GLENVIEW, Ill. — The Glenview Village Board has voted to budget another $36,000 for its fight against efforts to increase Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee, running the community’s total tab for the effort to more than $541,000.
The Chicago Tribune reports that of the newly budgeted funds, $30,000 will go to a state lobbying effort, and $6,000 will go to lobbying at the federal level.
The city has objected to a new siding that would be built between Glenview and Northbrook to facilitate an increase in Hiawatha service from seven to 10 round trips daily, citing concerns about noise, pollution, and a possible increase in rail traffic that would result. The state of Illinois has already slowed work on the project once, citing objections from North Shore communities. [See “Illinois slows plan to expand Hiawatha service,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 11, 2018, and “Glenview fight against additional Amtrak service continues with $160,000 for study,” Trains News Wire, July 12, 2018.] The city is also concerned about a new crossover that would be added, saying it is concerned about noise and an increased possibility of derailment.
When the expanded service was proposed in 2016, the Illinois and Wisconsin departments of transportation said the new 10,000-foot siding was necessary to allow the operating flexibility needed on the route also used by Canadian Pacific freight trains and Metra commuter trains.
The idea of discontinuing service to Glenview may not be good, but the threat to do so should be front and center. NIMBY’s only understand strong words.
We face a similar situation here in the north part of Fort Worth (Watauga and Keller) in Texas. Although there are no passenger trains, all the crossings are designated as noise free which prevents trains from sounding their horns at crossings. Aside from the fact that I miss the beautiful sound of trains blowing for crossings, I do believe, despite the four quadrant gates, that it is only a matter of time before somebody drives in front of a train with too little room to spare. I’ll never understand why train sounds bother anybody. They are music to my ears. We are also in the landing and departure pattern for Alliance Airport. A lot of military pilots use Alliance to practice landings and takeoffs (known as “transition” in flying circles). Talk about noise! Nobody seems to mind.
Village idiots!
If they place the siding between Pfingsten Road and Dundee Road in Northbrook it should work just fine.
It all’s commercial development on both sides. The rail is bridged over Lake-Cook Road, so no crossing blockages.
The residential areas are north of Pfingsten and south of Dundee. No diesel smoke or noise to rile the NIMBY’s. They can still reach Rondout if needed.
The only complaint I could see is when a consist comes off the siding going south, it will take some time for it to reach speed and this would block Dundee Road periodically.
There is absolutely nothing about Glenview that makes its downtown or surrounding neighborhoods any more special than any of the other towns around Chicago that have downtowns on both sides of the tracks.
Talk to any of them and they all say pretty much the same thing. “We wouldn’t be here with out the railroad, and commuters need easy access”.
I notice Glenview has had no issues permitting high density housing in and around the station downtown. Don’t they realize that the ability to raise frequency makes them a more attractive place to live?
Much ado about nothing.
The real problem may be the desire for no expansion in the Glenview area, period. As a matter of fact, the Techney cut-off is fluid, having been in practice for a century or so. Some years back, the “Friends” operated a special behind a CP “Royal” Hudson (why I do not remember) from Milw. to CUS. Interestingly, we ran down the East (timetable West) track, then smoothly cut over on the Techney to B’ville yard, through it and down to CUS on the former Milwaukee main. Now, that was rare mileage. There were some Soo Line guys on board who were impressed with the layout, having grown up on a single track railroad.
Maybe passengers on the proposed additional trains could be required to transfer to buses at the next station to the south/north, ride thus through Glenview to the next station to the north/south, then board another train. If this inconvenience does not kill the demand/need for the added service, maybe the resulting glut of bus traffic might convince the city that maybe more trains are not so bad after all! LOL
I rode Hiawatha for first time in Nov, coming up to attend Trainfest in Milwaukee. Was very impressed with how many riding the trains and it was not even rush hour. Conductor told us 8 trains in each direction were not enough, they needed more. Had a friend who lived in Glenview and I would go up to visit, usually take Amtrak to CUS and transfer to Metra. Not sure what their problem is, but the trains are not there that long. If people want to ride, don’t stand in way of progress, get more people out of their cars and commute.
Curtis – You’re more right than you know. There was a new station in the ‘sixties (plus or minus) which has already been replaced. That’s downtown Glendale. The added stop (built about twenty years ago) at Glen I believe is also within the village limit.
Lot’s of smart-n-savvy people – people who know they matter – live in Glenview. They are used to driving at high-speeds through “other people’s” neighborhoods, and the government destroying “other people’s” neighborhoods for their driving convenience.
But, then, who doesn’t want “other people’s” neighborhoods destroyed for their own driving convenience; it’s the Merican WAY!
Who are these people? I’d bet they didn’t ask the taxpayers if this is how to spend their money. Any money spent on these official’s salary is obviously wasted.
Mr Landey, I agree with your sentiments, except I have 1 problem with it. If the town keeps spending, then that means Amtrak needs to keep spending (or Metra, or any other transportation agency in similar circumstances). And seeing that most of not all of these agencies are typically cash strapped…. I don’t want to see the extra strain put on their resources. Now, if a countersuit can be filed to recover their losses on legal fees and proceedings, now we are talking
Clearly these falsely privileged NIMBYs need to get a life!
The people who ride the trains hopefully are not the NIMBY’s. They need to put as much pressure on the town government as the NIMBY’s do.
WOW Didn’t the city notice that there were railroad tracks back in the day running through their town when the city was being developed and that dirty, noisy steam engines were passing through the area. Progress (only on their terms) has apparently caught them by surprise.
Neglected to add this “laffer”….many years ago when the Roundout tower was still manned, a pleasant afternoon was spent up there after being invited by the operator, who, among other tales, recounted how CP freights routinely blasted through at 90 mph or so. No way to validate this, except to note that the freight movements that afternoon did not appear to tear up the tracks. I commented that the culprits were possibly old Milwaukee hoggers who used to compete for the fastest start to stop Milwaukee-Chicago passenger run, i.e., 65 minutes or less.
It is indeed ironic that the Milw. Rd. built a new, modern little depot at Glenview back in the 1960’s that facilitated that ‘burb’s importance as a commuter stop and subsequent development. Also that the Milwaukee in its heyday ran about 10 through passenger trains each way daily, plus suburbans and more freight movements. And what about the Hiawathas, first steam, then diesel, streaming through at 100+ mph?
There are a lot better ways for a municipality to spend $541,000 in the name of the public good. Perhaps someone should propose closing the Glenville Station to reduce noise pollution and then see how the village responds!
Oh Brother
An airplane from O’Hare could crash into their town and certainly might cause noise pollution,so maybe they should spend some money on lobbyists to stop any new flights that might be proposed that would have the possibility of impacting their well being in their fair city.
At the end of the day, The RR will win, The grandfather clause is in the Constitution. Let them spend, We are a Nation of Fighters, and with that, We win some and lose some!
I hope they vote more and more and more dollars and lose every penny of it.
Discontinuing the Glenview station stops would save time and money I suppose.
My understanding of the Glenview beef after looking at some of the project alternatives published some time ago was that the siding in question actually is planned along the UP ex-CNW line between Northbrook and Deval, running near the Glenview Naval Air Station. The siding would be used to hold CP freights waiting for the ex-Milwaukee to clear the Metra and (additional) Amtrak traffic. The complaint (purely NIMBY because the freight railroad was there first) I think centers on some new Glenview development in the Techny/NAS area, who don’t want the idling freight locomotives in their neighborhood.
Why not move some trains over to the UP? The communities on the former C&NW North Line probably would welcome some Amtrak service. The trains would serve North Chicago, home of Great Lakes Naval Training Center. .