencing from the west end of the Grant Street parking lot to 4th Street to prevent jaywalking across the railroad tracks.
Signs direct pedestrians to cross at either Calumet Road or 4th Street.
There are also signs on the fences that point those who park in the Grant Avenue lot to the Calumet Road crossing.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.