La Grange Today

Work begins on upgrades to IHB railroad crossings

Construction crews from the Indian Harbor Belt Railroad today began work on improvements to the grade crossings at East Ave and 47th St in La Grange, where tracks, ties and panels will be replaced.

Motorists travelling through the intersection will encounter detours and delays for at least two weeks, Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn announced at tonight's regular meeting of the La Grange Board of Trustees.

Work that began this morning on the East Ave crossing will last approximately eight days, he said. Subsequent work on 47th St will then close that crossing for an equal period of time.

Residents with questions or concerns regarding the construction and its impact are invited to call the Village Public Works Department at 708-579-2324.

Parking ends on downtown former IHOP site

Motorists who have been parking on the site of the former International House of Pancakes will have to find new accommodations beginning today as the parcel's owners prepare to break ground for La Grange Pointe, a mixed-use residential and commercial development planned for the site.

Village officials are urging all dislocated motorists to use the nearby municipal parking structure.

The IHOP site, at the northeast corner of La Grange Rd and Cossitt Ave, had been available to downtown parkers since the January 2005, following demolition of the restaurant, under an arrangement with the developers that helped ease the strain on parking while the municipal deck was under construction. 

Motorist ignores safety gates, is struck by train

A car being driven by an 87-year-old Westchester man Friday evening was struck by a Metra commuter train on the BNSF rail line at La Grange Rd after the driver apparently ignored the safety gates and drove onto the tracks, according to La Grange Police and a Metra spokeswoman.

The man, identified in a police press release as Edward Strane, was injured in the crash and was admitted to the Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where he was transported by paramedics from the La Grange Fire Department. Hospital officials would not discuss Strane's condition.

Police said Strane was driving eastbound on Burlington Ave at approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday and proceeded to make a left-hand turn northbound onto La Grange Rd where it immediately crosses the rail line.

Witnesses told police that the railroad crossing gates were lowered with red lights flashing and bells ringing. Strane apparently avoided the gates by driving north in the southbound lanes of La Grange Rd, which are not impeded by gates on the south side of the tracks.

Strane's car was crossing the railroad tracks when it was struck by the westbound train, which was carrying commuters from Chicago and slowing down to make a scheduled stop at the La Grange Rd Station, according to police.

The train's conductor was able to apply the emergency brakes before impact, the Metra spokeswoman said.

No one aboard the train was injured, nor was the train itself disabled by the accident, she said. However, the train was delayed for nearly two hours as emergency personnel attended to the motorist and wreckage was cleared from the tracks.

A total of ten Metra trains were delayed by the accident, the spokeswoman said.

The crash was the second incident in less than a week at that railroad crossing. Four days earlier, a truck travelling southbound on La Grange Rd collided with a crossing gate, causing delays.

Truck crash adds horns, congestion at BNSF crossing

Workers and visitors in and around the central business district of La Grange this afternoon may have noticed that motor traffic along La Grange Rd was more congested than normal and heard an unusual number of trains sounding their horns, Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn this evening reported at a regular meeting of the Village Board of Trustees.

The reason was a truck traveling southbound on La Grange Rd that collided with a crossing gate at the intersection of the BNSF rail line, Pilipiszyn said.

Until the gate was repaired later in the afternoon, all trucks approaching the intersection were required to make a full stop before crossing the tracks. Also, all trains passing through the intersection were required to sound their horns.

Bridge repairs force lane closures on Ogden Ave

Traffic on Ogden Ave through La Grange will be disrupted beginning today as maintenance crews of the BNSF rail line make repairs to the bridge spanning the roadway east of La Grange Rd.  Repairs will focus on a catwalk that was damaged when struck by a truck. 

Temporary lane closures will occur outside of the rush hours (9:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m.) as work is done on both sides of the bridge.  BNSF officials say they hope to complete the repairs by the end of the week.

Woman's death by Metra train ruled a suicide

A woman struck and killed Wednesday morning by a Metra train near the La Grange Ave railroad station committed suicide, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

The victim was identified as Lynne Smetko, 49, of Willow Springs.

Witnesses said she walked into the path of the westbound train around 7:30 a.m.

No passengers were on the train, according to a Metra spokesman, but rail traffic on the BNSF line through La Grange was greatly delayed, affecting hundreds of  commuters.

Resident wants 20-mph signs posted mid-street downtown; says he will do the legwork on proposal

Residents often tell La Grange officials what improvements they would like to see in their town, but few also volunteer to do the legwork required to turn their suggestions into formal proposals.

Tim Kelpsas, a nine-year resident of N Brainard Ave, told the Village Board of Trustees Monday night he would like to see the Village erect small signs along the center line of La Grange Rd between Ogden and Cossitt Aves to remind motorists that the speed limit through the central business district is just 20 miles per hour.

Most people don't seem to know how slow one must go when driving along that stretch, said Kelpsas, who based his conclusion on the results of impromptu surveys he said he has conducted with people he encounters  while walking downtown with his two small children. "They are amazed that it's 20 miles per hour," he said.

Kelpsas said mid-street signage already is being used in the business districts of two other west-suburban communities, Oak Park and Forest Park.

"Because I know how boards work, you guys need someone to do the legwork," Kelpsas, who is a commissioner for the Park District of La Grange, told Village trustees. He said he will spend the next couple months visiting the two towns, gathering information about the signs and crunching the costs in order to present a proposal to La Grange officials.

"I think [the signs] would be a great way for the people to know what the speed limit really is," he said.

Village President Asperger said she appreciated Kelpsas' initiative and that she would refer the matter to appropriate members of the Village staff for consideration.

Kelpsas made his offer to the Village Board during its town meeting, which was held at the Ogden Ave School.

Woman struck and killed by morning Metra train

A woman was struck and killed Wednesday morning by a Metra train near the La Grange Ave railroad station. Witnesses said the victim apparently walked into the path of the westbound train around 7:30 a.m.

No passengers were aboard the train, according to Tom Miller, a Metra spokesman quoted in a report filed on the Chicago Tribune Web site, but commuter trains in both directions were halted following the accident. One track was reopened later in the morning.

Patrick Waldron, a Metra spokesman contacted by the daily this afternoon, said he could provide no additional information at this time. He said his agency today was burdened with investigating the fatal shooting last night of a Metra police officer near the 147th St train station in south suburban Harvey.

Waldron referred questions regarding the identity of the victim in Wednesday morning's accident to the La Grange Police Department or the Cook County Medical Examiner.

La Grange officials had no comment on the response to the accident by Village emergency personnel, directing that any request for information be made under the Freedom of Information Act. A request subsequently was filed and its review by Village officials is pending.

A phone call placed this afternoon to a spokesman for the Medical Examiner's office was not returned.

Run your car on ethanol? Here's the nearest source

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Ethanol-based fuels have been touted as one way American motorists can reduce their addiction to oil. But finding stations that sell E85—a fuel blended from 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline—isn't always easy, as one reporter for the New York Times discovered last month when he traveled the newly heralded "Midwest Ethanol Corridor," which runs largely along Interstate 55 from Chicago to St. Louis, and along Interstate 70 from St. Louis to Kansas City.

As the Corridor passes just a few miles south of La Grange, we figured local drivers would have ready access to an E85 retailer. They do—but only one nearby: Gas City, located at 8424 Willow Springs Rd.

Station manager Pat Bombacino, says her station offers the VE85 brand, introduced in May 2005 by VeraSun Energy of Brookings, S.D. While sales were slow at first, they have picked up markedly as gasoline prices have risen steadily over the past year. Now the Willow Springs station sells 1,100 to 1,500 gallons a week, she said.

Motorists often are attracted by the price of E85, which typically sells for 30 to 50 cents less per gallon than gasoline. But drivers should be aware that ethanol burns more quickly than gas, reducing mileage by about 25 percent and therefore offsetting the price savings. But ethanol also burns more cleanly and produces fewer emissions than gasoline, which is better for the environment, say its proponents.

Be aware that in order to run on E85, a vehicle must be equipped with a "flex-fuel" system, which operates with a special sensor in the fuel line to analyze the fuel mixture and control the fuel injection and timing to adjust for different fuel compositions. Flex-fuel systems also are adapted to handle the high alcohol content of ethanol, which is corrosive in a standard engine.

Locate other stations that sell E-85 fuel.

Determine whether your car can run on ethanol-gasoline fuel.

Design approved for wayfinding signs, kiosks in CBD

Designs for a new wayfinding system to help visitors navigate the central business district were reviewed Monday night by the La Grange Village Board of Trustees.

The system, designed by Schreiber/Anderson Associates of Madison, Wisconsin, is a mix of kiosks, parking lot entrance signs and directional signs.

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The Board chose a design recommended by its advisory committee that incorporates a motif of prairie grass in the upper portion of the signs. It could also include a replica of the Village seal.

The signs are colored a warm shade of red "popular with Frank Lloyd Wright," said Gil Jevne, a landscape architect and project manager for Schreiber/Anderson. 

The committee, said Jevne, wanted "excellent design, something distinctive and out of the ordinary, something that is unique to La Grange."

A prototype sign will be erected at the Harris Ave entrance to the Village parking deck within the next week or two, said Angela Mesaros, the Village's urban planner and assistant community development director.

The Board directed members of the Village staff to obtain bids for construction of the signs. Some trustees expressed hope that the signs could be in place by the Christmas holidays.

The wayfinding signs and kiosks would be located at all Village parking lots, near the train stations and at strategic locations throughout the business district. The kiosks would include backlighting for night-time viewing.

The downtown signs are the first stage of a community signage effort that later will include "welcome" signs at various gateways to the Village.