Voice of the People

A few weeks ago, two women were killed when they drove around railroad crossing gates on the east side of Gary. They mistakenly surmised the gates were down because of a stopped train there, but in reality, the gates were activated by the South Shore Electric on a second track along side, which crashed into their auto.

Every day in Chesterton, a similar condition that triggered the Gary incident can exist and did several days ago at Calumet and Broadway on the Norfolk and Southern main line.

A westbound train was parked several feet east of Calumet. The crossing gates came down because an eastbound train was approaching from the west, but not yet visible. A few southbound autos on Calumet, thinking the gates were down because of the parked train, drove around the gates and luckily got over the tracks before the freight “lumbered” through - maybe a different outcome if Amtrak was the eastbound train!

Chesterton you have a problem! We see lately a rash of drivers going around gates, stopping tracks because of traffic signal going red at Broadway, slow moving trains hindering a rapid response to emergency services. All of these actions can be attributed to the Norfolk and Southern deviating from former practices of other railroads who controlled this main line.

What to do? Let us ask the National Transportation Safety Board to study this crossing and see if safety can be improved. A visit from “Operation Life Saver” might be of value. They were helpful when they were here about 10 years ago.

Our Town Council apparently does not agree that they have any responsibility in this matter.

Oh, If we only had a Town Manager!

Ray Carnes

Posted 3/23/2007